“Commissioning is a collaborative exercise between interdependent parties who invest local resources of money, talent and commitment to reshape local services and networks to meet local needs and thereby improve patients’ and populations’ health and wellbeing.” Brambleby P, Health Service Journal, 2005 At the heart of the word commissioning is the word “mission”. This encompasses common purpose and shared values. So, to understand commissioning, just say it slowly: co-mission-ing.