The Commissioning Elf is an evidence-based information source for health and social care professionals working in the area of commissioning and provision of care services.

The National Elf Service individual elf websites that have launched over the last 3 years, are all run by experts in their field who believe that health and social care professionals need access to the right evidence at the right time, in order to make effective decisions. Because of the nature of the subject area, evidence to support commissioning decisions comes from a range of sources, not just clinical journals, but research from other sectors including the third sector, commercial, and education. It may not follow a structure that can easily be critically appraised, and therefore, it is important to have expert interpretation, and this is what writers for the Commissioning Elf can provide.

We are looking for people who share our commitment to delivering quality-filtered updates of emerging evidence that focus on the needs of health and social care professionals, working in the area of commissioning and policy-making. If you want to use your research and writing skills, and your interest in the subject area, to make a real difference to care and support – read on.

We will be launching the Commissioning Elf as part of the National Elf Service in October 2015, and we would like to build a team of expert bloggers to help us create a valuable evidence source for decision-makers. The blog posts we have already written are popular with readers, and we want to expand the number of contributors who write for the Commissioning Elf so that we can present a diverse range of expert opinion from all areas of commissioning. You might be a subject specialist, such as a commissioner, policy maker, manager, local government representative, primary care health professional, health economist, researcher, student, or information scientist.

The benefits of writing for the National Elf Service are:

• Increased awareness of the evidence available in your area of expertise
• Opportunity to develop your own critical appraisal, writing, and digital skills
• Time to reflect on the questions arising from published research and help translate that knowledge into practice

If you are interested in writing for the Commissioning Elf, please read “Thinking about writing for the National Elf Service – Jun 2015 – Commissioning” which will tell you exactly what this role entails, or contact the Chief Blogger, Caroline De Brún.