Standard

Government Functional Standard GovS 008: Commercial and Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework

The Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework is designed to help drive continuous improvement in commercial practices across the public sector.

Documents

Government Functional Standard - GovS 008: Commercial

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Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework

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CCIAF Assessment Scoring Tool v 2.3

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Commercial Pipeline Guidance V8 (PDF)

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Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework Onboarding Guidance V2.3 (PDF)

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Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework (CCIAF) - Peer Review Guidance v2.2 (PDF)

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Details

The Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework (CCIAF) was co-designed by the Cabinet Office, NHS England, and the Local Government Association (LGA), in collaboration with central government and the wider public sector.

The framework allows public sector organisations to benchmark their commercial maturity and drive consistent standards. It is closely aligned with the Government Functional Standard for Commercial (GovS 008), which sets expectations for the planning, management, and execution of commercial activities to ensure value for money and high-quality service delivery.

To enable this, the Assess your organisation’s commercial maturity service is the digital tool that allows organisations to assess their commercial maturity against the Standards and CCIAF, and:

  • participate in peer-to-peer reviews to ensure assessment accuracy and share best practice
  • develop and track Continuous Improvement Plans

Organisations can register for the online tool directly via the platform. However, we strongly advise you to engage with the Commercial Standards and Continuous Improvement Team before doing so.  You can download the spreadsheet version of the tool for internal planning, however to participate in the national benchmarking and peer-review process you must use the online service.

Early engagement ensures your organisation is correctly positioned within the framework and receives the necessary context to complete the assessment effectively. Onboarding guidance is available to support you through the process.

To express interest or request onboarding support, please email: commercialstandards@cabinetoffice.gov.uk.

CCIAF Onboarding Training Video

CCIAF Onboarding Training Video

Updates to this page

Published 4 February 2016
Last updated 6 January 2026 show all updates
  1. Added the document: CCIAF Assessment Scoring Tool v 2.3

  2. Replaced the document: Commercial Pipeline Guidance V7 With the following: Commercial Pipeline Guidance V8

  3. Added the document: Assess your organisation’s commercial maturity

  4. Added document: Commercial Pipeline Guidance V7 (HTML)

  5. Replaced the Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework Onboarding Guidance with the Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework Onboarding Guidance V2.3

  6. Replaced the CCIAF Assessment Scoring Tool 2022 and the Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework (CCIAF) - Peer Review Guidance with the latest versions.

  7. Added CCIAF Onboarding Guidance Training video

  8. Peer review guidance document added

  9. Included a newer version of the CCIAF Assessment Scoring Tool. It has been updated to promote closer alignment to the new Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework, and to simplify the assessment process for relevant organisations.

  10. The Functional Standard has been amended to simplify its content, and to facilitate better alignment with the Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework.

  11. Following stakeholder engagement with LGA and NHS, the document has been updated to reflect the requirements of multiple different public sector organisations outside central government.

  12. Standard updated

  13. Updated Government Functional Standard - GovS 008: Commercial document

  14. The Pipeline guidance documentation has been replaced to reflect new changes to the guidance

  15. Uploaded the CCIAF Assessment Scoring Tool document Uploaded the CCIAF Onboarding guidance document

  16. Added a new attachment 'CCIAF Scoring Tool'

  17. Removed "Government Commercial Standards Assessment Framework - GovS 008: Annex E" as this document is no longer applicable. It has been replaced with the "Commercial Continuous Improvement Assessment Framework" which is a new document. Removed "GCOS On-boarding guidance" as this document is no longer applicable. Removed "GCOS Assessment tool"as this document is no longer applicable.

  18. Deleted the Video Link to the 'GCOS on-boarding guidance video - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=BrIKI4_JojU&feature=youtu.be' as this is no longer applicable

  19. Attachment GCOS assessment tool updated

  20. GCOS assessment tool updated

  21. Updated Government Commercial Standards Assessment Framework - GovS 008: Annex E

  22. Updated attached documents and added in guidance video.

  23. Updated standards documents and page text.

  24. New Commercial Pipeline added.

  25. Updated commercial operating standards document

  26. Updated commercial standards for government guidance document.

  27. First published.

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