There have not been any set criteria against which to assess the merits of the various ways in which total purchasing has developed nationally. An important part of the evaluation of total purchasing in the first year was, therefore, an attempt to derive success criteria which would enable comparison between all the total purchasing pilots (TPPs). This paper is the result of these deliberations and examines the different criteria that could be used to judge the success of the TPPs. The main findings are discussed with special reference to their implications for the evaluation of the various policy initiatives currently being introduced into the NHS such as the new primary care groups.