The Passion Project Foundation team has been working with the Social Impact Collective (Passion Project partner organisation) to design a new range of activities in readiness for inclusion in its Social Impact Bond (SIB) delivery related activity.
Activity themes under review include the following:
- Banking the Unbanked
- Youth Violence
- Employment
- Early Years and Education
- Social Housing & Environment
- Social Inclusion and Diversity
Social Impact Bonds are designed to facilitate the delivery of a specific set of services required to achieve social impact ‘outcomes’ and whose operational activities are carried out under a strict oversight and governance regime detailed in a legally binding operational framework.
Social Impact Bonds are not ‘Bonds’ in the true sense of the word, but are instead tripartite agreements between funders, service providers, and an underwriter (UK Government or local authority paying for the outcomes delivered.
The agreement sees the funders cash flow to the delivery of services with the government (and/or local authority) repaying the capital outlay plus a premium to funders (subject to the achievement of certain verifiable targets).
The repayment of capital plus a premium is made out of the cost savings achieved by the provision of the services by the ‘service provider’ that in turn achieves the forecast ‘outcomes’. The ‘outcomes’ are tailored to deliver beneficial socio-economic results in respect of one or more key government services, such as the use of social services, improvement in mental health and physical health / overall well-being, crime reduction, and improvement in education and employment, amongst other factors.
Each SIB is overseen by an audit committee containing a representative from each of the parties involved in the operational process – this includes the funders, the service supplier and the government via ‘Go Lab’.
‘Go Lab’ is the official Oxford University-based academic body that sets ‘outcome values’, ‘outcome targets’ and independently sets the measurement of those targets, then monitors and verifies the outcome achieved on behalf of the government.
The Centre of Excellence will work alongside an academic team and a range of subject matter experts from each of the sectors along with advocates chosen to represent key user groups to help oversee the selection and preparation process. In addition, it will also independently monitor and evidence the delivery activity to qualify the impact and carry out bespoke human development-based research additional to that required by the government.
Mr Lee Whitehead, an independent Social Impact Advisor to the Centre of Excellence and an adviser to the UK Government’s Office of Civil Society (the government’s department responsible for SIBs). And Professor Heath Grant, from the John Jay College of Criminal Justice in New York, USA are to lead the initial research as part of the Impact Index development – their focus will be to help identify markers that can be used as indicators for the creation and sustainability of long-term behavioural change – a much sought after outcome by the UK Government.
At present, only “hard” outcomes, i.e., the achievement of educational qualification, the attainment of an employment position, the prevention in use of a service etc., are measured in the delivery of SIB’s. The Foundation intends that the effect on the individual is always taken into consideration when planning and underwriting Social Impact Bonds. By assisting the UK Government in identifying and evidencing ways to incorporate positive human development activities into future delivery in a risk-free manner, those “soft human outcomes” can be incorporated into the process and economically valued/recognised at no operational risk to the government – this is a key tenant of the Centre of Excellence’s activity.
