PLY: Interesting to see how countries in the UK Commonwealth, are so viscerally opposed to SIBs in the media at least (evidence from Canada and New Zealand today), while the UK powers ahead with its initiatives – moving into a very interesting area. Gangs are a controversial (and therefore, ideal) area for SIB/PFS structures as, similar to former prisoners, the public has a natural distaste for seeing their taxpayer dollars spent on such initiatives. This is a fascinating development for a better world…
UK – Catch22 Developing World’s First Gangs Social Impact Bond (SIB)
Press Release Point
Funding has been secured for the development of an innovative gangs service in the West Midlands using social investment.
Catch22 has been awarded development funding from the Big Lottery Fund’s Commissioning Better Outcomes to launch a new preventative service targeted at gangs. The service will aim to turn around the lives of gang members and potential gang members, and reduce crime.
The development work will draw on the experiences and successes of Catch22’s Dawes Gangs Unit in Wolverhampton, which brings together research, policy and practice in order to understand how to reduce the harm caused by gangs and gang-related crime.
Catch22 are already working in partnership with West Midlands Police and are now seeking other commissioners, services and investors who are interested in being involved in this exciting project.
How the social impact bond will work
A social impact bond (SIB) is a way of financing a service delivered to a specific group of people to achieve an outcome that results in a real budget saving to a commissioner.
With this new service, Catch22 will support the police, local authorities and other local organisations to reduce the amount of money they spend as a result of the violent behaviour of street gangs.
UK – Payment-By-Results Commissioners Should Understand How Charities Fit Into The Supply Chain, Says NAO
Daniel Farey-Jones – Third Sector
The National Audit Office has advised government commissioners of payment-by-results contracts that they stand a greater chance of success if they understand how charities fit into the supply chain.
The publication today of the spending watchdog’s report on central government’s use of payment by results comes in the wake of concerns that such contracts are difficult for charities to handle.
Last year the National Council for Voluntary Organisations warned that cash-flow problems associated with PBR contracts can be a major barrier to voluntary sector organisations taking up contracts and said commissioners should consider offering up-front payments to them.
NZ – Labour: The Party That Says ‘No’
Chris Bishop – NBR
Historically in New Zealand politics, the Labour Party has liked to think of itself as the party of progressive, even radical, social change.
Conversely, it is sometimes claimed National is the traditional party of conservatism – the party that manages the status quo; that builds on social changes already made.
Whatever the truth of these claims, today’s political situation differs markedly from these perceptions. National and Labour’s traditional roles have reversed.
Labour is now the real conservative party – fearful of innovative social policy, afraid of new ideas – in short, the party which says “No” to everything.
there was the nonsensical claim that social impact bonds are “experiments that have been proven to fail”. On this critique, government would never do anything new.
Social impact bonds could, if they work effectively, help the government improve service delivery for vulnerable groups in society as well as help tackle social problems previously thought intractable.
Overall, Labour is fundamentally uninterested in new approaches to old problems. It is a party stuck in an ideological time-warp – which insists, despite all evidence to the contrary, the government has the answers to everything, can effectively address social problems and all that’s required is more government spending.
Canada – Social Impact Bonds: Another Attempt At Privatizing Government?
Louis-Philippe Rochon – CBC New
On June 9, the Manitoba Progressive Conservative Party introduced the idea of issuing “social impact bonds” to finance the province’s social services, vowing to use them if they ever formed the next provincial government.
But voters and taxpayers beware: social impact bonds are just another attempt at privatizing government, and may end up costing you more.
Most voters have yet to really hear about social impact bonds, or SIBs as they are called (also referred to as “pay for success bonds”), but they are definitely on the agenda of conservative movements worldwide.
Essentially, they are a new way of funding and delivering a number of social services, from social housing, to daycare and prisons, but with very damaging implications.
SIBs have grown in popularity ever since they were first introduced in the United Kingdom in 2010. The Harper government has also floated the idea of using them.
Austerity an excuse
SIBs are born out of two phenomena. First, in times of fiscal austerity, SIBs are seen as an efficient way of offering the same social services for less, or so we are told.