PLY: A healthy scent of success is in the air as far apart as Australia and Utah…
Social Impact Bond Delivers Results
Michael Roddan – Business Spectator
A landmark social benefit bond, a tie-up between the NSW government, the Commonwealth Bank, Westpac and The Benevolent Society, is being hailed as a success, delivering an annual compound investment return of up to 8% in an investment model the federal government is keen to explore.
The resilient families program, funded by a $10 million social benefit bond and launched two years ago, aims to keep children with their families in a safe environment and to avoid their entry into out-of-home care.
The second investor report for the bond, released Tuesday, showed 27% fewer children entered foster care compared to a control group not in the program.
Salt Lake County Considers Pay for Success Initiative
Deseret News
Salt Lake County will be deciding in the next few weeks whether to embrace a promising policy experiment that uses the logic of the free market and the rigor of modern data to solve social problems.
Known as “Pay for Success,” the approach allows government to test innovations at low risk to the taxpayers. Government works with private public-spirited investors to outline a plan for change and measurable targets. If the investors buy in, they put up the money. A nonprofit or government agency does the work, and a third-party agency determines whether the targets have been met. If so, the investors get paid.
The role of private investors ensures that both outcomes and the levers used to get to them are clear. If the experiment proves effective, it can be carried forward by government agencies, now knowing that the taxpayers will be getting a good bang for the buck.
PFS is now being used in Salt Lake’s Granite School District to help reduce the need for special education services by getting quality preschool instruction to at-risk low-income children.