Detail on the US Budget (not that it will be passed in current form but it will be intriguing how much of the bipartisan initiatives on SIBs et al will go through while more on the OECD report urging more attention to the needs of users than just the structures themselves. Interesting reading…
Put Social Need At Heart Of Impact Investing To Grow Market: OECD
Astrid Zweynert – Reuters
The fledgling market in investing for social good needs to base its decisions on target groups’ needs and analyze what works and why in order to grow globally, the 34-nation think tank the OECD said on Tuesday.
Much of the discussion about social impact investing (SII) has been dominated by which financial instruments are best suited rather than looking first at the needs of the beneficiaries, said Karen Wilson, the report’s lead author.
Britain led the way with the introduction of social impact, or “pay for success”, bonds to help reduce recidivism, and it has extended this form of spending to other areas, such as reducing youth unemployment.
Key Questions On President’s 2016 Education Budget – PreK-12
Ed Central
President Obama released his fiscal year 2016 budget request to congress this week. The Education Policy Program at New America has reviewed the president’s budget and generated a list of key questions that policymakers, the media, stakeholder groups, and the public should ask about the proposals. These are divided into three categories. Those covering PreK-12 are below.
IDEA in Early Education: This year the President proposes an increase of $115 million for IDEA Preschool Grants and Infants and Families programs, including $15 million for a new Pay for Success Initiative. The IDEA Grants for Infants and Families would increase the number of children from birth to age three receiving early screenings and intervention services to approximately 340,000. The Pay for Success Initiative would allow states to fund pilot programs that could allow them to determine the best way to expand early screening and intervention services to infants and toddlers who do not qualify for services under Part C of IDEA in their state. These pilot programs would allow for private and philanthropic investments to expand promising programs via performance-based funding tied to achieving specific outcomes. In other words, investors only get paid if the programs at least meet certain goals. There are currently a few “Pay for Success” (also known as “Social Impact Bonds”) experiments underway.The logic is that early intervention programs decrease the likelihood that a child will need future supports and would thus create cost savings for school districts once a child enters school. It’s an idea worth further study and exploration, but is this kind of public-private investment a long-term solution for an ongoing need that impacts children during the most malleable stages of development?