More reportage on the Social Finance Global Network report on SIBs to date alongside discussion of the UK government’s strategy for helping care leavers…
SIBs Reach 15 Countries In First Six Years
Julie Pybus – Pioneers Post
Social impact bonds have been launched in 15 countries since the concept was pioneered in Peterborough in the UK in 2010.
Together 60 social impact bonds have raised more than $200m in investment to tackle social challenges across the world.
These figures are from the Social Finance Global Network which published (reported yesterday) Social Impact Bonds: The Early Years. This comes the day after the UK government launched a new £80m Life Chances Fund (first mentioned in the budget earlier this year) to back more social impact bonds in public services across England.
The report argues that social impact bonds have shown strong global growth. The authors (from Social Finance UK and its sister organisations Social Finance US and Social Finance Israel) write: ‘As with many new markets, the going has been hard but it has also been ultimately rewarding. The sector should be very proud of what it has achieved since the Peterborough launch.’
Strategy For Helping Care Leavers Published
Family Law Week
The government has published its strategy for improving services, support and advice for care leavers. It makes recommendations for local and national government, and wider sectors of society.
The strategy makes a commitment that the government will use the Children’s Social Care Innovation Programme to rethink transitions to adulthood for young people in the children’s social care system, with a focus on developing new ways to provide care leavers with the personal support networks they need to thrive; piloting ‘Staying Close’ – a variant of Staying Put for those leaving residential care; and testing out alternative models of delivery for leaving care services through the use of Trusts, Mutuals and other arrangements. It gives a clear commitment to test payment-by-results approaches, and commits the government to create the first care leaver-specific Social Impact Bond.