New strategies in Australia and Ontario deploying PFS, interesting news…
Ontario Launches New Social Enterprise Strategy
News.ontario
Ontario will invest more than $6 million in the first year of this renewed strategy. The province will leverage Ontario’s existing entrepreneurship infrastructure, impact investment capital, and a growing market opportunity to support social enterprises. Some of the feature initiatives include:
– Integrating specialized social entrepreneurship supports, such as impact measurement, into mainstream entrepreneurship programs, such as those offered through the Ontario Network of Entrepreneurs
– Developing a Social Enterprise Procurement Action Plan to increase the Ontario government’s procurement from social enterprises
– Designing a new Social Venture Investment Fund to accelerate the flow of private investment capital to growing social enterprises
– Establishing an Impact Measurement Task Force to build consensus on uniform impact measurement standards for social enterprises
– Piloting one or more Social Impact Bonds to improve social outcomes
– Establishing a Centre of Excellence in Social Enterprise and Social Finance to help government leverage social enterprises and social finance as tools to achieve policy objectives
Affordable Housing Beyond the Scope of Government
Ellie Cooper – Pro Bono Australia
The impact of Australia’s lack of affordable housing is far reaching, driving rental stress and homelessness. But, according to experts, the affordable housing solution may lie beyond the halls of parliament.
The current federal government established the Affordable Housing Working Group to investigate increasing the supply of affordable housing through innovative financial solutions.
The working group considered a number of solutions, including social impact bonds, impact investing and a model for a large intermediary aggregator.
Submissions from investors, Not for Profits, local governments and industry groups also suggested that leveraging private capital could solve the affordable housing crisis.