Another useful posts from the good offices of Emma Tomkinson, also an event in Sydney to attend and discussion on social enterprise et al from the Scottish distilling industry…
Unit Costs – What Do They Mean?
Emma Tomkinson
Both the G8 Social Impact Investment Taskforce report and Impact Investing Australia’s report to the G8 have called for publication of unit costs of government services, in order to encourage social innovation and social investment. The assumption behind this seems to be that:
1. If people know the cost of delivering something, then
2. They might develop a preventative social program that allows these costs to be avoided, which
3. Saves the government money, and
4. Delivers better social outcomes for the population.
Well this may be true for things like employment services, where the government saves cash by not paying unemployment benefits. But you might not get a lot of enthusiasm from some other parts of government. And that’s because a reduction in demand for government services doesn’t necessarily mean that government saves money. In order for this to happen, costs must be able to be recouped i.e. they must be marginal, reflecting the additional cost to the system of more people requiring more services. Marginal costs represent what can be saved if this government service isn’t required. So it all depends on how government spending currently occurs.
Let’s take a look at types of unit costs and how they are calculated.
PLY: Clearly at all times the blob tries to keep growing. Therefore, most any attempt to impose efficiency is seen as an evil attack on the civil servants’ way of life – aka clearly reforming the notion of public service, to remind the government provider that is it both, well a service and, er, a customer focussed exercize, is also key. Good post as always from Emma Tomkinson.
Whisky With A Large Dash Of Social Conscience
Keith Findlay – Press and Journal
Whisky-maker Chivas Brothers teamed up with the Cabinet Office and British Council at its Strathisla distillery in Keith for the UK launch of a campaign to showcase the strength of Britain’s £55 billion and growing social enterprise sector.
As part of the existing Great Britain campaign, the Cabinet Office and government department UK Trade and Investment aims to promote the UK as “the number one global destination for social investment”.
The drive to highlight the strength of Britain’s social economy started in New York last month, with Chivas hosting the UK launch this week.
Cabinet Office Minister Francis Maude said: “We want to support ambitious social enterprises many of which are based here in Scotland. Global investors from Shanghai to New York should look to the UK.
“This government has made social impact bonds eligible for our new social investment tax relief and I hope this will attract new investors and expertise.”
SIMNA NSW: Social Benefit Bonds and Practice Innovation
Eventbrite
Speaker: Sally Cowling, Director of Research, Innovation and Advocacy at UnitingCare Children, Young People and Families.
Sally will share her recent impact measurement experience, including the establishment and measurement of outcomes under the Newpin Social Benefit Bond (social impact bond). Social Benefit Bonds require measurement not only to manage and improve services, but also to trigger payments from Government and determine returns to investors.
Hear about the challenges of establishing these measures for the Newpin Social Benefit Bond and what UnitingCare NSW/ACT have changed across their other services and data collections as a result.
About our speaker
Sally jointly led the development and implementation of UnitingCare’s Newpin Social Benefit Bond (SBB). This was the first SBB to be signed and raised in Australia and the first in the world to transparently report results.
Booking and event details
Date and Time: Wednesday, 11 March at 7.30am – 9.30am. Breakfast will be available from 7.30am. Speakers start at 8am.
Venue: Hub Sydney, 101 William Street. Darlinghurst, Sydney, NSW 2010
Bookings: This event costs $10 to attend. Places are limited, so be sure to register today!
Enquiries: Lisa McGhee (lisa@simna.com.au) or (02) 8936 0928.
SIMNA aims to de-mystify social impact measurement. We encourage everyone to give it a go, sharing their stories and resources along the way. If you’re interested in being part of the action, come along to this great event.