Encouraging news as the New Zealand budget appears to be full square behind the SIB revolution…
NZ – Budget 2015: Hope For Innovation
New Zealand Herald
A rule we were taught as children is not to make a promise you can’t keep.
But it’s hard to keep a promise when so many of the variables are outside your control.
The Minister of Finance will be feeling this acutely as he delivers the Budget this week.
While government expenditure is largely under control, the impact of low inflation, revaluations and commodity prices have put a dent in revenue so the promised surplus is still elusive.
You should hear the word “commissioning” quite a lot in the next few years. Put simply, commissioning is looking for innovation and better results from contracting the charitable and private sectors, either alone or in partnership with government, to provide services currently delivered by government.
We could even go so far as giving citizens the right to choose which organisation will provide them with better support and be the most customer focused. Just like the mixed ownership model was not privatisation, commissioning is not outsourcing but the government will need to sell that to the voters.
Whanau Ora, social impact bonds and the social housing initiatives are all examples of commissioning non-government organisations to be innovative, customer focused and results driven.
A Progress Report On Impact Investing
Ben Thornley – The Huffington Post
Topline numbers on market size and growth always steal the show when JP Morgan and the GIIN release findings from their annual survey of impact investors.
However the survey also provides an invaluable progress report on the scaffolding that makes impact investing possible, by asking about key challenges to the growth of the industry. By comparing the latest results to those reported in January 2013, we can see where the field of impact investing is improving and where it is deteriorating and more work is needed.