Pushback from the British blob which still adheres to the magic money theory and is troubled by the notion of being responsible and efficient with their money. Meanwhile we have a welcome example of the progressive US spirit – in the electoral backyard of Bernie Sanders no less -, in the shape of the Democratic gubernatorial nominee and an interesting outline of Islamic Social Finance. Happy reading:
Questions Remain About Social Impact Bonds
Civil Society
The government has committed a lot of money to social impact bonds, but there are serious issues with the model, says Michael Birtwistle of NCVO.
Last November saw the Cabinet Office dedicate the not inconsiderable sum of £80m towards the creation of more social impact bonds (SIBs). While money for good causes is always welcome, it feels strange to see the government commit such a significant part of the Office for Civil Society’s budget to a largely untested commissioning model.
At the Budget, the Chancellor dedicated a further £5m to an existing SIB as part of the government’s homelessness strategy. The government appears to be proceeding under the assumption that the value of this model has already been established, when in truth, the evidence base is really quite limited.
SIBs are inherently expensive due to the costs of setting up their complex structures and the fact that the funder pays the investors interest. There are a number of supposed advantages to SIBs that are said to justify this additional cost – primarily bringing in external funding, and transferring risk away from public sector commissioners, which is believed to enable the testing of innovative approaches to solving social problems.
But there’s not a great deal of research to confirm the extent to which these results actually arise in practice, and there’s confusion over which of them is driving the government’s enthusiasm.
Candidate Minter Unveils Her Economic Plan
Times Argus
Democratic gubernatorial candidate Sue Minter unveiled her plan to stimulate economic growth in Vermont.
Minter stood before the recently completed City Place building on Monday to share her plan to invest in downtowns such as Barre, while calling for investment in agriculture, manufacturing, energy efficiency and the tech sector.
Minter also called for “social impact bonds,” in which members of the public could invest in programs to improve community life, with a special emphasis on substance abuse and opiate addiction.
Islamic Social Finance Can Aid Humanitarian Efforts – Sultan Nazrin
NST
The world should look to the Islamic Social Finance as the new innovative way to aid global humanitarian programmes, the Sultan of Perak, Sultan Nazrin Shah said.
He said the Islamic Social Finance, which can be an additional source of financing is also particularly important, given that the majority of people in need of aid are in Muslim countries.
He added that investments in humanitarian action, such as sukuk and social impact bonds, will not only lead to long-term social improvements, but also to long-term resilience and to adaptive capacity-building for the communities at risk.