Pushbacks and concerns that SIBs may not work for every issue is the message from some in Australia but then again government more or less doesn’t work for them either it has to be said… it appears a tad more sunny optimism is to be found today in the USA but then again that is part of what has made the United States so great methinks. Enjoy your day…
Bonds Won’t Work For Every Social Service
Stephen Easton – The Mandarin
Perverse incentives and measurement challenges are very real, cautions NSW Treasury associate secretary Caralee McLiesh. Social impact bonds are also complicated to arrange and may offer no greater benefit than simply refocusing on outcomes.
Academics warn there is not enough evidence around social impact bonds to put much faith in the fashionable financial instruments yet. Even the New South Wales Government’s successful Newpin pilot raises questions about how widely they can be applied.
Pay For Success
Alex Miller – KMVT
Members of Congress constantly disagree with the way the government spends money. They say many of the programs government chooses to invest in are a waste of American’s tax dollars. Pay for Success is a new program that gives the government the ability to invest only in programs that they know will be successful.
It’s a new wave of philanthropy called social entrepreneurship. The goal is to get private companies, like banks, to invest in public projects with the hopes of being repaid. However, these private companies are only repaid if the project works.