Results-based financing for preschool catching on, By Adrienne Lu, March 21, 2014, Stateline: “Six hundred 3- and 4-year-olds are attending preschool in Salt Lake County and Park City, Utah, this year thanks to an innovative financing model that is catching the attention of government officials and lawmakers across the country. Under ‘results-based financing,’ also known as ‘pay-for-success’ or ‘social impact bonds,’ private investors or philanthropists provide the initial funding for social programs that are expected to save taxpayer dollars down the road. If the policy goals are met and the savings materialize (according to third-party evaluators), the investors receive their money back with interest. However, the government doesn’t have to pay out more than it saves…”
Tag: Social impact bonds
Social Impact Bonds – Canada
- Feds introduce controversial ‘social impact bonds’ to fund social services, By Les Whittington, November 8, 2012, Toronto Star: “The federal government is introducing a controversial new approach to funding social services called ‘social impact bonds’ that can turn a profit for private investors. Prime Minister Stephen Harper’s Conservatives, who have often been accused of short-changing social programs, view the bonds as a valuable source of fresh funding for Canadian communities…”
- Ottawa looks to private sector to help fund social programs, By Heather Scoffield, Winnipeg Free Press: “The federal government wants to tap into a ‘gold mine’ of private-sector funding to finance its social programs — a new approach the New Democrats are dismissing as little more than budget cuts in disguise. Human Resources Minister Diane Finley launched a ‘call for concepts’ on Thursday, asking businesses, not-for-profits and the volunteer sector to come up with fundamentally new ideas for jointly financing improvements in the lives of the needy. The launch is a tentative step into the realm of social financing — an approach that is being tested in the United Kingdom and the United States. It invites private-sector investors to provide up-front money and then collect a return on projects government traditionally pays for, such as homelessness or hunger…”