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Social Impact Bonds: Overview and Considerations

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Social Impact Bonds: Overview and Considerations Social Impact Bonds: Overview and Considerations March 7, 2014 By Elizabeth Lower-Basch Acknowledgements: One of the hottest topics in human services is “pay- for-success” approaches to government contracting. In this era of tight budgets and increased skepticism CLASP's work on Social Impact about the effectiveness of government-funded Bonds as a financing mechanism for programs, the idea that the government could pay human services was funded by the only for proven results has a broad appeal. And John D. and Catherine T. MacArthur Foundation. We thank them for their those who have identified prevention-focused models generous support but acknowledge that have the potential to improve long-term that the recommendations in this outcomes and save the government money are deeply brief are those of the author alone, frustrated that they have been unable to attract the and do not necessarily reflect the funding needed to take these programs to scale. opinions of the funder. Some advocates for expanded prevention efforts are confident that these programs could thrive under pay To sign up for CLASP for success and see such an approach as a way to break out of the harmful cycle where what limited updates, please visit: funds are available must be used to provide services www.clasp.org for those who are already in crisis, and there are rarely sufficient funds to pay for prevention. While performance-based contracting has existed for years in a range of human services areas — including job training and placement, welfare-to- work activities, and child welfare — pay for success, and in particular, the version referred to as a “social impact bond” (SIB) has drawn a great deal of attention at all levels of government in recent years. The Obama Administration has already carved out funding to support pay-for-success models in both workforce and ex-offender programs— and in the 2014 and 2015 budgets, proposed a $300 million fund at the Treasury to support state SIB initiatives as well as specific pay-for-success activities in the areas of job training, education, criminal justice, and housing.1 While only a couple of SIBs are currently underway in the United States, at least 14 states are currently at various stages of exploring SIBs in domains including criminal justice, health care, and early childhood education.2 1200 18th Street NW • Suite 200 • Washington, DC 20036 • p (202) 906.8000 • f (202) 842.2885 • www.clasp.org 2 P. 2 Because of this high level of interest, many This return on investment is funded from the savings policymakers, practitioners, funders and advocates produced in the population receiving the preventative may need to respond to the question of whether a or early intervention services by comparison to a SIB would be a good way to expand funding for a defined population that has not. If the outcome particular intervention or population in a given state targets are not achieved, the government does not or community. This paper provides background pay.”3 information and a framework to help answer this question. It is based on CLASP’s review of the This definition helps identify several characteristics literature on SIBs, as well as on our extensive of the prototypical SIB that distinguish it from other knowledge of the literature and experience with 100% performance-based contracts: performance measurement systems, performance- based contracting, and strategies to link public policy Private investment: Under a SIB the up- and implementation with research evidence for front funding to support the services is programs serving low-income and other provided by non-governmental private disadvantaged populations. investors, who will be repaid, with a bonus (or return on their investment), if the desired What is a Social Impact Bond? outcomes are achieved and who bear the risk of losing their investment if these outcomes A “Social Impact Bond” or SIB is a new way to are not achieved. Under other entirely finance the expansion of prevention-focused social performance-based contracts, the service services that are expected to save government money providers themselves must cover the up-front in the future. There is not a single agreed-upon costs of the intervention and bear the risk of definition for a SIB, but certain elements are non-performance.4 The investors in a SIB common across most of the descriptions that are in could be profit-motivated entities, use, as well as in the initial efforts to implement philanthropic organizations, or a mixture, but SIBs. many of those promoting SIBs have emphasized the potential to bring in new Elements of the Prototypical SIB funding from profit-motivated investors. One of the most comprehensive definitions of a SIB Focus on prevention or early intervention: is offered by the Nonprofit Finance Fund (NFF) on Because SIBs are funded by investors with its Pay for Success Learning Hub. NFF states “in long-term horizons for receiving repayment, this SIB’s model, an intermediary organization they are able to support on a pay-for- (sometimes described as a Social Impact Bond- performance basis, preventive activities that Issuing Organization or SIBIO) raises capital from will not achieve the desired outcomes for private investors to fund multi-year delivery of several years. As the service provider does preventative or early intervention social service not have to float the up-front costs, the period programs traditionally funded by government before outcomes are measured can be longer agencies on an annual basis. If social service than is generally possible with a providers are successful in achieving contractually performance-based contract. For example, agreed targets for performance and achievement several current SIBs are looking at recidivism outcome metrics, the government pays the investors, rates by ex-offenders over a multi-year through the SIBIO, a return on their investment. follow-up period. By contrast, under existing Social Impact Bonds: Overview and Considerations P. 3 Figure 1: Source: Laura Callanan, Jonathan Law, Lenny Mendonca, From Potential to Action: Bringing Social Impact Bonds to the US, McKinsey & Company, May 2012, http://mckinseyonsociety.com/downloads/reports/Social-Innovation/McKinsey_Social_Impact_Bonds_Report.pdf. Reprinted with permission. 1200 18th Street NW • Suite 200 • Washington, DC 20036 • p (202) 906.8000 • f (202) 842.2885 • www.clasp.org 4 P. 4 performance-based contracts, workforce the outcomes without the investment might programs typically make performance have been. For example, welfare-to-work payments at the point of job placement and providers are typically paid based on each after 3 or 6 months of job retention; longer participant who enters work, even though term outcomes are rarely tracked. some of these participants presumably would have found jobs on their own if they had not Multi-year service delivery: In spite of the received any services. Even though the focus on prevention, there are still limits to distinction between outcomes and impacts is how long investors will wait for repayment. well known in the evaluation literature7, the An analysis by McKinsey & Company of the cost of formal evaluations and the need to market for SIBs suggests that the longest provide quick feedback for both payment and period a SIB could reasonably run before program management purposes has typically payments began is 4-6 years, with 2-3 years prevented programs from using impacts as of service delivery and 2-3 years of follow- performance measures. up, which represents a balance between the desire to capture the effects of programs over Cashable savings: In NFF’s prototypical time and the need to begin repayments to SIB, the government undertaking the contract investors in a timely manner.5 If the initial will not have to increase expenditures when results are promising, investors may be the performance payments come due, because willing to support additional years of the governmental savings that have accrued services. Even 2-3 years of consistent as a result of the program’s performance will funding would be an improvement for many exceed the amount owed to the investors. service providers, who are currently subject This is only true if the savings are “cashable,” to year-to-year fluctuations in funding. meaning that expenditures actually decrease, However, whether a SIB would provide more and the agency that must make the payments certainty to the service providers than can access these savings.8 This may not be standard contracting depends on the specifics possible even for a highly cost-effective of the arrangement between the intermediary program if the savings are dispersed among and the service providers.6 different agencies or different levels of government or if the savings would take a Impact measurement: NFF’s definition longer period to accrue than investors are explicitly states that performance will be willing to wait. Other organizations have measured based on a comparison between the suggested that SIBs may be an appropriate outcomes of participants and those of a tool even if the cashable savings do not cover comparison group that has not received the the performance payments, or for funding services. This implies that SIBs should only programs that are beneficial to society but do pay for impacts, or the effects of the program not result in net governmental savings.9 This on participant outcomes, compared to what issue is discussed in more detail later. would have happened in the absence of the services. In other performance-based Intermediary: In the prototypical example contracts, payments have almost always been of a SIB, the government’s pay-for- made based solely on the outcomes achieved performance contract is not directly with the by the participants without regard to whether organization(s) that provide the services- but Social Impact Bonds: Overview and Considerations P.
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