 Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) are a powerful new tool to align the interests of social organisations, governments and investors around proven social impact. While this form of funding is still in its early stage, there are some principles that are emerging. It is clear that a SIB will not be appropriate for all social programs - the need for robust proof of impact attributed to the intervention, and the involvement of investors and multiple government departments makes SIBs complicated instruments. We encourage social organisations to think about the future of outcomes-based funding for programs. With new SIB funding rounds opening up, social organisations are asking - do I have the right kind of program and support to be successful in applying for a SIB? There are several key dimensions to consider before beginning your application for a SIB. > A visionWhat is it that you are trying to achieve and for whom? A SIB is a long, challenging process, so your senior management need to have a clear and unified vision of why you want to proceed. While this will help sustain you when the complexity is greatest it will also help you convince Government that your organisation – your intervention – is ready to be taken through this process. > A clearly defined problemSIBs allow you to create, fund, measure and adapt an existing or new service response to a specific health or social need and for a specific cohort of people. The organisation needs to be very clear about the target cohort for the program. Develop a view on why, where and how the existing sets of services are inadequate. Demonstrate (ideally with existing evidence) how your proposal will solve the problem. Ideally, you have an existing intervention that you wish to ‘scale’ through a SIB, although this is not essential.
Latitude Network was the advisor to Sacred Heart Mission in the negotiation for Victoria's first social impact bond announced in December 2017. The article below first appeared in Pro Bono News.  Sacred Heart Mission (SHM) will deliver the state’s first SIB with the Victorian government, expanding the welfare not for profit’s successful Journey To Social Inclusion Program (J2SI).The Victorian government allocated $1.2 million for a targeted program in March to end long-term homelessness following a pilot of J2SI, agreeing to contribute a third of the overall $3.69 million cost of the three year program.
A SIB is a partnership with government, the social services sector and investors to create positive change for communities and individuals and has been used worldwide to address complex social issues. SHM said unlike traditional SIB capital raising, a portion of the funds would be sought from philanthropy. SHM general manager of business, Catherine Harris told Pro Bono News that the SIB was “departing from the standard capital raising process”. |
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