Too complex and prone to manipulation? Or a brilliant way to tackle thorny social issues? Opinions on social impact bonds remain divided. The UK's Government Outcomes Lab has spent six years studying the evidence...
New research on value of UK impact bonds, estimating ten-fold return for government, delights Boris Johnson. But some say it's not clear if financing structure itself is what’s creating the value – nor how many proposed contracts are in the ‘graveyard’.
There is growing wealth in Asia which could tackle head-on the world’s deepest problems. As the G20 comes to Indonesia then India, Asian leaders are seizing the moment to highlight their ideas for how to boost investments for positive change.
How to incentivise social entrepreneurs to make even more impact? How to protect impact businesses against mission drift? Impact-linked finance, the youngest kid in the impact investing family, offers some solutions.
PLUS: Scotland’s £30m Third Sector Growth Fund; Ford Foundation seeds Black Feminist Fund with £15m; Big Issue Invest backs Sport England; Neighbourly raises £3m; National Academy for Social Prescribing funds 37 projects; and more.
PLUS: A first crowdfunded impact bond Israel and a new ‘career impact bond’ for American students; MacArthur Foundation’s catalytic capital investment; new climate fund from Aberdeen Standard and Big Issue Group, and more.
SOCAP Virtual: How a new type of ‘pay-for-success’ deal is giving job-seekers the skills to fill vacant positions – and proving an attractive proposition for impact investors and training providers alike.
Public sector organisations are keen to support social investment – and in many cases are already playing a wider role than commonly perceived. But misunderstandings and internal blockages can still create headaches.
“Unprecedented times call for extraordinary solutions,” says US grantmaking giant, announcing $1bn social bond sale to fund a massive, anti Covid-19 grantmaking programme.
