Roundtable:
The Future of Social Impact Bonds/Pay for Success: A Cross-National Conversation on Emerging Models, Challenges and Prospects
(Relationship Between Public and Private Financial Institutions)
*Names in bold indicate Presenter
Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) or Pay for Success (PFS) initiatives are a novel strategy for financing public-private partnerships (PPPs) and programs that address difficult social problems. SIBs/PFS arrangements are typically distinguished by: (1) their focus on preventative-oriented programs that are expected to have long-term payoffs; (2) performance-based contractual mechanisms for financing that pay only for specified program outcomes when attained; and (3) a configuration of partners that include the government, private sector investor(s), an intermediary that manages the arrangement, an independent evaluator, and the program implementer(s). The first official SIB pilot was initiated in the United Kingdom (UK) in 2010, but most SIBs/PFS efforts are still in early, feasibility stages of development. In 2016, he UK government announced a £80m outcome fund, and in 2018, the U.S. Congress passed legislation that provides $100 million in federal funding to support PFS partnerships, feasibility studies, and project evaluations. With a relatively small number of fully launched SIB/PFS projects and even fewer that have progressed to the point where outcomes are assessed, it is a critical time for a cross-national conversation not only about what is working among SIBs/PFS, but also what variants or alternative forms of PPPs and financial arrangements are emerging that might achieve greater success. This roundtable will bring together participants from four different countries to discuss SIB/PFS arrangements and variants on the prototypical model that are emerging in the field, as well as challenges and prospects for their effective implementation.
