Social Finance is going to launch three new social impact bonds next year, a director at Big Lottery Fund, which is funding the schemes, announced yesterday.
Speaking at Social Finance’s Social Impact Bond Conference in Bristol, director of strategy, performance and learning Ceri Doyle (pictured) said that among BIG’s longer-term financial aspirations was a £5m investment in the social investment bond marketplace, with “at least three new social impact bonds launched as part of that investment".
A spokesman for Social Finance confirmed to civilsociety.co.uk that the three bonds will launch in autumn 2013, but said that they are all at an early stage and that further details are not yet available.
Doyle also told the the audience of voluntary sector members and finance professionals that the social investment marketplace is a very important mechanism for considering how services are delivered in the future, and outlined two further areas in which BIG are considering developing.
Potentially establishing an outcomes payment fund was one of these. “Could we co-commission or collaborate with commissioners in order to contribute to outcome payments down the line?” Doyle said, further speculating about whether such a move would stimulate the market for social investment, as it might make investors see it as more financially viable.
She also emphasised BIG’s responsibility to the voluntary sector. “Given that 90 per cent of our funding is currently targeted through the sector, we need to recognise our responsibility to that sector, and ask: what can we do to support it and make sure its organisations are investment-ready?”
General social investment observations
In her speech, Doyle insisted that “social investments matter to Big Lottery Fund” and made three general observations.
She said that the costs involved in setting up such endeavours are not cheap, but they promise a lot in terms of new forms of service delivery and new ways of accessing cash. She pointed out that the costs will inevitably fall as more social investment models and actual investments are made, and when best practice is shared.
Her second point was that results must be able to be measured – a common theme at the conference – and the importance of having a system in place where it is clear who is measuring these results and how they will be recorded.
Finally, she stressed the importance of being able to identify and deliver savings from the outset. “If you’re entering into an agreement to set up a social impact bond to deliver your services, you need to ensure where you can deliver saving from the outset.” There are many things to consider, she said, including decommissioning. “What can be decommissioned as a result of delivering service in that way? If you’re commissioning in partnership, can you identify what those savings are? And will the savings required by one local authority be the same as other partners in your consortia?”
Peterborough prison latest
Doyle also gave an update on the Peterborough prison social impact bond, saying that BIG remains very positive about the scheme and that the early findings have been “substantial”.
“The actual payments don’t start until 2014, so I can’t hand-on-heart stand here and tell you that we have the evidence that it works,” she said. “But we do have lots of evidence that it’s going in the right direction.”
