A social impact bond, also called a social benefit bond or pay-for-success bond, is a type of social financing that enables a government agency to pay for programs that hold promise for delivering public sector savings. In a typical scenario, a government agency identifies a problem they want to address and enters into a contractual agreement with an intermediary. The intermediary raises the initial capital and is repaid with savings that result as part of a program's success.
Social Impact BondsThis website contains links to many resources related to social impact bonds. [url; Center for American Progress]
Health Impact Bonds: Will Investors Pay for Intervention?This article describes a health impact bond project in Fresno, CA designed to reduce emergency room visits and hospital stays related to asthma. [url; Environmental Health Perspectives]
A press release describing the project is also available. [pdf; Social Finance, Inc.]
Using Social Impact Financing to Improve Asthma Outcomes [webinar and PowerPoints]
Now available online, this educational webinar discussed efforts underway to use a Social Impact Bond (SIB) financing model to address the range of complex issues that children with asthma face to get their chronic condition under control. [url; Childhood Asthma Leadership Coalition]
Using Social Impact Financing to Improve Asthma Outcomes [issue brief]
Building upon the success of the webinar, the Childhood Asthma Leadership Coalition published a white paper discussing how Social Impact financing models - including Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) and Pay for Success (PFS) contracts - can offer low-income families the non-medical interventions needed to improve the health of asthmatic children. [url; Childhood Asthma Leadership Coalition]
What Is a Social Impact Bond, and Why Does Asthma Present a Good Fit for This Innovative Financing Mechanism? [podcast; Asthma Community Network]
This episode from the Asthma Community Network discusses the Green & Healthy Homes Initiative's experience with social impact financing for asthma and provides suggestions to help other organizations prepare for this type of financing.
A related issue brief is also available [pdf; GHHI]