End of Year Review: 2017

Throughout 2017, Third Sector and its partners have delivered improved outcomes for vulnerable Americans while accelerating the nation’s transition to a performance-driven social sector. With over $1 trillion in public funding dedicated to social issues each year, our work provides catalytic implementation support that enables communities to effectively address problems such as lack of meaningful jobs, recidivism, and overuse of foster care. See below for highlights on how Third Sector moved over $260M in total public funding to outcomes in 2017 and is leading the effort to implement solutions so

The Pay For Success (PFS) field is evolving from initial Social Impact Bond-style projects launched by governments and supported by third-party (i.e., non-government) funding to agency and multi-agency engagements that shift the practice of how existing public funding streams are deployed for specific social programs. Across these projects, traditional cost reimbursement service contracts are being amended or replaced with outcomes-oriented contracts.

Last month, Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP), Third Sector’s data integration partner, convened government leaders from around the country to explore ways to embed administrative data into government programming and decision-making.

The three-day seminar marked the first in a series of Learning Community meetings over the next two years, during which ten jurisdictions will be building out and improving upon Integrated Data Systems (IDS), that embed ongoing administrative data sharing and evaluation across multiple government agencies.

This post originally appeared on the America Forward blog and is authored by Nicole Truhe, Government Affairs Director, America Forward. Third Sector Capital Partners is a proud member of the America Forward coalition.

Last year, a federal commission began studying how data that the government already collect can be used to improve government programs and policies. The Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking was the creation of Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), who are long-time champions of data and the use of evidence to drive federal policymaking. After over a year

On October 3, Los Angeles County announced the launch of the County’s first Pay for Success (PFS) project: “The Just-in-Reach Supportive Housing Program.” Unlocking a new type of outcomes-contracting in the largest county in the nation was no small feat, and was made possible only through committed leadership and coordination at the LA County Board of Supervisors, CEO’s Office, multiple County agencies and service providers, and California-focused philanthropic partners.

As PFS advisor to the LA County’s CEO’s office since 2012, Third Sector has supported the development of the County’s first PFS

The primary goals of the Final Report of the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking are laudable: to “[improve] both the privacy protections afforded to the American public and the availability of rigorous evidence to inform policymaking.” Government has wrestled with these issue areas for decades, and while significant challenges remain, the recommendations of the Commission provide a unique bipartisan opportunity for government to dramatically improve the way it delivers services to focus on data and program impact.

One of the important questions following the submission of the Commission’s final report is how