Unlocking Public Sector Innovation

Almost three years ago, Cuyahoga County embarked on an innovative approach to improve outcomes for homeless families with children in foster care. Utilizing an integrated data system developed by Case Western Reserve University, the County was able to identify a significant overlap between children’s length of time in foster care and their families’ lack of housing homeless families and extended stays in foster care. Their solution? Partner with Third Sector to develop a new $5M outcomes-oriented contract with Frontline Services with the goal of keeping families together and reducing days in

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

Since its authorization as a federal program, the Social Innovation Fund (SIF) has been aimed at finding and growing the most promising solutions to our nation’s most pressing challenges. The original model of the SIF, known as SIF Classic, is focused on directing federal resources (matched 1:1 by non-federal and private dollars) to support community-based organizations and solutions that

Data and evaluation play a critical role in our work at Third Sector, enabling rigorous outcomes-oriented contracting. More broadly throughout the social sector, well-designed approaches can inform the implementation of policy and programs. The National Association of Welfare Research Statistics (NAWRS) 2017 Workshop highlighted communities across the country where innovative data sharing practices and evaluation methodologies are directly shaping human services and workforce programming.

Integrated data systems to understand cross-system risk factors: Allegheny County is a leader in the development and use of integrated data systems. The Allegheny County Department of

The following post originally appeared on America Forward’s Blog as a guest post. 

Less than 10 years ago, the phrase Pay for Success was virtually unknown in most circles—particularly government circles. Though a seemingly simple concept, an approach to contracting for services where payments from governments (or other end-payers interested in supporting the achievement of measurable outcomes related to public programs) are linked to positive outcomes that have been measured and evaluated—Pay for Success is being tested, applied, and replicated at a rapid pace.

Contributing to the interest and uptake of Pay

Thanks to innovations in outcomes-focused contracting “because that’s the way we’ve always done it” is no longer an acceptable reason to continue to operate social programs the same way every year hoping for better results. By linking payments to measurable social outcomes, Pay for Success (PFS) contracting has made data and results integral aspects of any social service. Through multi-year randomized control trials (RCTs), which test the outcomes of a PFS project, social service providers and government funders can finally quantify the impact that their programs are making in the

A few weeks ago, the World Bank launched the Pandemic Emergency Financing Facility” (PEF).[1] It is an exciting example of social financing supporting outcomes at scale. Here’s how it works. It has raised $425m via bonds and swaps. If no pandemic occurs, investors will be repaid their principal in full, plus a return. If a pandemic occurs, then investor principal will be instead used to quickly respond to the crisis. In short, the PEF functions as a kind of insurance that kicks in in the event of a bad outcome.

Third