Organisations: The Government Outcomes Lab, European Investment Bank
The Children’s Welfare Social Impact Bond (SIB), also known in Finnish as Lapset-SIB, aims to improve the wellbeing of children, young people and families in five municipalities in Finland. Children’s social services in Finland are multifaceted in principle, but primarily remedial in practice. The Children’s Welfare SIB, therefore, focuses on preventative approaches to child and family welfare. As a result, it promises to both reduce harm to children and reduce the cost of expensive remedial services, allowing municipalities to pay only if specified outcomes are achieved and the burden on existing services is reduced.
This case study begins by introducing the rationale for the SIB approach in this case and outlining the key features and target outcomes of the SIB, including how they vary between different municipalities. Next, it explores the structure of the SIB – this includes the development process, resources pledged from both public and private stakeholders, the organisational framework and specifics of the contractual relationships between parties. It then briefly discusses some of the results so far, as well as how the future impact of the project will be evaluated.
Finally, the case study highlights some of the key insights from the Children’s Welfare SIB, including the important role of a centre of expertise, the use of a single SIB contract covering multiple sub-projects to reduce complexity, and the potential for the approach to be replicated.