Date 19 Mar 2019
Time 10 a.m. - 11:30 a.m.
Public contracting for social impact bonds (SIBs) is different to other agreements such as fee-for-service or grants. Unlike a standard services contract, which specifies in detail how services are to be provided, an outcomes-based contract will typically set out the outcomes to be achieved by the provider and the framework for when payments will be made. The contracting authority in a SIB is not only procuring a social intervention or treatment - the contract is also a plan to make some or all payments after and only if specified outcomes are achieved. This has serious implications for preliminary market consultations, the procurement procedure, and especially the contract terms. The UK government provides a SIB Template Contract with some terms that may be inconsistent with local authorities’ standard terms for specific reasons. Contracting authorities must act consistent with the Public Contracts Regulations and should take advantage of the flexibility these regulations provide in social services procurements.
At what point in the SIB development process should commissioners involve their legal and procurement teams?What should the contracting authority get out of preliminary market consultations? How can standard terms be effectively reconciled with an outcomes-based payment schedule? How should the contract ensure the contracting authority knows whether the outcomes have been achieved? Why are referral rates so important? Why are contract terms about changes and early termination so important? What publication and transparency notices are required and/or are most helpful? These are some of the issues that we will address in this session.
This webinar will build on the Short Guide on Contract Formation and will be useful to those involved in commissioning a SIB who are seeking to improve their understanding of the practical considerations required when developing a SIB contract, in particular legal and procurement professionals.
As well as taking questions from the audience, the webinar will explore these three core questions:
Ruairi MacDonald is a Research Associate at the GO Lab and the author of GO Lab's guide on contract formation for SIBs. Qualified as an attorney in New York State, Ruairi is pursuing a Ph.D. in Public Policy and Public Administration at the George Washington University in Washington, DC. He has a Master's degree in Government Procurement Law (LL.M.) from the George Washington University and a Bachelor's degree in Law from Queen's University Belfast.
Mark Roddan is the Joint Head of Procurement for North Somerset and South Gloucestershire Councils, and has held this post since 2015. Mark was part of the North Somerset Council team that procured a service to work with children on the edge of care, known as Turning the Tide, using a Social Impact Bond arrangement. Prior to his current role, Mark worked in a number of different procurement roles over 23 years for the Environment Agency and the National Rivers Authority.
Daniella Jammes is a finance law solicitor at Freshfields Brukhaus Deringer LLP, with extensive experience structuring and documenting Social Impact Bonds.
Paul Riley is a Fellow of Practice at the GO Lab. He has over 15 years’ experience in children and adult social care and health, and over 30 years’ worth of expertise across a range of sectors in developing and implementing redesigned value chains to improve outcomes, manage commercial risks, and reduce costs. Paul provides advisory support on alliance development, outcomes-based contracting and social impact bond (SIB) commissioning, tendering and performance management.
Registration for this session is now closed.