This month's policy briefing includes the latest on outsourcing, as well as many opinion pieces on innovation and collaboration in government. We also share many resources from the GO Lab, such as a resource on contract formation and an introduction to development impact bonds. Sign up to receive weekly policy briefings every Monday on Tiny Letter
Job opportunities Economist roles at the GO Lab - We're seeking an economist and an economic advisor to join our team. If you're interested in contributing to the way that public managers work, as well as working alongside with academics and practitioners to improve public services, this might be right for you. Apply before 12 noon on 10th December. GO Lab
Conference Save the date: Social Outcomes Conference 2019– on 5-6th September 2019 the GO Lab and our partners will be hosting the fourth edition of the international conference on outcome based commissioning and social impact bonds. Read our reflection on this year’s conference, ‘a new way to navigate social impact bonds’ and stay tuned for more information. GO Lab
Resource Overcoming barriers in SIB contracts - We've published a new short guide on contract formation. This highlights the one major barrier and five potential hurdles that can prevent SIB contracts from forming. It seeks to support those developing SIB contracts. GO Lab
Resource An Introduction to development impact bonds (DIBs)– With more development impact bonds emerging we have written up an introductory guide covering the structure of a SIB, how they have developed over time and a look at Educate Girls in India and Ashanika Impact Bond in Peru. GO Lab
Blog Government outsourcing is failing, here’s how to get it back on track – We’ve published a piece on Apolitical. With outsourcing in the news on a daily basis, we argue that we need to move the conversation away from whether we should outsource or not, and start asking more useful questions. Apolitical
Blog Has social prescribing come of age? - Following the Kings Fund conference on social prescribing earlier this month, Lorcan Clarke and Tanyah Hameed share three key learnings, and consider whether social prescribing has really come of age. GO Lab
Blog How can government achieve better outcomes? We have gathered three take way points from our session at the Challenges of Government conference last Thursday. Mara Arioldi, Director of the GO Lab hosted the session and was joined by Caroline Mason, CEO of Esmee Fairbairn and Amel Karboul, CEO of the Education Outcomes Fund for Africa and the Middle East. A lively audience and many different opinions made for a really interesting discussion. GO Lab
Guest blog - Where next for SIBs? Lessons from the main investors – Last month ATQ and Ecorys hosted a breakfast briefing for the main investors in SIBs to date. They discussed the current and future landscape of SIBs, in particular covering the points of scale, replication and transparency. GO Lab
Webinar recording How can we prove our SIB made an impact? This webinar is on 13th November at 10-11.30am and will explore the ways you can measure the impact of your SIB or outcomes based project. It will look at the difference between measuring outcomes and measuring impact, different evaluation approaches to suit your project, as well as top tips from experts. GO Lab
Think Tank Report Reform outsourcing to avoid £30bn bill, think tank warns –The Ethical Commercialism report has been published by Localis and warns that councils would pick up the bill in the event of a collapse of outsourced contracts. It states that private firms must reform their behaviour to stave off such a disaster. LocalGov
National news The fragile state of outsourcing – It has been a worrying few weeks for some of the main outsourcing companies. This article from Local Gov highlights why this is the case. For more information on the specific challenges the companies face you can see the links below:
Government speech New ‘social value’ contracts to revolutionise government procurement– Cabinet Office Minister David Lidington has announced new measures to deliver better public services and use contracts as a ‘force for good’. This includes drawing up plans in the event of supplier failures, as well as piloting new complex outsourcing projects with suppliers before deciding to use the private sector. Gov.uk
Commentary on speech Cabinet Office lacked ‘key information’ after Carillion collapse, says Lidington- Outsourcing firms Capita, Serco and Sopra Steria to produce first three living wills for outsourced services within weeks, says Cabinet Office minister. Civil Service World
Opinion - Social value to gain stronger foothold in government procurement– Securing lucrative government contracts could become easier for social enterprises from next year, with new requirement for commissioning staff to factor in social value when awarding contracts – and new tools to help them do so. Pioneer Post
SIBs Social impact bonds: a tool for reforming public services? – Can social impact bonds help us reform public services? And if they work, can we scale the benefits more widely? Catherine Erksine and Neil Stanworth, evaluators of two new SIBs in London (and Neil is a GO Lab fellow of practice), share their thoughts. Pioneers Post
DIBs The Great DIB-ate: Measurement for development impact bonds – Billions of dollars are already flowing into development impact bonds (DIBs) as a mechanism for solving social challenges around the world. This article argues that now is the time to make sure these complex structures are grounded in sensible approaches to measuring impact. Stanford Social Innovation Review
Pay for success Social innovation in Hong Kong – An article that looks at a pay for success programme that began in Hong Kong in 2017 to finance a health guidance programme. It is estimated that this programme would potentially save the government up to 170 million yen in the long run. The Standard
Impact investing Lack of clear targets hinders impact investing in education – As part of the series on impact investing, the Financial Times have published a piece about the confused nature of where and how to invest funds in education. Financial Times
Impact report The EVPA survey 2017/2018– This report is the result of the analysis of data collected from 110 venture philanthropy and social investment organisations across Europe. It has five key findings and a useful infographic describing them on this page.
Policy transformation A nervous system for the public sector: the case for an Evaluator General - An opinion piece that makes the case for building evidence about what is or isn’t working as this could transform policy. A reflection on Australia’s Labor party pledge to transform policymaking. Apolitical
Evidence based policy How to bridge the academic-policymaker divide - An opinion article looking at the need for ‘knowledge broker’ between academic evidence and policy making to improve evidence informed policymaking. Apolitical
Government report Three barriers that hold back government innovation - A new report entitled ‘Getting the work done: what government innovation really looks like’ has been published by public policy think tank, New America. The barriers are siloed budgets, different language, and a lack of professional development opportunities. Whilst it is focused on the US, it highlights similar challenges found in the UK. Apolitical
Case study Why and how does collaboration drive innovation in the public sector – This piece highlights five reasons why collaboration drives public innovation and offers the Inclusive Economy Partnership as a case study. Apolitical
Opinion -The power of partnership: how the UK is building a more inclusive economy– Shevaun Haviland, Deputy Director of Business Partnerships at the Cabinet Office shares her thoughts about how creating partnerships between business and government can help deliver policy innovation and tackle some of the nation’s toughest challenges. Apolitical
Setting up a mutual Wearing two hats well: managing your relationships with your host organisations as you spin out – Tom Jefford, CEO of Family Psychology Mutual CIC and GO Lab Fellow of Practice has written a blog piece sharing the tricky experience of setting up a public service mutual. As an employee of Cambridgeshire County Council he was duty bound to them, but as the mutual’s future CEO, he needed to consider how to optimise commercial relationships. An interesting read… Go Mutual