The Mental Health and Employment Partnership: The final evaluation of the Life Chances Fund outcomes partnerships

This is the third and final report of a five-year research study investigating the effectiveness of social outcomes partnerships (SOPs) as a commissioning tool to improve social outcomes for citizens. The report asks two primary questions: whether the Mental Health and Employment Partnership (MHEP) SOP made a difference to the social outcomes achieved, compared with alternative commissioning approaches, and through which mechanisms it contributed to improved services and positive social outcomes.

This inquiry is framed through four questions in the report:

• Were the MHEP SOPs effective in achieving their outcomes targets and how does their effectiveness compare with that of traditionally commissioned IPS contracts?
• Did the SOP have higher costs than expected and if so, why?
• Was the SOPs’ outcomes achievement (the SOP effect) related to the intensity of the performance management or performance incentive?
• How were different actors incentivised for performance?

About the Life Chances Fund (LCF)

The LCF was a £70 million programme funded by the Department for Culture, Media and Sport (DCMS). It ran between 2016-2025 and is the largest outcomes fund launched to date in the UK. The LCF was designed to tackle complex social problems across policy areas including child and family welfare, homelessness, health and wellbeing, employment and training, and more.

The LCF was delivered through 29 locally-commissioned social outcomes partnerships (SOPs – also known as social impact bonds). The Mental Health and Employment Partnership (MHEP) SOPs made up five of these 29 SOPs and were delivered across London boroughs and North England. MHEP supported the delivery of an intervention known as ‘Individual Placement and Support’ (IPS) to help people experiencing mental health issues or learning disabilities to find and remain in competitive, paid work.