Blog
RCTs as an ethical evaluation choice in pay for success
In a randomized controlled trial (RCT), eligible people are randomly assigned to either the treatment or control group. While the treatment group receives program services, the control group will receive status quo services or none at all. In theory, proper randomization creates similar treatment and control groups. Assuming that the evaluation is properly designed and implemented, any significant difference in outcomes between the groups is taken to be caused by program services.
Blog
Q&A: Using PFS to finance community care teams in Connecticut
The Connecticut Health and Educational Facilities Authority (CHEFA) is a quasi-public agency—and a PFS-AD training and technical assistance awardee—that issues tax-exempt bonds to finance projects throughout the state for eligible not-for-profits, primarily education and health care institutions.
Blog
Data considerations for PFS projects
Data review, collection, and analysis are the backbone of all pay for success (PFS) projects—or social impact bonds (SIB), as they’re termed elsewhere. Our experiences working with jurisdictions developing PFS projects have yielded the following data-focused recommendations. Data can help PFS partners use evidence to select programs on the front end, and through evaluation, generate evidence on the back end.
Blog
Budget bill pushes through groundbreaking evidence-based provisions
In a culmination of growing interest in social impact investing at the federal level, last week President Trump signed into law the Bipartisan Budget Bill of 2018 that includes a $100 million fund to support pay for success (PFS) projects based on state and local need.
Blog
Three ways that impact investing can help end homelessness
Of all the challenges facing social services in the US, homelessness can feel particularly intractable: its drivers vary so much from person to person that a solution feels out of reach. Meanwhile, the continued visibility of people experiencing homelessness across the US may make the national goal of ending homelessness seem unattainable.