Stockholm (NordSIP) – On 27 July, the first ever social impact bond which targeted the re-offending prisoners in Peterborough, UK, was declared a success by Social Finance and One Service, the two main organisations behind the initiative.
The Peterborough Social Impact Bond was launched in 2010 for a total of £5 million to fund the One Service, designed to help prisoners break the cycle of reoffending. The trusts and foundations (17 organisations in total) which funded the bond will now receive their capital back plus a return of over 3% per annum, as the initiative exceeded its target. An independent evaluation was conducted and measured that the reoffending of short-sentenced offenders was reduced by 9% compared to a national control group, exceeding the target of 7.5% set by the Ministry of Justice.
This “proof of concept” is an important milestone for the concept of social impact bonds. Since 2010, over £300 million have been raised in 19 countries through 89 different social impact bonds, targeting social issues such as refugee employment support, loneliness among the elderly, rehousing and reskilling homeless youth, and diabetes prevention.
Picture (c) Montri-Nipitvittaya—shutterstock.com
