Abstract

While many commentators recognize the potential for Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) to encourage innovation, empirical evidence is less clear cut. We argue that for SIBs to realize their full potential as incubators of innovation they needed to incorporate a stronger element of co-creation and strengths-based working, and suggest some accompanying characteristics of such SIBs. We analyze four UK SIBs as case studies that exhibit these characteristics. We find that within the cases strengths-based service delivery models were successfully implemented through SIBs; alongside this we found extensive evidence of co-production but limited evidence of co-creation. Strengths-based working, including co-production, helped the SIBs to catalyze early stage innovation. We identify several elements of SIB design which were instrumental in supporting strengths-based practices and could also support co-creation: greater autonomy for service providers; shifting risk to investors; use of a rate card; and long-term, flexible funding. Our findings challenge those who are skeptical about the potential for SIBs to provide a setting in which people who use services and frontline service providers are empowered to re-engineer public services and contest current systems.

摘要

尽管许多评论家认识到社会影响力债券（SIB）在鼓励创新方面的潜力，但经验证据并不那么明确。我们认为，系统重要性银行要充分发挥其作为创新孵化器的潜力，需要融入更强大的共同创造和基于优势的工作元素，并提出了此类系统重要性银行的一些伴随特征。我们分析了四个英国系统重要性银行作为展现这些特征的案例研究。我们发现，在这些案例中，基于优势的服务交付模式已通过 SIB 成功实施；除此之外，我们还发现了大量共同制作的证据，但共同创造的证据却有限。基于优势的工作，包括联合制作，帮助 SIB 促进早期创新。我们确定了 SIB 设计的几个要素，这些要素有助于支持基于优势的实践，也可以支持共同创造：服务提供商拥有更大的自主权；将风险转移给投资者；使用价目表；以及长期、灵活的资金。我们的研究结果对那些对系统重要性银行的潜力持怀疑态度的人提出了挑战，这些机构可以提供一种环境，使服务使用者和一线服务提供商有权重新设计公共服务并对当前系统提出质疑。