The SIB model is a long game, which should have its own logic of change and monitoring of intermediate results.
IMPROVING EFFICIENCY
The mechanism of social impact bonds initiated by VEB.RF was included in the Concept for Improving the Efficiency of Budget Expenditures in 2019–2024. Resources, including financial resources spent on social problems, must improve the quality of life of citizens.
According to Tatyana Burmistrova, there is a growing consensus in the society that the focus of paying for public services should shift from ensuring the fulfillment of formal quantitative results to achieving social effects.
Right now, most social services are provided by the state with little regard for how effective these programs and services are in achieving positive outcomes for the demographics served. Existing contracts with state or private providers of social services are paid based on a measurement of quantitative results achieved. The SIB model is in fact the key to effectiveness, as long as the social effect is not replaced by quantitative results. For example, the number of social contracts concluded (the expected result of one of the social impact projects in the Russian Federation) cannot in itself be a metric of the fact that signatories will get out of a difficult life situation by spending money to start their own business or learn a new profession.
"These kinds of errors occur as early as the design level of the project, and can only be avoided through a more thorough, sometimes longer design phase, involving all stakeholders, including beneficiaries. The design should be preceded by the data collection stage, the involvement of professionals in the field of evaluation and theory of change at the stage of project development", says Tatiana Burmistrova.
THE THEORY OF CHANGE APPROACH
The SIB model inevitably involves building a theory of change for the projects launched. Otherwise, it simply will not work or will be ineffective.
"That’s the key difference between social impact projects, that the model provides for a transparent measurement of social results and an evaluation system", Burmistrova says.
Many governments spend major resources each year on anti-crisis population support measures, which mainly involves direct social payments. Such measures help a large number of people, but achieve little progress in solving social problems.