Thanks for this Andrew.
Indeed, Ontario has gone ahead and is pilot testing some SIBs. See here:
http://www.ontario.ca/page/social-impact-bonds
This is such an insidious form of privatization. My hunch is we are
likely to see it in NS as our government seems hellbent to cut funding
to nonprofits, it will open the door for this solution, which fits right
in with its other privatization efforts.
I also like David Macdonald's analysis here:
https://albertaviews.ab.ca/2013/11/27/social-impact-bonds/
Ah accounting firms across the country salivate as more business
opportunities open up.
Christine
On 2015-09-17 4:30 PM, Andrew McNeill wrote:
Social Impact Bonds are a new form of privatization whose use is growing. Last year the first Social Impact Bond project in Canada started operating in Saskatoon. The federal Conservatives and provincial governments in both BC and Ontario are looking at using them.
A report released this week from Dexter Whitfield with the Australian Workplace Innovation and Social Research Centre at the University of Adelaide and European Services Strategy Unit provides a detailed look at Social Impact Bonds and how they are being used, particularly as a way to privatize social services.
The report is available at http://www.european-services-strategy.org.uk/publications/essu-research-reports/alternative-to-private-finance-of-the-welfare/alternative-to-private-finance-of-the-welfare-state.pdf.
There’s a brief article on the report at http://nupge.ca/content/12502/new-study-social-impact-bond-details-flaws. NUPGE’s report on Social Impact Bonds provides an overview of how they work and the problems with them and is available at http://nupge.ca/publications/privatization-stealth-truth-about-social-impact-bonds.
Andrew McNeill
NUPGE
