Go Lab: December Newsletter

The GO Lab is very excited to release the third edition of our newsletter. Included you will find information on our new website, upcoming events, our new Deputy Director and much more.

News

Launch of GO Lab Website

The GO Lab’s new website provides a single source of independent evidence and advice on outcome based commissioning and social impact bonds. Some of the new features include:

• a step by step commissioners’ journey for those seeking to understand the main activities and considerations required to develop a social impact bond
• a carefully curated library of the latest and most helpful publications in the field
• a projects database which includes information on all the SIB projects launched in the UK to date
• technical guides for commissioners exploring or involved in the development of social impact bonds and outcome based commissioning more broadly.

We have designed the new website with a specific focus on public sector commissioners, but we hope it will serve as a comprehensive source of information to all those interested in outcome based commissioning.

We warmly welcome any comments and suggestions regarding the new website. Please email your feedback to golab@bsg.ox.ac.uk.

New Deputy Director & Head of Commissioning Support

We are delighted to announce the appointment of Nigel Ball as Deputy Director and Head of Commissioning Support for the GO Lab.

Nigel will lead the work of engaging government commissioners and other practitioners in the research and best practice generated by the GO Lab team. Prior to joining the GO Lab, Nigel was part of the founding team of West London Zone for Children and Young People, where he set up a ‘Collective Impact Bond’, which leveraged £3m in public and private sources of funding to be paid when the children supported achieve positive results. Nigel’s previous roles include being the Head of Innovation at Teach First, the leading education charity, and supporting social entrepreneurship in East Africa.

Read more about Nigel’s vision as the incoming Deputy Director and Head of Commissioning Support of the GO Lab here.

Nigel Ball
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“Given the current economic circumstances and growing pressure on public services, there needs to be much more innovation, collaboration and prevention in the delivery of public services, particularly around the toughest social issues.”
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Upcoming Events

Social Impact Bonds: from Myth to Reality

East of England Regional Event

25 January 2018, Cambridge

This event, organised by the GO Lab in partnership with the East of England LGA, Norfolk County Council and Suffolk County Council, seeks to separate myth from reality and explain how commissioners in county councils, unitary authorities, clinical commissioning groups and police and crime commissioners in the East of England might benefit from this approach to commissioning and service delivery, and mitigate some of the risks.

To find out more about the programme and register your interest, please visit our Eventbrite page.

How Social Investment makes a SIB and SIB (and why Commissioners should care)

31 January 2018, Oxford

This event is for public sector commissioners who are either developing or considering SIB projects, and would like to understand more about social investment and the role that social investors play in a SIB. The event will bring together a range of SIB experts from the worlds of investment, advisory services, and academia, as well as commissioners who have launched SIBs already.

The GO Lab will provide a neutral space for commissioners to ask questions and better understand the significance of social investors in SIB structures. To read more about the event and register your interest, please visit our Eventbrite page.

Resources for Commissioners

Technical Guides

The GO Lab’s How to Guide series provides practical guidance to commissioners developing outcome based commissioning approaches. See our website for guides covering:

• feasibility assessment
• procurement
• setting and measuring outcomes
• contracting and governance
• evaluation

Outcome based commissioning is an emergent area and we know that practice is rapidly evolving. As such, we have designated these guides as ‘beta’ documents and we warmly welcome any comments or corrections. We will regularly review and update our material in response. Please email your feedback to golab@bsg.ox.ac.uk.

Advice Surgeries

The GO Lab team are available on Tuesday mornings to provide advice and support via phone or Skype to commissioners interested in developing outcome based contracts.

To reserve your slot, please visit the booking facility on our website.

Announcements

Life Chances Fund

The first round of funding from the £80 million Life Chances Fund (LCF) has been announced. £16 million will go to ten Social Impact Bond projects aiming to combat drug and alcohol dependence and support children in care. Read more here.

The LCF has also announced new Development Grant awards, which fund specialist technical support including research, work on savings and outcomes, service design and engagement with primarily potential providers and service users. Read the selected project summaries here.

GO Lab Career Opportunities

Policy & Engagement Officer

We are seeking to appoint a Policy and Engagement Officer to support the delivery of the commissioning support work of the GO Lab. We are looking for someone as passionate as we are about transforming the way public sector bodies commission services around complex social needs. By engaging commissioners in the debates around social impact bonds and other outcome based commissioning approaches, the post-holder will play an instrumental role in the GO Lab’s core mission of building a useable knowledge base in this area and inspiring improvements in practice.

To find out more about the role, please visit our website.
The closing date for applications is 12.00 noon on 15 January 2018.

Season’s greetings and Happy New Year from all of us at the GO Lab!