The social services sector is transitioning from a focus on ‘outputs’ measuring activity levels towards ‘outcomes’ measuring life impacts. Third Sector advises public agencies seeking to use the tools at their disposal, such as procurement, policy, and data, to better align with long-term success for their communities. While we want success to be defined in terms of outcomes and encourage this evolution of the field, we still see value in assessing outputs for several reasons. 1. Process outputs provide motivation to achieve broader goals Setting and achieving intermittent process metrics …

Throughout 2017, Third Sector and its partners have delivered improved outcomes for vulnerable Americans while accelerating the nation’s transition to a performance-driven social sector. With over $1 trillion in public funding dedicated to social issues each year, our work provides catalytic implementation support that enables communities to effectively address problems such as lack of meaningful jobs, recidivism, and overuse of foster care. See below for highlights on how Third Sector moved over $260M in total public funding to outcomes in 2017 and is leading the effort to implement solutions so …

The Pay For Success (PFS) field is evolving from initial Social Impact Bond-style projects launched by governments and supported by third-party (i.e., non-government) funding to agency and multi-agency engagements that shift the practice of how existing public funding streams are deployed for specific social programs. Across these projects, traditional cost reimbursement service contracts are being amended or replaced with outcomes-oriented contracts. Scaling the systems that implement these new outcomes-oriented contracts for urgently needed social service programs requires funding, but some of the original funders who supported early project SIBs are …

As many as 22,000 low-income people in King County will be eligible for same-day outpatient treatment for mental health and addiction services under an innovative new program announced today by King County, Ballmer Group and Third Sector Capital Partners, a San Francisco-based nonprofit advisory firm that collaborates with communities on how to contract for social services. The “Pay for Success” model will allocate $1.4 million a year in incentive payments to mental health and substance use treatment agencies that provide outpatient treatment on demand for people in need. “We are …

Part two of two. In October, LA County launched their first Pay for Success project. Third Sector has been a PFS advisor to the County since 2012. In this series, Third Sector director Dan Peck reflects on Third Sector’s work and the lessons we learned from the project. The following are second and third takeaways that can be applied to other governments looking to replicate LA County’s transition towards PFS and outcomes-based contracting. To read Part 1 which includes the first takeaway from the project, please click here. Take the …

This is the first part of a two part series. Last month, Los Angeles County announced the launch of the County’s first Pay for Success (PFS) project: “Just-in-Reach.” The “Just-in-Reach” PFS project is an outcomes-oriented, health-based housing program that will reduce jail recidivism and help end homelessness among people experiencing repeat jail time. Over four years, the project will place 300 homeless individuals who are currently in custody within the LA County jail system and have a mental health and/or substance use disorders into permanent supportive housing. The project is …

Last month, Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP), Third Sector’s data integration partner, convened government leaders from around the country to explore ways to embed administrative data into government programming and decision-making. The three-day seminar marked the first in a series of Learning Community meetings over the next two years, during which ten jurisdictions will be building out and improving upon Integrated Data Systems (IDS), that embed ongoing administrative data sharing and evaluation across multiple government agencies. Seven of these states and counties, Connecticut, Iowa, North Carolina, Broward County, Florida, …

When assessing program impact, researchers often focus on evaluating the causal relationship between two variables and the accuracy of those results. This concept is called “internal validity,” which asks the question: what’s the likelihood that this relationship actually exists?

This post originally appeared on the America Forward blog and is authored by Nicole Truhe, Government Affairs Director, America Forward. Third Sector Capital Partners is a proud member of the America Forward coalition. Last year, a federal commission began studying how data that the government already collect can be used to improve government programs and policies. The Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking was the creation of Speaker Paul Ryan (R-WI) and Senator Patty Murray (D-WA), who are long-time champions of data and the use of evidence to drive federal policymaking. After over a …

On October 3, Los Angeles County announced the launch of the County’s first Pay for Success (PFS) project: “The Just-in-Reach Supportive Housing Program.” Unlocking a new type of outcomes-contracting in the largest county in the nation was no small feat, and was made possible only through committed leadership and coordination at the LA County Board of Supervisors, CEO’s Office, multiple County agencies and service providers, and California-focused philanthropic partners. As PFS advisor to the LA County’s CEO’s office since 2012, Third Sector has supported the development of the County’s first …

Los Angeles County has launched Just in Reach (JIR), a new health-based housing program that will reduce jail recidivism and help end homelessness among people experiencing repeat jail stays. The innovative public-private partnership is the region’s first program to be funded through a “Pay for Success” financial model.

The primary goals of the Final Report of the Commission on Evidence-Based Policymaking are laudable: to “[improve] both the privacy protections afforded to the American public and the availability of rigorous evidence to inform policymaking.” Government has wrestled with these issue areas for decades, and while significant challenges remain, the recommendations of the Commission provide a unique bipartisan opportunity for government to dramatically improve the way it delivers services to focus on data and program impact. One of the important questions following the submission of the Commission’s final report is …

Almost three years ago, Cuyahoga County embarked on an innovative approach to improve outcomes for homeless families with children in foster care. Utilizing an integrated data system developed by Case Western Reserve University, the County was able to identify a significant overlap between children’s length of time in foster care and their families’ lack of housing homeless families and extended stays in foster care. Their solution? Partner with Third Sector to develop a new $5M outcomes-oriented contract with Frontline Services with the goal of keeping families together and reducing days in …

Program will Leverage Data to Evaluate Impact and Promote Services that Measurably Improve Lives Boston, MA – Local and state governments collect vast amounts of information in the course of delivering social services to children and their families. Unfortunately, many government agencies are unable to use that valuable data to assess program impact and improve quality. This is because data are rarely connected across agencies and almost never used to allocate government spending. In the absence of integrated data and outcomes-oriented contracting, governments struggle to make good decisions about how …

OAKLAND, CA – Alameda County District Attorney Nancy O’Malley today announced that the District Attorney’s Office, leading a partnership of county agencies, community partners and non-government resource providers, has launched the Alameda County Justice Restoration Project. The Justice Restoration Project is a unique project in that it is a Pay For Success Project, with seed funding awarded by the Bureau of State and Community Corrections through a competitive grant program. Pay For Success is a fiscal partnership between a government agency, in this case Alameda County, under the leadership of the District …

The current public workforce system has left out some of our country’s most vulnerable people. With federal funding spread across 11 agencies and 47 programs, much of the system relies on cost-reimbursement contracts that stifle innovation by 1) prescribing services that prohibit providers from adapting programs to needs and 2) not rewarding providers for improving outcomes. Providers are often paid regardless of results, yielding little incentive to use evidence-based interventions or deploy new technologies. While some programs use something called “performance-based contracting,” much of the time, payments are linked to …

The following is authored by Nicole Truhe, Government Affairs Director at America Forward and originally appeared on the America Forward blog. Third Sector Capital Partners is a proud member of the America Forward coalition. Since its authorization as a federal program, the Social Innovation Fund (SIF) has been aimed at finding and growing the most promising solutions to our nation’s most pressing challenges. The original model of the SIF, known as SIF Classic, is focused on directing federal resources (matched 1:1 by non-federal and private dollars) to support community-based organizations and solutions …

Third Sector announces partnership with Actionable Intelligence for Social Policy (AISP) at the University of Pennsylvania to offer complementary training on the development of Integrated Data Systems (IDS) infrastructure and outcomes-contracting services, which will jointly increase government’s ability to use data-driven decision-making to improve results for vulnerable populations.

Data and evaluation play a critical role in our work at Third Sector, enabling rigorous outcomes-oriented contracting. More broadly throughout the social sector, well-designed approaches can inform the implementation of policy and programs. The National Association of Welfare Research Statistics (NAWRS) 2017 Workshop highlighted communities across the country where innovative data sharing practices and evaluation methodologies are directly shaping human services and workforce programming. Integrated data systems to understand cross-system risk factors: Allegheny County is a leader in the development and use of integrated data systems. The Allegheny County Department …

The following post originally appeared on America Forward’s Blog as a guest post.  Less than 10 years ago, the phrase Pay for Success was virtually unknown in most circles—particularly government circles. Though a seemingly simple concept, an approach to contracting for services where payments from governments (or other end-payers interested in supporting the achievement of measurable outcomes related to public programs) are linked to positive outcomes that have been measured and evaluated—Pay for Success is being tested, applied, and replicated at a rapid pace. Contributing to the interest and uptake …