Public Sector Practice

Building cost effective solutions to solve social problems

Social Finance partners with government officials to promote public-sector excellence and generate social impact. We provide impact-oriented advice and support, backed by strong data analysis and an understanding of how to scale effective interventions.

Our Approach

Social Finance partners with elected officials, policymakers, civic leaders, community members, philanthropies, and service providers to create high-impact projects and move systems towards data-driven, outcomes-focused decisions. We support partnerships across sectors to assess, design, measure and continuously improve programs. 

We accomplish these activities by:

  • Designing outcomes-focused funding tools, including Pay for Success contracts and cross-sector outcomes funds
  • Strengthening evidence-oriented policy analysis through careful review of program evidence, detailed cost-benefit analysis, clear guidance on metric selection, and support in crafting thoughtful measurement plans
  • Launching Active Performance Management processes to provide ongoing governance support and data analysis to improve outcomes through measurement planning, data collection and analysis, performance evaluation, and program model adaptation
  • Creating measurement and evaluation plans

Our Active Performance Management process provides ongoing governance support and data analysis to improve outcomes. This work focuses on metric development, data collection and analysis, performance evaluation, and program model adaptation to measurably improve lives.

We also offer workshops and trainings on Pay for Success and other outcomes-based funding mechanisms >> 

Projects

  • Connecticut Office of Early Childhood
    Develop and launch outcomes rate cards for home visiting.
  • Texas DFPS Prevention and Early Intervention
    Advise the division of Prevention and Early Intervention within the Texas Department of Family and Protective Services on opportunities to incorporate outcome-based contracting across its early childhood programs.
  • Ventura County
    Develop a cross-sectoral understanding of the cost of persistent homelessness in the country through integrating and analyzing data from across homelessness supports, health care, behavioral health, criminal justice, and emergency response systems.
  • California Department of Social Services
    Train the CDSS Housing and Homelessness Branch on how to incorporate the principles of Pay for Success and performance-based contracting into procurements.
  • See more projects >>

“Social Finance forges partnerships between the public and private sectors and helps empower governments to achieve outcomes for the children and families we serve.”

— Elizabeth Duryea
Director, Division of Systems & Organizational Development
Connecticut Department of Children and Families

“The public sector team at Social Finance helped us achieve our full potential. Their project development and coordination expertise made it possible for us to maximize our impact and effectively meet our citizens’ needs.”

— Government Agency

"Social Finance helped us make the shift from just creating programs to creating programs with formal assessment and data collection. Social Finance is leaving our agency with the knowledge, skills, and ability to do the work moving forward.“

— Joan Oliver
Program Supervisor
Marion County Juvenile Department

Publications

The Social Impact Partnerships to Pay for Results Act (SIPPRA)

SIPPRA was enacted as part of the Bipartisan Budget Bill of 2018 and appropriates $100 million to support the launch of state and local Pay for Success initiatives over a 10-year period. Learn more >>

Our Team

Managing Director Jeff Shumway and Vice President Jake Segal lead our advisory team, which brings experience from government and leading nonprofit, financial, consulting, and legal firms. Learn more >>

Contact Us

If you are interested in learning more our advisory work, contact Jeff Shumway or Jake Segal.