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Reported prepared by Natalie Miazga, BBSRC-Funded CSaP Policy Intern (February 2015 - May 2015)
This month Policy Fellow Alexandra Meagher and Sarah Hickey of the Cabinet Office Social Investment and Finance Team hosted a meeting at Her Majesty’s Treasury. Attending Policy Fellows discussed recent developments in social investment and the significant implications for public policy and services. We began with an accessible online introduction to the topic.
Policy Fellows heard how growing the social investment market can contribute to the goals of public sector reform and support economic growth: social enterprises already contribute 2 million jobs and over £55 billion to the economy each year. Progress has been achieved through multiple initiatives, which include establishing Big Society Capital, the introduction of Social Impact Bonds, and tax relief to support finance and investment in social enterprise. In addition, as part of the Social Value Act commissioners must consider social value during the procurement process for public services.
During the interactive session we also discussed the challenges of communicating and scaling-up the benefits of social investment. As well as increasing demand in the market and the supply of investment, we heard about the necessity of cultivating a supportive environment for social investment to flourish. If you’d like to know more about the topic, the Team have produced an online resource for the UK public sector as well as a series of links to other online resources.
This meeting was part of the monthly Policy Fellows’ 'First Friday' lunch series. For more information, please contact Dr Clare Moran at policyfellows@csap.cam.ac.uk.
Thumbnail Image: William Warby
Banner Image: Mike Beales