Many operational SIBs so far have been commissioner-led, initiated by a statutory outcomes payer (often central government) with a set of social outcomes they want to see delivered. Delivery organisations are invited to bid to deliver those outcomes. The commissioner does most of the upfront work, including often publishing a Rate Card for outcomes payments, and the provider fits into the jigsaw puzzle.
This guide focuses on SIBs where you as a delivery organisation have decided to take more of a leading role in the development process. This can take many forms: perhaps you are seeking commissioners (e.g. local councils) to pay for the outcomes that you have established your programme delivers. Perhaps you have been approached by an intermediary. Either way, taking on elements of the development work yourself can be costly and time-consuming in the absence of a ready-made solution, and you also face the key risk that you won’t be able to find a willing commissioner with a budget to commit to the project.
For these reasons, in this guide we emphasise that you need to be engaging with commissioners from the start to minimise wasting your resources in developing an idea which no one will fund.
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