Can Social Finance Improve the Outcomes of Employment and Training Programs?

This paper investigates whether social finance can improve the outcomes of employment and training programs. It defines social finance as methods promoting both social goals and financial returns, identifying six models: employment, fee-for-service, financial incentives, social purpose businesses, pay-for-success, and public-private partnerships. The study concludes that social finance can scale proven innovations and, crucially for employment programs, intensifies engagement with employers, a historically lacking element.