Day 2

In-person participants will be able to register at the reception of the Blavatnik School of Government building and enjoy tea, coffee and pastries with other in-person attendees and speakers.

SIB partnerships feature the collaboration of stakeholders from different sectors with individual institutional logics. Likewise, SIBs are implemented across different welfare regimes, potentially influencing how the different logics play out in a SIB. This session seeks to explore how tensions between the different institutional logics are mitigated within a SIB partnership, using a comparative lens of different welfare regimes across Europe.

Watch the recording of the session here.

Data plays a key role in outcome-based partnerships. Those working on outcomes-based projects are generating an immense volume and variety of data. This brings new urgency to the task of navigating, connecting and sensemaking to unlock data to inform practice. 

In this session, we will explore the latest developments on data across two themes: the function of data stewardship and machine learning. Firstly, we will introduce a pioneering programme to support a global network of data stewards and discuss how this network can help unlock more data on social outcomes projects.

We will then consider the tantalising power of machine learning techniques to meet the challenges posed by an unwieldy volume of literature on outcomes contracting. There will be an interactive demonstration of a prototype evidence navigation tool designed to help practitioners and policy makers traverse the large body of evidence around outcomes-based contracts.

Participants will have the opportunity to provide feedback and have a say in how we move forward with these data initiatives.

Watch the recording of the session here.

Outcomes-focused partnerships around the world come in many shapes and forms, but most are underpinned by an ambition to leave a lasting legacy that improves the ecosystem in which they operate.

Whether it’s through building a culture of trust and collaboration between organisations in different sectors, improving service delivery through data-driven learning and adaptative management, or working flexibly to innovate to maximise social impact, outcomes-focused partnerships have been seen as a promising way to address systemic delivery failures and strengthen institutional capacity within government. What are the mechanisms by which these outcomes-focused partnerships can help build institutional capacity? What are the limitations? What have we learnt from them about how to strengthen the design and implementation of social programmes? What can we learn from other approaches about how outcomes-focused approaches can have sustainability built-in from the start?

This discussion will bring together a rich mix of policymaker and practitioner perspectives from around the world for an in-depth exploration of the engines of impact that can strengthen the long-term legacy of outcomes-focused partnerships.

Watch the recording of the session here.

The announcement of a new public policy is always a moment that focuses attention. But what happens next? How does change actually take place – or not? How do we know it is indeed a positive change? And if it is, how is it made to stick?

In this public talk, GO Lab academic director Mara Airoldi will be hosting a discussion with Professor Stefan Dercon, Professor of Economic Policy at the Blavatnik School of Government. Prof Dercon has been conducting research and advising governments around the world for decades, working both as an academic professor and a senior policy advisor. He will share his insights on how to achieve mission alignment from senior stakeholders and shared commitment to action from those involved in the implementation, as well as building in timely learning practices. Please bring your burning questions and experiences on ways to link policy and delivery to achieve better outcomes.

About Professor Stefan Dercon

Professor Stefan Dercon combines his academic career with work as a policy advisor, providing strategic economic and development advice, and promoting the use of evidence in decision making. Between 2011 and 2017, he was Chief Economist of the Department of International Development (DFID), the government department in charge with the UK’s aid policy and spending. Since 2020, he has been the Development Policy Advisor to successive Foreign Secretaries at the UK’s Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office. 

His research interests concern what keeps some people and countries poor: the failures of markets, governments and politics, mainly in Africa, and how to achieve change. 

His latest book, Gambling on Development: Why some countries win and others lose was published in May 2022. It draws on his academic research as well as his policy experience across three decades and 40-odd countries, exploring why some countries have managed to settle on elite bargains favouring growth and development, and others did not. Previously, Dull Disasters? How Planning Ahead Will Make A Difference  was published in 2016, and provides a blueprint for renewed application of science, improved decision making, better preparedness, and pre-arranged finance in the face of natural disasters.

Watch the recording of the session here.