The partnership between the Cabinet Office and the Blavatnik School of Government was announced earlier this year with the aim of creating an independent centre of academic excellence for innovative commissioning of public services.
The Cabinet Office also announced an £80m ‘Life Chances Fund’ to support Social Impact Bonds (SIBs). The new initiative aims to tackle entrenched social issues including drug and alcohol dependency, improving people’s life chances by looking at local solutions for local problems.
The GO Lab will deepen understanding of outcomes-based commissioning, including social impact bonds, by researching new ways for the public sector to commission services. It will also provide support, data and evidence that will foster collaboration between local authorities, social investors and charities.
“Children in care, people dependent on drugs or alcohol, and anyone whose prospects appear bleak could stand a better chance in life if the services they need and use were more effective. Through research and support, the GO Lab will make it easier for governments to commission smarter services that focus on outcomes, working with the private and not-for-profit sectors to solve the social issues” said Professor Ngaire Woods, Dean of the Blavatnik School of Government and co-director of the GO Lab.
The Minister for Civil Society, Rob Wilson, also attended the event. He said: “I believe that the Social Impact Bond market could be worth £1 billion by the end of the Parliament. This will require continued momentum, and today’s GO Lab and Life Chances Fund announcements will provide the support local commissioners need to use SIBs to transform lives. This is about central and local government, academia and the voluntary sector all coming together to work at tackling some of the most entrenched social challenges we face.”
The GO Lab is currently shaping its next phase, with research and recruitment activities taking place in the coming weeks and months.