Final Evaluation of the Skill Mill SIB

Skill Mill is a social enterprise helping young people in contact with the criminal justice system while bringing social and environmental benefits to communities. Young people who have criminal convictions are provided with paid jobs involving outdoor work that is beneficial to the environment and communities.

In 2020 a new four-year outcomes contract was financed by a Social Impact Bond (SIB) which enabled approximately 250 young people in contact with the criminal justice system to go through the programme over four years at eight sites across England. The SIB sites were in Birmingham, Croydon, Durham, Leeds, Nottingham, Rochdale/Bury, Surrey, and West Sussex.

This is the final evaluation of the Skill Mill SIB. There were three complementary stands that ran concurrently:

• Process and outcomes (main focus on young people, supervisors and local programme activities)
• Business models (main focus on the programmes across the country, employers, and other stakeholders)
• SIB Evaluation (main focus on the SIB financing model)