Pay for Success projects have been planned and executed in the United States for the last several years, and results and lessons learned are emerging. Early reflections reveal both the disruptive potential and significant challenges of Pay for Success, an innovative financing mechanism that shifts financial risk away from government and toward new investors who provide up-front funding for evidence-based social programs.

Given what we have learned so far, how can federal, state, and local governments best support further testing of Pay for Success? What are the likely short- and long-term barriers to Pay for Success and how do we ensure a promising future for supporting evidence-based social programs?

On October 14, the Urban Institute, White House Office of Management and Budget Director Shaun Donovan, civic leaders, and social innovation experts reflected on the current state of Pay for Success, examined the lessons learned from the earliest pilots, and looked ahead to the future of this field.

program

• Shaun Donovan, director, White House Office of Management and Budget
• ​Antony Bugg-Levine, CEO, Nonprofit Finance Fund
• Tomi Hiers, executive director, Baltimore’s Promise
• Ben McAdams, mayor, Salt Lake County
• Erika Poethig, director, Urban Policy Initiatives, Urban Institute
• John Roman, senior fellow, Urban Institute
• Sarah Rosen Wartell, president, Urban Institute
• Sonal Shah, director, Beeck Center for Social Impact and Innovation, Georgetown University

event materials

• Event Agenda
• Speaker Biographies
• Event Recording

For inquiries regarding this event, please contact [email protected].