In the Prime Minister’s recent speech ‘My vision for a Smarter State’, the success of ThinkForward’s social impact bond was highlighted as an example of the positive results that can be achieved via this social investment model.

Noting the success of ThinkForward’s pilot across five schools in Tower Hamlets, which saw a NEET rate reduction of 88% among 320 young people identified as being most at risk, he said:

“Another big step forwards has been our pioneering use of interventions like Social Impact Bonds, which pay private and voluntary sector organisations with some of the savings they deliver to the taxpayer. Take, for example, the Social Impact Bond supporting ThinkForward – a charity that places highly qualified ‘super coaches’ in schools where they identify and work with young people most at risk of not getting into work. In Tower Hamlets, this has reduced the NEET rate amongst some of the most at risk pupils by 88%, saving over £40,000 per pupil.”

Building on the success of ThinkForward’s SIB, he went on to infer that the investment model could be taken to scale nationally and applied to other areas in need of intervention.