ERIC Number: ED606528
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2016-Aug
Pages: 11
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: N/A
EISSN: N/A
"Billion Dollar Bets" to Improve the Performance of Social Service Programs: Creating Economic Opportunity for Every American
Ross, Michaela; Kiernan, Reilly; Murphy, Devin; Bielak, Debby
Bridgespan Group
This document is part of a Bridgespan Group research project that focused on the question: "How could a philanthropist make the biggest improvement on social mobility with an investment of $1 billion?" In answering this question, the authors have sought to understand "what matters most" for improving social mobility outcomes. To do this, the authors have drawn from extensive research conducted by leading scholars in the field. They have also outlined a range of tools to assist philanthropists seeking systemic and field-level changes that go well beyond scaling direct service interventions. Using the research and identified tools, the authors have created an illustrative set of "bets" that provide concrete roadmaps for high-leverage investments of $1 billion with the potential for sustainable change at scale. From a list of 15 high-potential bets through which philanthropists could have a significant impact on increasing upward mobility, six bets were selected that are particularly timely, suited to the unique role of philanthropy, have the potential to create significantly outsized impact, and, as a package, could truly sum to $1 billion. This concept paper illustrates one of the six bets. The paper explores potential solutions to the underperformance of social service programs. It focuses on ways to increase government use of data to improve their efficacy and proposes eight potential investments philanthropists can make. The paper quantifies the projected impact with estimates of the potential return on investment individuals and families would experience if a big bet were to be made to improve program performance. [For the main report, "'Billion Dollar Bets' to Create Economic Opportunity for Every American," see ED606509.]
Descriptors: Social Mobility, Economic Opportunities, Investment, Social Services, Data Use, Private Financial Support, Human Capital, Evidence Based Practice, Data Collection, Program Evaluation, Technical Assistance, Research and Development Centers, Policy, Government Employees, Training, Fellowships, Incentives, Federal Aid, Costs
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Publication Type: Reports - Descriptive
Education Level: N/A
Audience: N/A
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Bridgespan Group
Grant or Contract Numbers: N/A