Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) are a novel instrument in order to finance social goals.

Ideally, the following five partners are involved in setting up a SIB: The government, who initiates the SIB; investors providing the capital; a social service provider (often a nonprofit organization), who is responsible for carrying out the project and finally an intermediary coordinating all activities and managing the process. The investors finance a project with well-defined and measureable outcomes, in case the goals are reached the government repays the capital provided (plus a rate of return if agreed upon). SIBs have gained a lot of attention over the past few years. Fist developed in the UK, more than 80 Social Impact Bonds have been implemented worldwide, and presumably many more are under construction.

The first Social Impact Bond in Austria was implemented in autumn 2015. The state institution involved is the Ministry for Labour, Social Affairs and Consumer Protection (BMASK), the intermediary is represented by the German company Juvat, who is connected to the Benckiser foundation and was also involved in the first German SIB.

The goal of the project financed by different Austrian foundations is to provide sustainable work places for women affected by domestic violence. In order to do so, the Gewaltschutzzentrum Oberösterreich and the women’s shelter Linz (Frauenhaus Linz) have teamed up and created a program to support and empower victims of domestic violence.

The Social Entrepreneurship Center was commissioned to evaluate the process by the BMASK. The aim of this evaluation is an assessment of the instrument in the context of the Austrian welfare state, as well as a monitoring of the process of knowledge generation.

Based on the role of the evaluator, further research on the topic has emerged, resulting among others in presentations at conferences and scientific publications.