The European Investment Advisory Hub (EIAH) will advise the Madrid City Council, in the framework of the Juncker Plan, on the implementation of new financing and procurement methods for services to vulnerable people living in temporary accommodation, the European Commission announced in a statement on Thursday 30 July.
The EIAH, funded by the European Commission and the European Investment Bank (EIB), will seek to help the municipality to develop assistance to the most vulnerable people through innovation in the purchase of social services, by assessing the feasibility of “social impact bonds” to finance measures to reduce homelessness.
A social impact bond is a debt security held by a private investor who finances a social service provider for the implementation of a social programme and to which the public sector promises to repay the initial investment and pay a remunerative rate if the programme achieves its objectives.
This support will be provided in the framework of the Advisory Platform for Social Outcomes Contracting created in early 2020, funded by the EIAH and whose objective is to develop this kind of financial plan which the European Commission considers to be innovative. (Original version in French by Pascal Hansens)