Doctoral Dissertation Research: The Effect of Pay for Success Models on Social Service Provision

本项目研究政策制定者如何开发和实施提供社会服务的混合模式。具体地说，这个项目研究了为成功付费(PFS)--一种公私合作的社会项目模式--如何影响美国国家在特定人群上的支出。根据PFS合同，私人投资者为公共项目提供初始资金，只有在该项目被证明成功时，政府才会偿还这笔资金。PFS模式承诺在满足公民需求的同时将成本降至最低，但目前尚不清楚谁从这些计划中受益，谁被排除在外，以及这些决定是如何做出的。该项目旨在确定(1)方案支助服务项目的目标是否影响到哪些人口最终从这些项目中受益，以及(2)方案支助方案模式对更广泛的社会提供范围的影响。这项研究的结果将有助于政策制定者和公共倡导者在考虑公共服务计划的实施或修改时，从而有助于公众的福祉。分析采用比较案例研究设计，评估公共服务结构对三个社会服务领域受益人群的影响。数据收集将通过与参与规划编制和执行方案的公共和私人行为者的访谈进行。将进行两组比较：(1)进入社会项目的PFS提案与未能启动的PFS提案之间的比较；以及(2)特定问题领域内PFS结构的社会项目与传统社会项目的比较。案例比较将说明PFS模型的成本节约结构与该模型最终服务的人群之间的关系。他们还将阐明PFS模式在成本和范围方面与传统服务提供模式的不同之处。在评估这些成果时，该项目将有助于公共政策和社会服务提供的公私模式的研究。该奖项反映了NSF的法定使命，并通过使用基金会的智力优势和更广泛的影响审查标准进行评估，被认为值得支持。

This project examines how policy makers develop and implement hybrid models of social service provision. Specifically, this project studies how Pay for Success (PFS), a public-private model for social programs, shapes state spending on specific populations in the United States. Under a PFS contract, private investors provide initial funding for a public program, which the government repays only if the program proves successful. The PFS model promises to meet citizen needs while minimizing costs, but it is not yet clear who benefits from these programs, who is left out, and how these decisions are made. This project aims to determine (1) whether the goals of PFS projects influence which populations ultimately benefit from these projects and (2) the consequences of the PFS model for the scope of social provision more broadly. Findings from this study will be useful to policymakers and public advocates as the implementation or modification of PFS programs is considered, and so will contribute to the general public well-being.The analysis employs a comparative case study design to assess the effect of PFS structure on beneficiary populations across three social service domains. Data collection will be via interviews with public and private actors involved in the design and implementation of PFS programs. Two sets of comparisons will be made: (1) comparisons between PFS proposals that matriculate into social programs and PFS proposals that fail to launch; and (2) comparisons between PFS-structured social programs and traditional social programs within specific issue areas. The case comparisons will illustrate the relationship between the PFS models' cost-savings structure and the populations the model ultimately serves. They will also elucidate the ways in which the PFS model differs from traditional models of service provision in terms of cost and scope. In evaluating these outcomes, this project will contribute to research on public policy and public-private models of social service provision.This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.