Episode 8: Outcomes-Based Financing: The Global Landscape

We are pleased to bring to you the eighth episode of The Blended Finance Podcast featuring Dr. Emily Gustafsson-Wright. She is a senior fellow at the Global Economy and Development Program at the Brookings Institution. She specializes in applied microeconomic and policy research within the fields of education, health and early childhood development (ECD) in low- and middle-income country contexts including the constraints around financing, capacity and quality of services, knowledge gaps, and political support. She is widely considered a global expert on innovative financing mechanisms including public-private partnerships and payment by results. She is a leading voice on the topic of social and development impact bonds and has published over a dozen studies on this topic.

Key Time Stamps:
2:41 – Emily discusses her personal journey and the motivations that led her to specialize in impact bonds.
6:14 – Her current work at the Brookings Institution and the projects she is involved with.
9:45 – Distinct characteristics of outcome-based financing compared to other financing methods.
14:40 – Key factors of a successful outcome-based bond
21:23 –Challenges encountered in implementing outcome bonds and strategies to tackle them.
28:28 – Important considerations when seeking institutional involvement in outcome-based projects
30:54 – Her thoughts on the current landscape and potential for outcome-based financing in the Indian market.
32:58 – Secondary and tertiary components of impact bonds
37:50 – Emily offers her perspective on how outcome-based financing will evolve over the next decade.

Resources mentioned:
1. Impact Bonds Snapshot: https://www.brookings.edu/articles/social-and-development-impact-bonds-by-the-numbers/
2. The Child Cost Calculator (C3): https://www.brookings.edu/articles/the-childhood-cost-calculator-c3/