Colorado and Denver were selected as one of six state and local governments to receive aid in developing “social impact bond” projects, according to a release Monday from the offices of Governor John Hickenlooper and Mayor Michael Hancock.
The bond projects, also known as pay-for-success contracts, partner governments with service providers and private sector investors to fund social programs that, in theory, save the state money.
“The question is how do you incentivize these programs to private investors,” said Jamie Van Leeuwen, deputy chief of staff for Gov. Hickenlooper. “My hope is to take the information we get from this grant to the governor and cabinet and be able to say if we should move forward with SIB projects.”
The program is part of the national Harvard Kennedy School SIB Lab competition, which is sponsored by The Rockefeller Foundation. Other states receiving the grant include Connecticut, Illinois, New York, Ohio and South Carolina.
“With any brand new idea you want to be innovative and smart, but you want to be sure it’s a good use of our time and resources,” Van Leeuwen said. “We have to see if this is the right thing for Colorado.”
The grant comes in the form of human resources as opposed to funding, and Van Leeuwen hopes to begin the process within the next few weeks, he said.
Nic Turiciano : 303-954-1223, nturciano@denverpost.com or twitter.com/Nic_Turishawno