Outcomes-Based Contracts Workshop

29-30 May 2025

Venue:
Politecnico di Milano – School of Management
POLIMI GSOM Navigli Campus
Ripa di Porta Ticinese, 77, 20143 Milan

 

This workshop aims to bring together academics, practitioners and policymakers to examine OBCs and, more broadly, innovative partnerships addressing wicked problems from multiple perspectives.

COMMITTEE&CONTACTS
CALL FOR PAPERS
PROGRAM
FEE & REGISTRATION

COMMITTEE & CONTACTS

Mario Calderini mario.calderini@polimi.it

Enrico Bellazzecca enrico.bellazzecca@polimi.it

Tommaso Tropeano tommaso.tropeano@polimi.it

Inelda Tafoska inelda.tafoska@polimi.it

CALL FOR PAPERS

Partnerships between heterogeneous actors have increasingly been studied as mechanisms to operationalize strategies for addressing grand challenges, as outlined in Agenda 2030 (SDG 17). Within this context, Outcome-Based Contracts (OBCs), including Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) and Pay-for-Success (PFS) initiatives, have emerged as innovative forms of partnerships between public and private sectors with the purpose of tackling these wicked problems. These contracts are designed to drive reforms in public services through partnerships that coordinate funding, management, and provision of public services. When examining the potential of OBCs to achieve grand challenges and create public value, it is essential to also consider the value generated for communities, users, and citizens. By linking financial resources to performance outcomes, OBCs place the evaluation of both performance and public value generation at the center of negotiations among stakeholders.

Examples could include, but are not limited to, the cost-effectiveness of OBCs, the role of public-private partnerships in supporting OBCs, the integration of OBCs into emerging governance models, cross-national implementation, and adaptation of OBCs to specific governance frameworks and societal needs, evaluation methodologies for OBCs, the role of data in OBC implementation, and the impact of emerging technologies on OBCs. Contributions from all areas related to OBCs and innovative partnerships are welcome, without limitations on topics or focus.

 

SUBMISSION

We encourage both junior and experienced researchers and scholars to submit their work and actively participate in this stimulating event.
We welcome original research papers, case studies, and innovative contributions that align broadly with the workshop’s theme. We initially invite abstracts of no more than 500 words for consideration at the workshop to be sent to tommaso.tropeano@polimi.it.
The submission deadline for these abstracts is Friday, April 11, 2025. Our team will review all submissions for their quality and relevance.
Authors of accepted abstracts will be informed by April 18th 2025 and invited to submit full papers by the 18th May 2025. Each full paper will be pre-assigned to a workshop participant for detailed review.
For inquiries and submissions, please contact tommaso.tropeano@polimi.it.

PROGRAM

 Day 1: Thursday 29th May

09.30h Welcome reception at POLIMI GSOM Navigli Campus, Milan

10.30-12.30h            First panel session_ OBC in health and social care: lessons learned and future directions

  •  Emily Hulse: Can outcome-based contracts solve the reproductive health funding crisis: a systematic review of its current global use?
  • Alec Fraser, Clare Fitzgerald, Angus Kerr, Katy Nex, & Richard Ball: Community Transformation Funds: Integrating statutory health and social care with the VCFSE in the UK.
  • Janis Petzinger: Partnerships in Preventative Health: A Case Study

12.30-14.00h            Lunch

14.15-16.15h              Second panel session _Novel approaches, opportunities and challenges in OBC experiences

  • Francesca Casalini, Ludovica Mager & Veronica Vecchi: Social Impact Bonds: “Much Ado About Nothing”?
  • Lavinia Pastore & Luigi Corvo: Beyond Economic Value: Structuring Outcomes-Based Contracts for Public Asset Regeneration through Social Impact Measurement
  • Giovanni Moratti, Domenico Vito & Jenny Zapata: Measuring what matters: linking OBCs to territorial impact demand

16.15-16.30               Coffee break

16.30-18.30              Workshop on practical example of outcome fund

18.30                          Aperitivo on campus

20h                            Dinner at Dogana del Buongusto

 

Day 2: Friday 30th May

9.30-11.30h               Third panel session_ Evaluation frameworks and impact evidence in OBCs

  • Emilia Muteba: Under Construction: An exploration of evaluation definitions and meanings in UK Social Impact Bonds
  • Carolina Laguna: Education Outcome Fund and the OBC-effect
  • Maria Patouna, Eleonor Carter & Elaine De Gruyter: Beyond Fee-for-Service: Quantifying Outcomes under Outcomes-Based Contracting

11.30-11.45h              Coffee break

11.30-13.00h             Workshop on special issue

13.00-14.15h             Lunch

14.15-16.30h             Fourth panel session_ Relational dynamics, governance and partnership

  • Angela Rizzo, Antonella Di Maso, Benedetta Trivellaro & Alessandro Sancino: Leveraging Public Value through Social Innovation Ecosystems: The Role of the Public Orchestrator:
  • Lee Whitehead & C. Fox: Best practice in delivering Social Impact Bonds (SIBs) in the UK: a comparative qualitative thematic analysis of antecedents
  • Maya Tira, Benjamin Le Pendeven & Céline Louche: Hybrid organizations in hybrid markets: Impact of hybrids formation mechanisms on market persistency
  • Elena Pandini & Riccardo Torrelli: Public-Private Partnership and Impact Finance in sustainability: the private sector perspective

16.30-16.45 h            Coffee break

16.45 h                        Wrap up

 

For more information and how to reach the Campus.

FEE & REGISTRATION

Registration fee: 100 Euros – it applies to all participants, except PhD students, who are exempt from this fee.

Once the abstract is accepted, if you wish to participate in the OBCs Workshop 2025, you will need to register.

Registrations are now closed.