It will also catalyse change – supporting communities and social sector organisations to upgrade existing arrangements so that they align with the social investment approach.
Social Investment Ministers will set the priority outcomes and settings for the Fund in June 2025.
The Fund will open in August 2025 and again in November 2025. We expect initial Fund outcomes to align closely with Government’s targets and existing cross-cutting strategies such as the Child and Youth Strategy and the Family Violence and Sexual Violence Strategy and Action Plan.
There will initially be three pathways for funding.
The Fund will invest in early intervention services that strongly demonstrate a Social Investment approach and contribute strongly to the priority outcomes set by Social Investment Ministers.
We expect there to be a particular focus in 2025 on investments that reduce the need for children, young people and vulnerable adults from going into care – reflecting the commitments made by Government in response to the Royal Commission of Inquiry into Abuse in Care.
The Fund will consider proposals from collectives and social sector organisations for the consolidation of multiple contracts into one (or more) outcomes-based arrangements that align with a Social Investment approach.
Priority is likely to be given to proposals from well-established organisations or collectives looking to consolidate significant amounts of existing Government investment into one or more medium-term outcome-based agreements.
Expressions of Interest will open in August 2025.
Devolved commissioning involves the ‘pooling’ of social sector funding from multiple Government budgets into a single fund under local decision-making. It is likely the Fund will be most interested in proposals from well-established organisations with very strong local support.
This is an exploratory area of policy and there is no guarantee that proposals will be accepted. There will be further information on this late August 2025.
Additional pathways will be opened for co-investment opportunities (e.g. with iwi or philanthropic organisations); capability-building initiatives that support multiple social sector organisations to align with the Social Investment approach; and minor investments to support research into new social investment approaches. These pathways will be designed with social sector organisations and other key stakeholders.
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