
What is outcomes-based commissioning?
05.01.2022Outcomes and contracting: an introduction At MAZE, we have been working for the past eight years with a range of partners to foster the adoption of outcome-based contracts in social services. Amongst these, we have been partnering closely with the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation as well as the Portuguese Government. In 2014-15, we helped the creation […]

Payments for Ecosystem Services explained: financing the planet’s regeneration
30.09.2020More than half of the world’s total GDP is dependent on Nature [1]. There is an intrinsic and commonly recognizable value to the natural world, that is reflected, economically, in the concept of ecosystem services. So, how do these services work?

What a ‘green recovery’ might look like
03.07.2020“Whatever it takes!” has become a motto for saving the global economy as the coronavirus pandemic sweeps the planet and shuts down entire countries.

Learnings from AMPLIFICA, the early-stage impact startup accelerator in Oporto
13.01.2020The Área Metropolitana do Porto (AMP), along with MAZE and the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation, completed the third edition of AMPLIFICA, a capacity building program, that accelerated 38 impact projects since 2017 tackling areas such as at-risk youth, the inclusion of people with disabilities and the empowerment of informal caregivers. With the program, we have learned that: the selection process and stakeholder engagement are critical success factor as well as continuous mentorship support.

Impact-Weighted Accounts: can accounting shift the paradigm?
15.11.2019‘Impact-Weighted Accounts’ might be the opportunity for companies’ to include on their financial statements the impact of their activity on employees, community and planet.