Why I chose to code for an impact startup
25.07.2022As developers, we often find ourselves looking for job opportunities that give us the perks we value the most: compensation, flexibility, learning opportunities and a dynamic team that will rock awesome JavaScript and fancy frameworks. While all that matters, my main driver as a developer has mostly been about joining an impact startup that triggered […]
Why I chose to be a lead developer in an impact startup
21.07.2022After interviewing with several companies in different industries and environments, it became clear to me that: I wanted to contribute to positive change in the world and have real ownership of my work; I wanted a real technical challenge, something that had space for my own suggestions and space for me to grow professionally alongside […]
A Social Impact Bond fully achieves its outcomes: is that success?
04.02.2022This is not a story about how success means different things to different people. It is a story of how a project that fully delivered its intended social outcomes might be at risk of not meeting the most important one. Projeto Família® is implemented by MDV (Movimento Defesa da Vida), a Portuguese non-profit organisation. Their […]
MAZE and Social Impact Bonds: a 7-year journey
25.01.2022For an introduction to the concepts described in this article, please see this post by Afonso. In January of 2015, MAZE helped structure and launch the first Social Impact Bond (SIB) in Portugal. This SIB used the investment capital provided by the Calouste Gulbenkian Foundation to finance five semesters of computer programming classes, in three […]
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 […]
Putting money where your mouth is — impact incentives for fund managers
03.12.2021Incentives are everywhere and dictate our behaviour, as individuals and as organisations. The energy transition that we are currently witnessing is a great example of this, whereby an increasing adoption of renewable sources of energy or electric vehicles is a result of tax and monetary incentives, shaping the behaviour according to the goals of policymakers […]