Social Finance seminar – the influence of the UK model on social finance in Finland – February 2016

Castrén & Snellman collaborate with Uusia Network Oy, a Finnish social enterprise that helps public sector and social to create solutions to current social and ecological challenges, to deliver a seminar about new trends in impact investing and social finance.

The seminar focuses on how trends in impact investing and social finance in the UK could be implemented in Finland. The UK has a long history of impact investing and private financing of public services. Private financing has contributed to the operations of social enterprises, and the public sector has achieved savings in welfare costs, among other things. At the same time, it has been possible to help various population groups, such as immigrants, school drop-outs and those who have fallen to the margins of the labour market.

Could this model be helpful for Finland, which is struggling with economic difficulties? If so, how could we capitalise on international experiences and lessons learned through trial and error? What kind of financial solutions could best support investments and the private sector’s interest? What structures could best release the potential of the emerging social economy? How can social impacts be measured? What are the key legal issues related to all of this?

In order to assess these questions, the seminar includes the following talks:

• Social Finance and Impact Investment in the UK – Caroline Mason, Chief Executive, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation
• Impact-Based Procurement and the Act on Public Contracts (in Finnish) – Anna Kuusniemi-Laine, Partner, Castrén & Snellman
• Social Impact Measurement – From the Theory of Change to Practice (in Finnish) – Anne Bland, CEO, Uusia Network Oy

Anna Kuusniemi-Laine

Castrén & Snellman, Partner