Summary of content

Social Finance is concerned with generating social returns alongside more typical economic returns and has developed into a multi-billion-pound market. This term encompasses a wide variety of forms delivered throughout the world, including microfinance and social impact bonds. These cutting-edge forms of finance raise questions in relation to evaluation and have implications for policy.

This unique module critically introduces the student to the concepts of social finance. The module aims to equip students with a general overview as to how global and local circumstances have shaped how social finance is practiced and understood, and to equip them with the knowledge and skills to determine what factors they should take into account when critically evaluating the concept of social finance, or when creating an enabling environment for different models of social finance to thrive.

The module aims to develop critical awareness of social finance in both developing and advanced economies. This includes the theoretical underpinnings and origins of social finance, different types of social finance, and organisation and operation of social finance. The role of funding sources in relation to social finance will also be discussed. Attention will be paid to controversies in social finance, and the subsequent recent and future developments in social finance.

Summary of how PRME-related issues / topics are covered in this module.

Module structure

Assessment methods