One of our projects is looking at the potential for impact investing, which would encompass this form of program. Our experience has been that companies are willing to make donations...or it's easier for them to make a donation that supports an initiative of this type, which comes from their granting arm, and to take some risk there. It's much easier for them to do that than to run it through their conventional investment committees. With the banking sector, once it becomes an investment it's perceived very differently; it's reviewed very differently, and it will be discounted heavily simply because it's new.
In areas such as clean technology, for instance, we have a very strong program through SDTC for supporting and providing non-diluting venture capital for early-stage demonstration projects. There's a very strong precedent there, and a great review and audit process for evaluating those investments.
I'd suggest that a similar mechanism for the federal government to act alongside and like an investor, but to bring along private investors as well, would be appropriate here. It gives them some security and some reassurance that there's real money at the table. A program such as SDTC really underwrites clean technology innovation. I would say a similar program would be needed for social programs like this.