Social Outcomes Contracting trial evaluation released

As part of the Government’s Target 8, fewer people in Emergency Housing (EH), Ministers agreed to fund a social outcomes trial with single people or couples, without children in their care, who had been in EH for extended periods. The trial was undertaken with Wellington City Mission (Wellington) and Emerge Aotearoa (Waikato) beginning in November 2024. The programme will run to November 2026. Funding includes social outcomes payments for participants in sustained housing at 3 months, 6 months and 13 months. Providers will receive outcome payments for trial participants housed before November 2026.

The independent evaluation of the SOC trial found early signs that the model is working to help people get into housing and keep it. People are also experiencing positive changes in their wellbeing including improved health, reconnecting with family and finding employment.

The evaluation also found that SOC achieved these outcomes by combining flexible commissioning with skilled, relational, and sustained support from providers. Providers had sufficient discretion to respond to participant needs while remaining accountable for sustained housing outcomes.

The two-year SOC trial will be concluded as planned, due to the sharp reduction in EH numbers, which impacts the number of eligible participants for the trial, and the expiry of time-limited funding. Learnings from the evaluation will be used to inform future policy, service design and contract settings.