The Department of Work and Pensions has backed more social impact bond projects in its second funding round from its Innovation Fund.

The DWP’s Innovation Fund, which is part of the government’s initiative to find new ways to tackle youth unemployment, has already backed two social impact bonds in its first round of funding.

It has announced this week that it has awarded two contracts worth £7m from the Innovation Fund’s second funding round to two social impact bonds managed by Social Finance.

The social impact bonds will fund interventions to work with around 2,500 vulnerable 14-15 year-olds in the North-West of England. The programmes will be delivered by charities Adviza and Teens and Toddlers.

Investors into the social impact bond include Bridges Ventures, Big Society Capital, Impetus Trust, Esmée Fairbairn Foundation, Caf Venturesome and the Barrow Cadbury Trust. Outcomes payments from the Innovation Fund will be paid over three and a half year.

The DWP contracts have been awarded to Social Investment Partnerships, established by Social Finance and chaired by Richard Johnson, former welfare-to-work manager at Serco.