From the article:
Development Impact Bonds (DIBs) would work just like their big SIB brothers and sisters (also known as ‘Pay for Success Bonds’ and ‘Social Benefit Bonds’) that are being rolled out in rich countries: some delivery agent (an NGO, for example) figures out how to make a measureable improvement in some social problem, someone (usually government, perhaps philanthropy) agrees to pay for that outcome if, and only if, it is achieved, and investors provide the financing that pays for the intervention, earning some profit on the deal if the intervention is successful, measured in terms of the desired social outcome. That’s the principle. What the CGD report does extremely well is draw together detailed case studies of how this might work in practice. From reducing sleeping sickness in Uganda, to providing basic education in Pakistan, to supporting entrepreneurs, the report explains how DIBs could be the solution.