Part of the Genio approach includes managing reform or transition funding for cost-effective service reform. the Genio Trust enable funding to be protected; performance-managed; and allocated over a multi-annual period. Demands on existing resources make it difficult for government to ring-fence the costs of transitioning from older models to newer more innovative ones. Creating a “transition” or “reform” fund can support the introduction of new service models while governments continue to pay for traditional services.

Reform funds can: 

• Incentivise the implementation of innovations.
• Enable systems with ongoing responsibilities to end beneficiaries to transition to more innovative models during a period where support for less cost-effective approaches is reduced and preparations are made to transfer resources to newer models.
• Support end-beneficiary engagement.
• Resource capacity-building activities for key personnel.
• Provide for research and evaluation to capture and disseminate learning during the process of adoption and measure outcomes with intended beneficiaries. 

Through the Genio Trust, funding is allocated against criteria agreed with funding partners and monitored over a period of three to five years. Once the benefits of more effective approaches gain traction, demand builds momentum and resources can be released from the old to fund the new. Where agreed outcomes are not achieved, funding is recycled to initiatives that are investment ready, in-line with Government policy. To date, the Irish Government has invested €41m and philanthropic foundations have invested €27m through the Genio Trust to assist in service reform efforts.