Public-Private Partnerships

There is no single definition of a Public-Private Partnership, often referred to as P3. The Government Accountability Office defines a public-private partnership as “a contractual arrangement that is formed between public and private-sector partners. These arrangements typically involve a government agency contracting with a private partner to renovate, construct, operate, maintain, and/or manage a facility or system, in whole or in part, that provides a public service.”

This is an arrangement where businesses supplement public investment for the common good; each party must be as committed to achieving the others’ goals as they are to their own goals.

However, numerous interviewees told the Harvard Business Review that focusing on contract terms often set partners to act more like adversaries than allies. “Public clients prefer building iron-clad, oppressive contracts that are extremely one-sided and which start the relationship off on the wrong foot,” said a leader of a semi-governmental Canadian agency. Others said that contractors often exploit the contract terms to increase their profit at the expense of the project.

This article was orginally published in my personal blog on December 28, 2021.

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Dave Lambert