Drivers for adopting public-private construction partnerships in the US, UK and Australia - Term Paper Example

This study also narrows the gap in the literature by collecting primary empirical data from interviews with construction company managers and owners in the US with a view to understanding their perspectives on the drivers for adopting PPPs. The results of this study are discussed and implications for practice and areas for further research are identified. Table of Contents Abstract 2 Introduction 4 Study Scope and Objectives 5 Research Methodology 5 Organization of the Research Report 6 A Review of Literature 6 Conceptualization of Public-Private Construction Partnerships 6 Public-Private Construction Partnerships in the US, UK and Australia 9 Public-Private Construction Partnerships in the US 9 Public-Private Construction Partnerships in the UK 11 Public-Private Construction Partnerships in Australia 13 Summary of Findings in the Literature 14 Empirical Evidence 14 Secondary Data: Australia 14 Secondary Data: The UK 17 Primary Empirical Evidence 19 Analysis 22 Implications for Practice 23 Areas for Further Research 23 Bibliography 25 Introduction Public-private partnerships (PPP), also known as P3s are contractual arrangements between governments and private entities/concessionaires for the construction of facilities.

Under the P3 contract, the private investor typically funds the construction phase of the facility and is usually entitled to share revenues associated with the facilities (Rowlson, 2012). In addition to sharing revenues, the private entity involved in a PPP also assumes some of the risks associated with the construction project (Hodge, 2004). As a part of a trend toward more privatization of public services, the UK has increasingly adopted PPPs for the construction of government infrastructure (Spackman, 2002).

A similar trend can be observed in the US with 23 states legislating for PPPs (Rowlson, 2012). PPPs have also become a part of government public management systems in Australia (English, 2006). Ke, et al. (2009) conducted a review of literature on PPPs and examined peer-reviewed articles published between 1998 and 2008. Findings indicate that research into PPPs have steadily increased from 1998 to 2008 revealing an increasing importance to the construction industry. The most popularly researched areas was the “build-operate-transfer” form of the PPP with some interest in investment conditions, governance and other areas that tend to compliment PPPs (Ke, et al., 2009, p. 1076).

It would therefore appear that the drivers of PPPs is under-researched. As, Hodge and Greve (2007) note, although there is intensive interest in the popularity of PPPs, little is understood about these new partnerships in the context of traditional partnerships. Bovaird (2004) argue that although PPPs have become increasingly popular globally over the last 25 years, the definition of PPPs is difficult to conceptualize as it means different things, depending on the country involved and the project to which it applies.

Thus further research is necessary for gaining a more profound understanding of PPPs, what the future of PPPs are and how best to model PPPs. This research will therefore add to current knowledge on PPPs by comparing the drivers of PPPs in the UK, the US and Australia. The UK, US and Australia are selected for this study because empirical and