PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS (PPP)

Public-private partnership (PPP), a partnership between an agency of the government and the private sector in the delivery of goods or services to the public. Areas of public policy in which public-private partnerships (PPPs) have been implemented include a wide range of social services, public transportation, and environmental and waste-disposal services.

A public- private partnership can be described as a co-operation between the public and the private sector, in which the government and the private sector jointly carry out a project on the basis of an agreed division of tasks and risks, each party retaining its own identity and responsibilities. It is a way for governments to mobilize funds and deliver what they would not have otherwise been able to provide i.e. the public infrastructure and services that the citizens require.

The underlying principle of PPPs is that the public sector needs to be responsible for the delivery of a particular service, it does not have to be involved in the actual provision of the service or for undertaking the investment themselves. In this way, all actors of a public-private partnership can concentrate on doing their part of the agreement. PPP agreements are aimed at optimizing the input of knowledge and resources from both sectors.