Post-decision project evaluation of UK public–private partnerships: insights from planning practice

ABSTRACT

There is a concerning paucity of Post-decision Project Evaluation (PdPE) of public private partnership (PPP) projects, given how significant this model of public infrastructure delivery has become. Drawing from previous academic and policy proposals, the authors explored the evidence of PdPE in the planning practice of UK PPP projects. Their findings show that the planned practice for PdPE is both under-developed and ambiguous. These findings have implications for current operating UK PPPs and developing projects in other jurisdictions.

IMPACT

Although the UK is no longer developing new PPP projects, there are over 700 existing projects entering their mature operation stage. However, we know very little about how to evaluate whether these projects are still delivering expected outcomes. This paper provides policy-makers and managers with a basis for developing future PdPE frameworks. The paper has significant implications for policy and practice in the UK and lessons for other jurisdictions.

KEYWORDS:

• Post-decision Project Evaluation (PdPE)
• project evaluation
• public infrastructure
• public private partnerships (PPP)
• UK

Acknowledgements

We received helpful comments from participants at the 17th biennial CIGAR conference, June 2019, with especially insightful feedback from Anne Stafford, our discussant Kaleem Zahir-Ul-Hassan and from Public Money & Management’s two anonymous reviewers and editors.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).