2.1.  Background

This report was commissioned by the Scottish Executive to further its understanding of the performance of Public Private Partnership (PPP) projects in Scotland. The main aims of the research were; first, to provide an initial assessment of the relative costs and benefits of PPP procurement in comparison to conventional procurement, and of the underlying causes of good/bad performance and; second, to consider what data on PPP projects might usefully be collected in the future. The Scottish Executive was particularly interested in the operational performance of live projects; 64 PPP schemes are now operational in Scotland in sectors including health, education, transport and water.