As indicated earlier in this guide, the various forms of public private partnership are components of the service delivery they address. For example, design-build does not encompass the operation and maintenance of the service. The project team must decide which components of a servicing initiative are best addressed through a public private partnership and which are best undertaken by the local government. The project team should consider the following questions:
• Project design - Can the private sector bring more innovation and efficiency to the design process than the local government? This is an important consideration. The objective should be to develop designs that provide value
for money and lower overall life-cycle costs of the project, not only the capital cost.
• Procurement and construction - Who can secure goods and services required for the project or servicing initiative most quickly and competitively? Who is in the best position to construct the facility?
• Financing - Who can secure the most competitive financing?
• Ownership - Who should own the facility or service? Do the benefits of public ownership outweigh the benefits of private ownership?
• Operations and maintenance - Who is in the position to operate the service cheaper and more efficiently? Will the inclusion of operations or maintenance as part of the public private partnership enhance the original objectives of the local government?
• Marketing - Who would do a better job promoting the use of the service?
Many of the components of service delivery are logically bundled together, such as design-construction, ownership-financing, and operations and maintenance. It is important to consider bundling to determine whether combining various components leads to greater value for money than providing individual components. However, the project team should investigate each component of service delivery on its own terms.
The choice of which components of service delivery should be provided will determine the form of public private partnership to be used.
In selecting the preferred form, it is always important for the project team to confirm that the approach is consistent with the overall policies of the local government relating to:
• ownership of services and facilities
• impact on local government staff
• risk management
• financial policies (e.g., debt)
• economic development
The project team should also bring other considerations to the discussions, including:
• opportunities for land swaps
• opportunities for projects to serve multiple objectives (e.g., multi-use facilities)