One of the key ways of achieving value for money in the provision of infrastructure and related non-core service delivery projects is facilitating private sector innovation in the delivery and operation of the service. Proponents may believe that their ideas are proprietary and as such may not want them communicated to competitors so as to protect their competitive position.
It is the primary responsibility of a proponent who considers that it has a proposal, concept, design etc which includes significant intellectual and commercial property to take all reasonable commercial and legal steps to protect its intellectual property. However, the government is sensitive to the need to ensure that intellectual property of private sector proponents is adequately protected against unauthorised leakage to competitors or illegal use by government agencies. Accordingly, the government will, if requested, treat as confidential any information disclosed to it, where such information is likely to possess commercial value and utility in the market place.