We began by defining four milestones in a typical procurement project, which are as follows:
• Original Approval - original approval of the project.
• Budget Approval - approval of final budget prior to going to contract.
• Contractual Commitment - situation on signing of contracts.
• Actual Final - actual completion of the project.
Using these four project milestones, we defined four periods in the project lifecycle for analysis, i.e. four periods over which the relative performance of PPPs and Traditional procurement approaches could be measured and compared on the same basis. These periods were:
• Full Period - Original Approval to Actual Final;
• Stage 1 - Original Approval to Contractual Commitment;
• Stage 2 - Budget Approval to Actual Final; and
• Stage 3 - Contractual Commitment to Actual Final.
These periods were measured consistently between PPP and Traditional projects, and provide alternative approaches to the measurement of performance differentials, as well as providing a timeline of the relative progress and efficiency of alternative procurement options. Data was obtained from publicly available sources.