Assessing the benefits associated with PPPs is a difficult task as:
∙ the full benefits of PPPs are only readily available for analysis after about 25-30 years when contracts have expired;
∙ data about what the alternative to the PPP would have looked like is lacking (the "counterfactual"). For example, there is a real dearth of data surrounding the whole life cycle costs and performance of conventional procurement;
∙ many of the benefits of PPPs are difficult to quantify and value.
Perhaps for these reasons, governments have been reluctant to include these benefits in their VfM analysis when comparing the PPP model to the public sector alternative. The fact that the benefits of PPPs as a model of infrastructure and public service delivery are difficult to quantify, however, does not diminish their importance. This annex examines the importance of improving the evidence base for investment appraisals and for verifying claims regarding the benefits of PPPs29.
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29 See, for example, KPMG, University College London, Operating Healthcare Infrastructure: Analysing the Evidence (2010); KPMG, Infrastructure Spotlight Report Investment in school facilities and PFI - do they play a role in educational outcomes? (2008); (2009): Partnerships UK, Investigating the performance of operational PFI contracts (2008); NAO, PFI: Construction Performance (2009); University of Melbourne , National PPP Forum, Benchmarking Study, Phase II (2008); EIB Operations Evaluation Department, Evaluation of PPP projects financed by the EIB - Synthesis Document, (March 2005).