The links between infrastructure and economic growth are well established. They include the impact of infrastructure on poverty alleviation, growth, and specific development outcomes.3 As economies face growing demand for infrastructure, Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) continue to play a crucial role in improving efficiencies in delivering public services, one of the key elements to narrowing the infrastructure gap.4,5 A PPP is defined as a contractual arrangement between a public entity or authority and a private entity for providing a public asset or service in which the private party bears a significant risk and assumes management responsibilities.6 During the past 25 years, more than 5,000 infrastructure projects in 121 low- and middle-income economies were delivered through PPPs, representing investment commitments of $1.5 trillion. PPPs have supported the development of crucial infrastructure such as roads, bridges, light and heavy rail, airports, power plants, and energy and water distribution networks.7
The United Nations' Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) recognize both the relevance of quality infrastructure and the role of partnerships with the private sector in the post-2015 development agenda. In particular, the quality of the procurement process is a driver of PPP efficiency. The Addis Ababa Action Agenda of the Third International Conference on Financing for Development states the intent to "build capacity to enter into public-private partnerships, including with regard to planning, contract negotiation, management, accounting, and budgeting for contingent liabilities." Corrupt procurement practices continue to obstruct the delivery of quality infrastructure. Moreover, the design of the procurement process itself has an impact on the ability of governments to take full advantage of the potential benefits of PPPs for delivering infrastructure.8 This includes their ability to identify which projects are best done as PPPs and also to manage contracts in a transparent and effective way.
Benchmarking Public-Private Partnerships Procurement (Benchmarking PPP Procurement) was launched in 2015 with the goal of supporting a better policy-making decision process by highlighting key aspects of an economy's regulatory framework for the procurement of PPPs. The exercise was inspired by the methodology of the World Bank Group's Doing Business report, which assesses the business climate in 189 economies and has a track record of leveraging more than 2,500 reforms to date. By assessing economies' laws, regulations, and practices against recognized good practices, Benchmarking PPP Procurement offers data to fuel academic research, helps governments assess the performance of their procurement systems, and delivers a unique information tool for the private sector and civil society. We expect that the Benchmarking PPP Procurement exercise will help identify areas for reform to achieve more transparent, competitive, and efficient PPP procurement systems and increase private sector participation in infrastructure and service delivery.