There were a number of limitations to the data collection process, which will have affected the data analytics results. These were mitigated to the greatest extent possible, however could not be removed entirely. The limitations to the data collection process are set out below.
• Desktop research - publicly available information. The availability of information varied significantly between regions. Procuring Authorities in some regions make project information easily available online, including the PPP contracts themselves, while multi-national bodies such as development banks publish information on the projects they are involved with. However, this is often not the case, especially in developing markets such as India or China, and more so in earlier years. This challenge was to some extent overcome by contacting project stakeholders, but this was also not always possible. The results for each metric are therefore based only on the projects for which firm data was available.
• Desktop research - accuracy of information. In some cases, the accuracy of the information collected was clear. For example, because it came from the original PPP contract. In other cases it was less clear, with news articles referring to events on a project but limited further information available. This was addressed as far as possible by cross-checking data against other sources as well as with project stakeholders.
• Availability of project stakeholders. It was not always possible to contact stakeholders on the projects for which data was being collected. Where it was possible to make contact with stakeholders, not all of them were willing to participate in the research. In several instances, key stakeholders with the relevant knowledge had left the project, which added to the challenges of data collection.
• Commercial sensitivity. Certain information was commercially sensitive, in particular relating to cost overruns and variations, as well as contract renegotiation and disputes. For this reason, even where access to project stakeholders was available, they were often unwilling to share certain information. In addition, a number of stakeholders (in particular on the Project Company side) were not willing to engage in any interviews due to confidentiality restrictions in the relevant PPP contract. In general, lenders were not willing to communicate any project specific information due to the confidentiality restrictions in their agreements with the Project Company.
• Transparency and availability of data presents a challenge in some regions. In regions where no reliable project data could be collected and particular challenges were faced when identifying the relevant stakeholders and engaging with them, the overall data collection was reduced to a smaller number of projects than identified in the Sample Database.