New Forms of Procurement: PPP and Relational Contracting in the 21st century

Citation

Waheed, Z. (2018), "New Forms of Procurement: PPP and Relational Contracting in the 21st century", Facilities, Vol. 36 No. 7/8, pp. 437-438. https://doi.org/10.1108/F-08-2017-0082

As an alternative to traditional forms of procurement, public–private partnerships (PPPs) have been around for a few decades. However, their adoption in contexts beyond those countries that first trifled with the idea of bringing in private-sector expertise and off-balance-sheet financing for the development of public sector infrastructure and service provision, has created room for new work to be undertaken. This new compilation of chapters not only maps the development of PPP best practice in mature markets but also compares and contrasts the emergence of PPPs in different parts of the world. In this regard, this book fills a real need.

New Forms of Procurement: PPP and Relational Contracting in the twenty-first Century is a compilation of chapters authored by researchers and practitioners and is part of Routledge’s “Spon Research” series that has been bringing together advanced research in the built environment disciplines for a decade. This text was preceded in the same series by Relational Contracting for Construction Excellence (Chan et al., 2009), a text that laid down the groundwork for understanding PPPs. It covered primary challenges and key performance indicators for adoption of relational contracting and introduced best practices in alliances, joint ventures and PPPs that existed at the time of its publication (which was a decade ago). This new collection on PPPs as a form of relational contracting takes the previous collection forward. It presents PPPs as a viable procurement form that makes financing and development of large infrastructure and service provision possible for governments in times of austerity and extreme fiscal constraints.

This is by far the most exceptional collection research (and related practice) on PPPs that I have come across. Ranging from emerging issues in risk to evaluations of PPP initiatives to the adoption of relational contracting in new parts of the world (such as Asia) to technical aspects of collaborative arrangements such as design management, the text is rich in detail and develops a wide-ranging understanding of issues pertinent to the use of PPPs in different parts of the world. The book also introduces sufficient practice for one to be able to see the development of best practice, while also being able to contrast practice in emerging markets and the developed world (the London Underground PPP and E-tolling of South Africa’s Gauteng freeway being examples). One area that our readership at Facilities will find especially interesting is the coverage of community-based facilities management as a form of relational contracting (the context is that of South African cities). In the same vein as collaborative governance, the chapter tackles collaborative management of public service facilities as an innovative form of facilities management.

For anyone working in the area of PPPs, be it from a contractor’s point of view, local or regional government’s stance or an academic’s standpoint, this book is an absolute must. From China to South Korea, Japan, Indonesia, Australia, South Africa, UK and USA, it brings forth a breadth of insightful and reflective knowledge on procurement practice, policy challenges, innovation and risk management that go far beyond the typical offerings of single texts. It is a highly recommended acquisition for anyone working in the field.