Zugl.: Erlangen, Nürnberg, Univ., Diss., 2007

Zugl.: Oestrich-Winkel, Europ. Business School, Diss., 2008

Zugl.: Giessen, Univ., Diss., 2007

Thesis (M.S. in Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, September 2003. / Thesis advisor(s): Joseph G. San Miguel, Rodney E. Tudor. Includes bibliographical references (p. 81-83). Also available online.

Thesis (M.S. in Management)--Naval Postgraduate School, December 2002. / Thesis advisor(s): Ron Tudor, Rodney E. Tudor. Includes bibliographical references (p. 63-64). Also available online.

This research proposes a methodological framework for the probabilistic evaluation of the financial viability of transportation infrastructure projects procured as Public Private Partnerships (PPPs). In doing so a methodological approach is undertaken. First, this research investigates the various risks of PPP projects, in particular the investment risk in terms of both the depth and its corresponding methods of evaluation, yielding a new method for more accurate estimation. Second, it examines the multiple facets of financial viability, stemming from the different meaning that it has for the various project stakeholders, i.e., the public authority, the lenders and the equity investors. From this study a connection between the financial viability and the investment risk is established for the purpose of using the latter for the assessment of the former. Based on this established connection, this research proposes a general methodological framework that can be used for the probabilistic evaluation of the financial viability of other types of revenue-generating transportation infrastructure projects, procured as PPPs. This framework proposes the evaluation of the financial viability through the estimation of the project's investment risk, using available numerical and/or analytical approximation techniques such as the Method of Moments. The general methodological framework is then utilized for the specific case of highway toll-road concession projects, where detailed and specific quantitative models are devised for the determination of the costs and revenues of these projects. Additionally, and by capitalizing on similar models found elsewhere in the literature, this dissertation also proposes a process to increase the accuracy of the Maintenance and Rehabilitation cost estimates, borrowing concepts stemming from reliability and stochastic processes. The findings of this research are expected to help all project stakeholders with their evaluation of whether or not a project under consideration is capable of achieving their respective financial targets. The proposed methodology can be used as a quantitative tool for project evaluation and investment appraisal by all project stakeholders. However, as in any decision support methodology, the purpose of the proposed framework is not to replace decision makers but to help them make better and informed decisions. / text

A public-private partnership (PPP) is defined as a joint effort by government and the private sector for the management, operation, and funding of a venture or service. Increasingly, government has looked to the private sector for financial support and the streamlining of processes as concerns about the public debt have risen and priorities for spending have narrowed. The users and “customers” of a public good often have a stake in the way it is managed, especially in the case of parkland, which has the ability to dramatically affect the property values surrounding it, either positively or negatively. Therefore a PPP may have many purposes: as a fundraising mechanism, as an advocate for stakeholders, and as a promoter for programming for the attainment of educational and recreational goals. Ultimately, the role of the PPP is to be a liaison, knitting together the resources bestowed upon the public by the government entity with those of the less regulated private world. This study investigates both the challenges of forming a partnership that protects the public interest as well as the factors that are critical to forming a “successful” partnership. An examination of what led to the rise of public/private partnerships historically is included as well as the business models and mission statements of contemporary lead organizations at both the national and local level. In order to gain an in-depth understanding of the complexities of these partnerships, I individually interviewed professionals from both the public and private sides who have had careers in public land acquisition and management. Their viewpoints provide enriching details and reveal several common themes. Subjects were asked about the benefits of creating PPPs and how those benefits have been distributed, and what factors have contributed to successful PPPs. Furthermore, they reflected on tensions that have arisen within these partnerships. And finally they were asked about their overarching philosophies regarding government’s responsibility to its constituency versus the interests of the private sector. The report reveals that there is no set formula to be followed step by step in the creation and subsequent evolution of a public/private partnership, though certain principles emerge as essential components of a strong and effective organization. These are: having a clear understanding of the partnership’s misson and goals, being flexible and getting creative, making friends with everyone, and courting the local population who live around the parkland. Because there are several of these partnerships being formed to support parks in San Antonio, Texas at the time of this report, I placed emphasis on local statistics and anecdotes while compiling the opinions of area experts who have a long history of activism in this region. It is my intent that the findings reported herein provide some guidance for the future leadership of these local organizations in the context of local issues. / text

published_or_final_version / Politics and Public Administration / Master / Master of Public Administration

Post-disaster reconstruction, critical in restoring the affected community, provides new opportunities to redevelop the disaster affected region for economic growth, future vulnerability reduction and sustainable development as well. However, previous studies reveal that these opportunities have not been fully exploited. Many reconstruction projects have performed poorly due to various political, administrational, social, and policy/regulation-related reasons. To address the spotlighted gaps in post-disaster reconstruction, Public-Private-People Partnership (4P) is proposed and developed to procure more sustainable public infrastructure and to improve the overall performance of disaster management (DM) through integrating preparedness and mitigation into reconstruction processes. Public- Private Partnerships (PPP), which have demonstrated superior performance compared to the traditional approach in many infrastructure projects, are the practical and theoretical foundation of the proposed 4P. The integrated 4th P-‘people’ refers to major stakeholders who play critical roles in reconstruction, namely Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs), local communities, academia, professional groups and media. A 4P framework, comprising of a procurement framework and a partnership framework, was developed based on the consolidated findings from a literature review and empirical data. The procurement framework provides a three-stage procurement process to deliver a typical 4P project, including planning for post-disaster reconstruction procurement, establishing framework agreement and 4P delivery. Through pre-disaster arrangements formally linking potential participants in advance, it enables targeted 4Ps to mobilize faster, while being more efficient and sustainable. The partnership framework provides the corner-stone of establishing sustainable and successful relationships among multiple participants, to ensure smooth execution of 4P projects. Developed on significant findings from previous research on partnerships/relationship management in the construction industry, it describes the partnership structure, role of each major participant and institutional and relational strategies to improve the partnership/relationship. A comprehensive research design enabled collection of the data required to achieve each objective of this research project. The first-round semi-structured interviews were conducted to mainly investigate the feasibility of applying PPP in reconstruction and integrating ‘people’ into PPP, so as to narrow down the potential scope of the proposed 4P. Findings from the first-round interviews, current practice and pitfalls in the DM cycle especially in reconstruction were examined in the subsequent two parallel sets of questionnaire surveys targeting DM and PPP professionals. The results derived from 14 first-round interviews and 81 responses received in the questionnaires clearly suggest that 4P has great potential to deliver better performance in reconstruction projects of certain types. Nine second-round interviews helped to test and improve the established preliminary 4P framework. In addition, to further probe into the role of ‘people’, case studies of ‘Project Mingde’, which comprises of three construction projects including a Sichuan reconstruction project, were implemented. The proposed 4P framework, developed based on the above research, was validated through a focus group meeting. It is concluded that the 4P approach could help realize better performance and sustainable redevelopment in appropriate reconstruction scenarios, as well as contribute to improving the overall DM. The 4P framework also provides a basic methodology and conceptual foundation to procure 4P projects in industry with pointers for future development in academic research. / published_or_final_version / Civil Engineering / Master / Master of Philosophy

To solve the conflict between limited fiscal funds and increasing demands to strengthen infrastructure construction, Public Private Partnership (PPP) was introduced by the Chinese government as an effective approach to make use of private investment to implement infrastructure projects. To provide services or facilities for public use, in PPP, participants pool their skills and resources while at the same time sharing the risks and rewards. The application of PPP could not only ease the government’s financial pressure, but also improve the efficiency of infrastructure construction and ensure the service quality of projects. Although PPP produces these benefits, the complexity and long-term features of PPP projects expose participants to more risks than in traditional projects. Therefore, risk management of participants is critical to the success of PPP projects. As an innovative procurement approach involves a variety of stakeholders over a long time span, it is necessary to investigate how to appraise and recognize PPP project success. In addition, although risk management has attracted much attention, few studies examine the detailed link between various dimensions of risk management and PPP project success. This research therefore intends to fill these two gaps. Compared with countries in the West, PPP was introduced into China relatively recently. A comparative study was employed in this research in order to understand the Chinese situation and to make use of the experience of other countries to critique PPP project performance in Mainland China. In this study, a two-pronged research program—comprising quantitative and qualitative approaches—was used to test and validate the tripartite theoretical model which was set up based on Transaction Cost Economics (TCE), Resource-based View (RBV) and Relational Exchange Theory (RET). In the quantitative study, questionnaire surveys were conducted concurrently in Mainland China and other places. Hierarchical Multiple Regression was used to explore the relationships posited in the research framework. To provide supportive and complementary evidence to the quantitative data, a case study of a PPP project in Mainland China was undertaken. Open-ended interviews and the thematic analysis technique were adopted in the case study. Taken together, the findings indicated that although the facets of risk management significantly affect project success, there are subtle different influences on different stakeholders’ benefits. For example, the uncertainty of social issues and economic issues will affect public partner’s benefits while the uncertainty of political & institutional issues, economic issues and project specific issues are directly influence private partner’s benefits. To maximize their own interests, different stakeholders should pay more attention to the influencing factors that are specifically associated with them. Meanwhile, it is demonstrated that individual efforts on risk management also contribute to the benefits of other stakeholders as well as to the whole industry development. In addition, the comparative study suggests that public partners of PPP projects in Mainland China could refer to the risk management experience of public partners from other countries to make an appropriate risk management commitment and better manage risks. On the other hand, private partners of PPP projects in Mainland China need to pay more attention to the macro-control of the government so as to protect their rights and interests. / published_or_final_version / Real Estate and Construction / Doctoral / Doctor of Philosophy