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
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:UTEXAS/oai:repositories.lib.utexas.edu:2152/22358 |
| Date | 21 November 2013 |
| Creators | Diana, Julia Barton |
| Source Sets | University of Texas |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Type | Thesis |
| Format | electronic |
| Rights | Copyright is held by the author. Presentation of this material on the Libraries' web site by University Libraries, The University of Texas at Austin was made possible under a limited license grant from the author who has retained all copyrights in the works., Restricted |
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