A Guide to Understanding and Evaluating the Use of Public-Private Partnership for Public Buildings

While public-private partnerships, or P3’s, have primarily been used in the U.S. for transportation and water projects, the model has recently been used to address infrastructure needs to repair, replace, or build public buildings where government operations take place. Problems with the P3 model include the loss of public control over policy and planning decisions, increased costs to public budgets, and reduced labor standards. On top of these, the P3 model oftentimes results in the loss of transparency and public input. The recommendations from this guide to resolve these issues come in the form of questions to ask. These questions aim to help advocates, policymakers, and other stakeholders better understand and analyze public building P3 proposals, contracts, and related legislation to bolster their decision-making ability. Some questions include: How does the public building, if there is one, currently meet community needs? Is it able to provide the space to successfully provide the public service or program? Has an analysis been done to understand capital needs for the rehabilitation or construction of the public building?