Reception and Convergence of Japanese and German Corporate Law

Public-private partnerships have seen the daylight in response to the adagio that project responsibilities and risks should be efficiently allocated between the public and the private sector. Nevertheless, the considerable bidding costs inhibit the competition in the market. A trustworthy project agenda could substantiate the PPP market’s attractiveness in the belief that a current success results in a knowledge and cost advantage in future tenders. This paper builds a sequential PPP procurement model and heuristically approximates the Markov perfect equilibrium in which contractors determine how much money they are willing to invest in the bid preparation and which mark-up is appropriate for each project in the pipeline. A pipeline of projects pushes down the mark-ups and the government procurement cost. Nonetheless, according to the experiments, it are only players with an initial experiential advantage who tend to make higher investment efforts so that additional governmental policies might be required to level the playing field.nrpages: 32status: publishe

Combinatorial versus sequential auctions to allocate PPP highway projects

This article models a procurement process for allocating multiple related public-private partnership (PPP) highway projects. Traditionally, public infrastructure procurement processes have used a sequential allocation mechanism, despite the potential benefits of allocating all projects at once. The main contribution of this research is to address the question whether these projects should be auctioned individually, in sequential auctions, or at the same time, in a combinatorial auction. Our goal is to understand the impact of the allocation process in terms of efficiency and social welfare. In sequential auctions, bidders submit their offers for each project independently. However, in combinatorial auctions, contractors have the ability to bid for their preferred packages (combinations of projects), reflecting synergies or entry costs, if any, in their valuations. We have compared the impact in terms of efficient allocation and social welfare of both mechanisms in order to help policymakers to take future decisions when facing these processes. The methodology used to address these core questions in the multidisciplinary environment described is based on social simulations, which involves conducting analysis by means of computational simulations. For this work we have created a sophisticated valuation model adapted to the public infrastructure sector and we have developed a simulator which includes multiple types of bidders, projects and several scenarios. The experimental setup is based on the second wave of the Colombian 4G program, a case involving the allocation of 9 highway construction projects across the country. We have also included references to multiple examples of real markets in which these mechanisms could be implemented. Therefore, this research provides a valuable reference for policymakers chasing to enhance market design that could be applied in many real-world scenarios. The results reveal that the combinatorial mechanism improves the process in terms of optimal allocation and efficiency, yielding significant savings for all parties

Models for engaging public-private partnerships in civil infrastructure projects: A case of ‘having your cake and eating it too’?

Session 4Bpublished_or_final_versio

Models for engaging public-private partnerships in civil infrastructure projects: A case of 'having your cake and eating it too'?

Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) are established globally as an important mode of procurement and the features of PPP, not least of which the transfer of risk, appeal to governments and particularly in the current economic climate. There are many other advantages of PPP that are claimed as outweighing the costs of PPP and affording Value for Money (VfM) relative to traditionally financed projects or non-PPP. That said, it is the case that we lack comparative whole-life empirical studies of VfM in PPP and non-PPP. Whilst we await this kind of study, the pace and trajectory of PPP seem set to continue and so in the meantime, the virtues of seeking to improve PPP appear incontrovertible. The decision about which projects, or parts of projects, to offer to the market as a PPP and the decision concerning the allocation or sharing risks as part of engagement of the PPP consortium are among the most fundamental decisions that determine whether PPP deliver VfM. The focus in the paper is on latter decision concerning governments’ attitudes towards risk and more specifically, the effect of this decision on the nature of the emergent PPP consortium, or PPP model, including its economic behavior and outcomes. This paper presents an exploration into the extent to which the seemingly incompatible alternatives of risk allocation and risk sharing, represented by the orthodox/conventional PPP model and the heterodox/alliance PPP model respectively, can be reconciled along with suggestions for new research directions to inform this reconciliation. In so doing, an important step is taken towards charting a path by which governments can harness the relative strengths of both kinds of PPP model

Collective learning in strategic Public Private Partnership (PPP) procurement systems for social infrastructure

This thesis explores how organisations involved in temporary joint ventures established for strategic Public Private Partnership (PPP) procurement systems arrange themselves and learn collectively so as to deliver a portfolio of social infrastructure, in terms of meeting or exceeding agreed performance criteria for whole-life value for money and environmental sustainability. This PhD research fulfils a gap in theory about the systematic way in which organisations involved in strategic partnerships can learn collectively and how this affects their performance. Theories and tools that underpin organisational learning and collective learning affiliated to temporary organisations are considered. The research also examines insights into the principles of value for money and partnering in construction, risks and benefits in complex procurement, project-based environments, total quality management, systems thinking and performance improvement inherent to strategic PPP procurement systems. The novel and unique contribution to theory made by this thesis is the exploration of how the parties to this complex form of PPP learn collectively. How learning can reveal itself in permanent construction organisations has been well researched by scholars, as has how learning can take place in temporary organisations that are often seen in the construction sector. However, what is lacking is a common understanding of how this learning occurs in a complex hybrid form of organisation, one where multiple permanent public and private sector organisations are working together strategically to form new long-term temporary organisations on a repeating basis. This research tries to understand how learning can take place in this specific hybrid organisational structure. It is a relatively rare and complex organisation type that can be proposed by governments to attempt to procure projects in a more systematic way instead of piecemeal, and taking a whole-life value approach to projects. The critical evaluation takes the case of Building Schools for the Future (BSF) in England, a highly ambitious capital programme that commenced in 2003, and was summarily cancelled in July 2010. Its aim was to transform all English secondary (and later also primary) schools into shining examples of 21st-century education provision, setting new norms for the schools estate. The work comprises a critical evaluation of strategic PPP procurement systems for the delivery of social infrastructure under BSF, called Local Education Partnerships (LEPs). The exploratory research is based on a mixed method comprising both quantitative and qualitative elements to identify, by taking a phenomenological approach, what the key objects studied (key LEP participants and LEP-built schools) share in common. Of the 44 LEPs that were established, 12 have been investigated as a form of strategic PPP procurement in England, as well as 600 schools worth approximately £9bn delivered by all LEPs between 2006 and 2015 as part of the legacy BSF programme. Any LEPs that had reached financial close prior to the programme termination date were analysed, especially those that had reached high levels of maturity. Performance parameters of schools procured through LEPs for value for money and environmental sustainability are identified and analysed across the procurement stages: design, build, maintain and operate. Further data is obtained from a major survey of 72 participants involved in 12 operational LEPs, along with information about their contractual and financial PPP and Private Finance Initiative (PFI) development and delivery structures. The theoretical base is drawn from management science domains of organisational learning. Based on the analysis and findings, learning collectively in PPPs appears to be a crucial factor for improvement in getting better whole-life value for money and environmentally sustainable assets. For that reason, a learning framework called the Asset Value Enhancement Model (AVEM) is introduced and discussed using elements of systems thinking, continuous improvement and total quality management. It embeds collective learning over time from organisations involved in a long-term strategic partnership, as the underlying assets travel through their lifecycle. The circular nature of the model (double-loop learning and Plan-Do-Check-Act) calls for a joint commitment, shared culture and aligned communication to cultivate ongoing value to the public and steady returns to the private sector, beyond merely project-specific improvement. After applying the AVEM in the context of LEPs, the research study concludes that the collective learning from eight contract performance mechanisms is diverse. The achievement of these performance requirements can be a good basis upon which to measure the success of the public private partnership in BSF. The results steer a wider discussion on interpolated theories of organisational learning, and especially how to achieve collective learning in strategic PPP procurement systems for social infrastructure. The research does not intend to promote nor criticise the legacy policy of BSF. Neither does it intend to make a political statement regarding the current and/or previous government. It does critically monitor, analyse and evaluate the complex procurement method using LEP companies that underpin the legacy BSF policy, and appraise the assets they have created. In particular, it looks at how learning collectively emerges between projects within a LEP (project-based) and the organisations involved in and between LEPs (inter-organisational). The procurement method is similar to that for the Local Improvement Finance Trust (LIFT) companies in healthcare and the hub companies for social infrastructure in Scotland, and not too dissimilar to other forms of bundled PFIs in the UK and worldwide. Beyond its academic value, this research might encourage understanding of and collective learning in a long-term strategic PPP when thinking about future innovations in procurement policy, both in the UK and abroad. The results may also inform the future policy and practice of strategic PPP procurement systems about how to deliver and manage infrastructure portfolios better, based on hard metric asset-level data

Automated Transit Networks (ATN): A Review of the State of the Industry and Prospects for the Future, MTI Report 12-31

The concept of Automated Transit Networks (ATN) - in which fully automated vehicles on exclusive, grade-separated guideways provide on-demand, primarily non-stop, origin-to-destination service over an area network – has been around since the 1950s. However, only a few systems are in current operation around the world. ATN does not appear “on the radar” of urban planners, transit professionals, or policy makers when it comes to designing solutions for current transit problems in urban areas. This study explains ATN technology, setting it in the larger context of Automated Guideway Transit (AGT); looks at the current status of ATN suppliers, the status of the ATN industry, and the prospects of a U.S.-based ATN industry; summarizes and organizes proceedings from the seven Podcar City conferences that have been held since 2006; documents the U.S./Sweden Memorandum of Understanding on Sustainable Transport; discusses how ATN could expand the coverage of existing transit systems; explains the opportunities and challenges in planning and funding ATN systems and approaches for procuring ATN systems; and concludes with a summary of the existing challenges and opportunities for ATN technology. The study is intended to be an informative tool for planners, urban designers, and those involved in public policy, especially for urban transit, to provide a reference for history and background on ATN, and to use for policy development and research

An investigation into the qualitative characteristics of large infrastructure and project finance ventures in Southern Africa

A thesis submitted to the Faculty of Commerce, Law and Management, University of the Witwatersrand in fulfilment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy. Wits Business School 4 November 2016Sub-Saharan Africa faces severe infrastructure deficits including in power generation, water facilities, transportation, and telecommunications. These deficits compound the socio-economic challenges of the most impoverished region in the world. It is estimated that funding of US$ 90 billion per annum is required to address infrastructure deficiencies. Other developing regions including Asia, the Middle East, and South America, have with varying degrees of success utilised the project finance framework to address similar infrastructure deficiencies, and also develop other commercial ventures. Africa has lagged behind in this respect, and still accounts for less than 3% of international project finance flows. The ability to attract and access international and domestic project finance capital, and execute the underlying ventures is an important opportunity to address the challenges noted above. The study contributes to knowledge by deepening our understanding of project finance in South Africa, Mozambique, and Zimbabwe in the following ways. Firstly, it offers a model through which to monitor key contextual factors that influence the success, failure, and shaping of project and infrastructure ventures. Secondly, it interrogates the main capital structure theories including the static trade off and pecking order theories, and their applicability and relevance for project and infrastructure finance in the selected jurisdictions. It then compares capital structure theory with actual practice of capital structure formulation in the 7 cases studies investigated. This yields important insights as to the most important factors influencing capital structure in project finance in the three selected countries. In particular the constrained supply of capital is observed as the top factor determining capital structure. It further enhances our understanding of why ventures using project finance in these countries may have significantly lower leverage than other similar ventures in developed regions of the world. Thirdly, the study extracts key insights into how stakeholder interactions evolve in the projects by applying stakeholder agency theory to project sponsors, managers, contractors, state institutions, and community organisations. Collectively these insights should contribute to attracting increased capital to project finance in Sub-Saharan Africa, and arranging projects with greater prospects of operational success.MT 201