Mapping studies on sustainability in the performance measurement of public-private partnership projects : a systematic review

The integration of sustainable practices into infrastructure projects under the auspices of public-private partnerships (PPPs) is vital in the attainment of United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Since the inception of the SDGs in 2015, the attention of world has been shift-ing towards more sustainable practices and it is essential that the conventional performance measurement models on PPP projects also adapt to the trend of sustainable practices. Therefore, This study aims at reviewing and operationalising sustainable performance measures for the PPP infrastructure projects. A systematic literature review (SLR) methodology was utilised in this study. The research process began with the search, retrieval and selection of thirty-three (33) journal articles. Thoroughly, the selected articles were contently analysed to form key themes that form the basis of this research’s findings. The outcomes of this review demonstrate twenty-seven (27) most critical sustainable performance criteria of PPP projects such as the lowest project costs, green index, disa-bility-friendly inclusion rate and carbon emission per project among others. Although, the study is limited to few journal articles, it provides theoretical and practical understanding of integration of sustainability in PPPs. Further, it gives a list of relevant research gaps for further studies. This study contributes to the benchmarking and management of sustainable performance assessment of PPP projects

Improving the Mental Health Status of Project Management Practitioners in the Architecture, Engineering, and Construction Sectors during COVID-19 Pandemic

The consequences of the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic have given rise to unforeseen psychosocial risks in project management (PM) practices in the architecture, engineering and construction (AEC) project organizations, resulting in a decline in mental health among PM-practitioners. This decline in mental health among PM-practitioners is considered to be a significant problem with substantial economic and social effects. Given the negative effects of poor mental health in projects, identification of causes and possible interventions to tackle this problem becomes vital. Several studies have been conducted to explore these risks and organizational interventions for poor mental health. However, the existence of COVID-19 related psychosocial threats causing poor mental health limits the capacity of traditional interventions. The development of organizational interventions requires the capture of the sources of the risks that can trigger instances of poor mental health. There is scant research focused on improvement of the mental health status of PM-practitioners in the AEC project organizations during and after the pandemic. This study aims to identify the mental health status of PM-practitioners in the AEC project organization and define ways to improve it. This is achieved through examination of COVID-19 psychosocial risks, organizational interventions and development of a psychosocial risk management framework. This research adopted the job demand resources (JDR) theory to underpin the psychosocial risk management framework. Literature reviews and expert forums were conducted to examine COVID-19 psychosocial risks and potential organizational interventions. Moreover, hypothetical relationships between COVID-19 psychosocial risks, organizational interventions and mental health were tested to develop a psychosocial risk management framework. Nineteen relevant COVID-19 psychosocial risks for the mental health in AEC projects were identified. Among the psychosocial risks, “Lacks leadership knowledge and skills”, “Fears of losing job”, and “Difficulty in balancing personal and work needs” are ranked as the three most critical COVID-19 psychosocial risks in the AEC project organization. The least critical COVID-19 psychosocial risks include “Difficulty in managing project cost”, “Difficulty in managing project contracts” and “Disruption to supply chain”. This study has found twenty relevant organizational interventions that are suitable for mitigating COVID-19 conditions that may lead to poor mental health. Out of the twenty organizational interventions, “Hiring additional PM practitioners to distribute project workload”, “Providing training on how to balance work and family” and “Providing additional childcare supports” have been ranked as the three most effective interventions for promotion of mental health. In contrast, the least effective organizational interventions include “Enforcing the use of personal protective equipment”, “Providing support for working remotely”, and “Providing support for working remotely”. Perceptions of PM-practitioners about their AEC project environment revealed that the three strongest indicators to stress during COVID-19 are “Not feeling confident about one’s ability to handle problems”, “Not feeling that one was on top of things”, and “Unable to control irritations”. In comparison, “Feeling that one was unable to control the important things”, “Feeling difficulties in one’s PM-oriented work”, and “Feeling that one could not cope with all the things” are the least strong indicators to stresses for PM practitioners during the COVID-19 pandemic. The results of the data analysis in this research revealed that the changed working environment due to the COVID-19 pandemic negatively impacted PM-practitioners’ mental health. This study confirmed that organizational interventions positively supported PM practitioners and thereby further upheld the JDR theory. This study has also statistically ruled out the potential moderation effect of organizational interventions on the relationship between COVID-19 psychosocial risks and mental health

Review of the relationship management strategies for building flood disaster resilience through public-private partnership

Abstract: Relationship management is critical in public–private partnership (PPP), especially when the PPP concept is adopted to build community flood disaster resilience. In this regard, this study aims to conduct a systematic review to explore the relationship management strategies for using public–private partnership to build community flood disaster resilience. A systematic literature review was conducted to retrieve relevant publications related to the subject area. Through a thorough three-stage search using Scopus, a total of twenty-nine relevant journal articles were selected for analysis. From the review, a total of twenty-eight individual relationship management strategies for building community flood disaster resilience using PPP were derived. These strategies were put into six categories based on their individual meaning and relation to other factors; these include effective communication, legal and coordination, knowledge co-production, monitoring and evaluation, social initiatives, and consistent funding. Further, a conceptual framework was developed using a meta-governance approach, in which a four-step process is proposed to make the derived relationship management strategies actionable. The outputs of this study will be impactful for future empirical investigations on the use of PPP in building flood resilience

Barriers to the adoption of digital twin in the construction industry : a literature review

Digital twin (DT) has gained significant recognition among researchers due to its potential across industries. With the prime goal of solving numerous challenges confronting the construction industry (CI), DT in recent years has witnessed several applications in the CI. Hence, researchers have been advocating for DT adoption to tackle the challenges of the CI. Notwithstanding, a distinguishable set of barriers that oppose the adoption of DT in the CI has not been determined. Therefore, this paper identifies the barriers and incorporates them into a classified framework to enhance the roadmap for adopting DT in the CI. This research conducts an extensive review of the literature and analyses the barriers whilst integrating the science mapping technique. Using Scopus, ScienceDirect, and Web of Science databases, 154 related bibliographic records were identified and analysed using science mapping, while 40 carefully selected relevant publications were systematically reviewed. From the review, the top five barriers identified include low level of knowledge, low level of technology acceptance, lack of clear DT value propositions, project complexities, and static nature of building data. The results show that the UK, China, the USA, and Germany are the countries spearheading the DT adoption in the CI, while only a small number of institutions from Australia, the UK, Algeria, and Greece have established institutional collaborations for DT research. A conceptual framework was developed on the basis of 30 identified barriers to support the DT adoption roadmap. The main categories of the framework comprise stakeholder-oriented, industryrelated, construction-enterprise-related, and technology-related barriers. The identified barriers and the framework will guide and broaden the knowledge of DT, which is critical for successful adoption in the construction industry

Evaluating the project success index of public-private partnership projects in Hong Kong : the case of the Cross Harbour Tunnel

Purpose: Since 1960, many public–private partnership (PPP) projects have been implemented in Hong Kong. Some projects have been considered as very successful, whereas others are seen as less successful. Unfortunately, these success outcomes have remained abstract because they are not in quantifiable terms. This paper aims to develop a model that can quantify the success outcome of PPP projects in Hong Kong. Design/methodology/approach: Both quantitative and qualitative research approaches were adopted for the study. First, a questionnaire survey was conducted with PPP practitioners in Hong Kong, and thereafter, the fuzzy synthetic evaluation technique was used to develop a project success index for PPP projects in Hong Kong. The Hong Kong Cross-Harbour Tunnel project was used as a case study to demonstrate the applicability of the pragmatic model. Findings: The success index model developed consists of four unrelated success criteria groupings: cost effectiveness, quality of services and technical specification, environmental impact and long-term partnership. Further, the computed success index for the Cross-Harbour Tunnel project is 4.06, which indicates that the tunnel project has been highly successful. Originality/value: The outputs of this study will enable PPP practitioners in Hong Kong to reliably evaluate the success levels of their projects. In addition, local practitioners can now compare the success levels of two or more PPP projects on the same basis

International Best Practices of Public-Private Partnership: Insights from Developed and Developing Economies

This book discusses how Public-Private Partnership (PPP) is practiced in developed and developing economies. The book demonstrates how PPP as a concept has grown over the years with many governments particularly from developing economies/countries seeking to enhance infrastructure growth and development through this scheme. Further, the book explores how PPP has become the major infrastructure procurement policy adopted by many governments globally to address the rapid increase in demand for infrastructure due to the increase in population growth. Although, there are many available textbooks on PPP, this book is unique because it provides in-depth analysis and discussion on the international best practices of PPP from developed and developing economies perspectives. This book provides strategic measures, useful practices and information about the similarities and differences in PPP practices in developed and developing economies based on empirical evidence and case studies

Comparative analysis of the success criteria for public-private partnership projects in Ghana and Hong Kong

The criteria for measuring the success of public–private partnership (PPP) projects have become very topical because of the global interest in PPP project success. This article empirically investigates the differences and similarities of PPP project success criteria in developing and developed economies, represented by Ghana and Hong Kong, respectively. Results reveal profitability, meeting output specifications, and adherence to budget as the top three success criteria in Ghana, whereas adherence to budget, adherence to time, and effective risk management are considered more important in Hong Kong. The findings inform practitioners of the success measures considered in PPP in developing and developed countries

Editorial note : public-private partnership : strategic issues and the way forward

The idea of this special issue in Public-Private Partnership (PPP) came as a result of the increasing adoption of PPP and associated problems of implementing PPPs. Many governments globally are adopting PPP for many reasons, including to address funding gaps, better public facility management, innovation and value for money. Despite the many documented benefits of PPP, there are many reported problems associated with the policy. Therefore, this special issue aimed at exploring the salient topics and concepts associated with the implementation of PPP globally