Developing an effective model to support construction companies entering the public-private partnership projects' market

The global economy is changing and national governments throughout the world are finding it increasingly difficult to fund projects catering for ever more diverging social needs. The idea that the private sector can play an important part in the financing, creation and operation of public services and built assets has thereby gained ground. Varying forms of partnership solution between the public and private sectors have emerged based on the assumption that both sectors have unique skills and characteristics providing each with advantages in undertaking certain tasks. These so called public private partnership projects (PPPs) are being realized in many areas within the public sector. In some respects the PPPs that generate construction work constitute a new challenge to the construction sector. Novel ways of conducting work are imposed on the actors in the form of risks and responsibilities that previously would have been taken by the public sector. This paper discusses research conducted within the research project 'developing an effective model to support construction companies entering the public private partnership projects market'. This research project aims at creating a body of knowledge to support the Swedish construction sector in its exploitation of the potential of PPP. Conclusions are drawn that emphasize the need of more thorough research of the design and construction phases of the projects, in particular how the team's efforts can be focused on innovation.