Recommendations and guidelines for implementing PPP projects: Case of the electricity sector in Brazil

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to propose recommendations and guidelines for the initiation phase of a public–private partnership (PPP), focusing on the electricity sector in Brazil. Design/methodology/approach: A literature review allowed gathering international best practices, while brainstorming meetings and document research permitted acquiring data from the Brazilian electricity sector through a multiple case study of 12 projects. By applying benchmarking principles to compare findings, the paper proposes guidelines and recommendations, which culminated in a final framework for implementing PPPs. Findings: The created framework structures a series of recommendations with application in PPP projects. Also, the paper gathers worldwide best practices, which could increase the rate of success by avoiding problems throughout the other phases of a PPP project. Research limitations/implications: This paper addresses the electricity sector. Due to the singularity of such infrastructure enterprises, it is possible that the framework suggested is not entirely applicable to other enterprises, being a suggestion for future studies to perform an adherent test. Also, validating this framework is not in the scope of this project. Practical implications: The use of a framework on PPP implementations brings attention to necessary efforts on previous phases of projects, which can avoid financial and technical problems, improving the reliability of PPPs. Originality/value: The application of guidelines and recommendations on the electricity sector has not appeared with such focus in previous studies. The paper provides a practical manner to upgrade the process and suggests a model for implementing PPPs.