Proceedings of the PPP international conference 2013: Body of Knowledge

Abstract

Public Private Partnerships (PPPs) are now commonly used to accelerate economic growth, improve development and infrastructure delivery, support better integration of services, strengthen governance and quality levels, and also maximise innovation opportunities. Given the changing economic, social and political environment, coupled with globalisation and budgetary constraints, PPP has now become a desirable mainstream option for many countries worldwide. The need for PPP has been exacerbated by the public sector‘s recognition of the vital role of modern infrastructure in economic growth, the demand for which is evidenced in this conference through a variety of diverse projects and contexts across different countries.
This conference is jointly organised by CIB TG72, EU COST ActionTU1001 - Public Private Partnerships in Transport: Trends and Theory (P3T3, UCLan Centre for Sustainable Development (CSD) and The University of Hong Centre for Centre for Infrastructure and Construction Industry Development (CICID). The conference provides a forum for discussing recent work on policy, governance, operational and implementation issues related to PPP. It is particularly significant, in the sense that it brings delegates together from many countries to present papers of international importance in this field. Topics include issues around PPP infrastructure (transport - roads, water, seaports, highways, social, rail, etc.), education, housing and hospital/health sector developments, value for money, knowledge management, risk, modelling, transaction costs, performance management, finance mechanisms etc. This diversity brings together a rich blend of research and practice-based experience, which uncovers new understanding and insight into such important areas as: innovation, process improvement, trust, teamwork, and new collaborative approaches.
We are very fortunate to have six eminent keynote speakers from academia, practice, government and industry over the three days of the conference. The first two days are devoted to academic papers presentations, and the third day focuses on industry presentations and workshops.
This conference is supported by Emerald Publishing through the Journal of Construction Innovation and Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction; and best paper awards will be offered in the closing ceremony. In addition, we have had expression of interest from the Journal of Financial Management of Property and Construction to publish a selection of best papers from the conference.
The papers contained in these proceedings went through a two-stage formal academic review process. The first stage involved the review of each abstract by the conference Scientific Committee; and the second stage involved the review of each full paper by the Scientific Committee and external specialist reviewers. This process not only helped authors ‗sharpen‘ their papers, but also helped to strengthen academic rigour.
Finally, we would like to thank all members of the Organising Committee and Scientific Committee, the external referees, keynote speakers, and all contributory partners and sponsors.