Unsolicited Proposals – An Exception to Public Initiation of Infrastructure PPPs
Private-sector participation in infrastructure is most often contracted through regulated and competitive solicited procurement processes. An alternative is a privately initiated process (often referred to as an Unsolicited Proposal (USP)), whereby a private-sector entity reaches out to the government with a proposal to develop an infrastructure project. This study discusses a series of global trends related to USP processes; lessons learned from the management of such proposals; and some key implications for further considerations. Its overarching objective is to inform the public debate on the provision of infrastructure assets and services initiated through USPs, and more specifically, to help governments and policy makers make informed decisions about their implementation.
This study recommends simple measures that countries could adopt to better manage USPs. These recognize that countries have different levels of capacity to identify, prioritize, prepare and procure projects; competency in public-private partnership (PPP) project implementation; and maturity of their PPP markets and frameworks.