RESOURCES/FEATURED STORIES

Launch of Global Public-Private Partnership (PPP) Certification program

01 September 2014
Growing populations and aging infrastructure are straining the capacity of many countries to deliver essential public services and grow their economies. Overcoming this infrastructure deficit will require public and private sectors to work together. Well-structured public-private partnerships (PPPs) are one solution for helping governments raise the large sums of capital needed to meet infrastructure demands and spur development.

Growing populations and aging infrastructure are straining the capacity of many countries to deliver essential public services and grow their economies. Overcoming this infrastructure deficit will require public and private sectors to work together. Well-structured public-private partnerships (PPPs) are one solution for helping governments raise the large sums of capital needed to meet infrastructure demands and spur development.

However many developing economy countries lack the capacity and expertise, in both public and private sectors, to design, implement and regulate PPPs. All too often, this results in projects not achieving their intended benefits and causing many good schemes to fail. Despite widespread donor efforts on capacity building in PPPs, lack of common definitions, turnover of staff, and inconsistencies in training programs and uptake of skills contribute to persistent capacity problems.
PPIAF is supporting an initiative to formulate a PPP certification program with a grant in partnership with the World Bank Group (WBG), the Asian Development Bank and the Inter-American Development Bank. The certification program is envisaged to fill the gap in current methods used in capacity building activities by developing a global standard of knowledge. The program will help in facilitating the development of a common language on PPPs and harmonize expectations and understanding between practitioners involved at different stages and on different sides of the PPP process. 

The program will be managed by a delivery Partner-APMG-International which has experience in Programme and Project Management certification programs. The delivery partner will be responsible for the creation and delivery of the Program including the administration of the certification process, as well as fostering an infrastructure by which candidates can learn and acquire the knowledge needed to pass the certificate. 

PPIAF, the WBG and the other partners involved will play a key role in socializing the program with the global PPP community once it has been launched. The main objectives of the proposed certification program are summarized below:

  • Enable professionals in developing countries in the public as well as private sectors to acquire and demonstrate PPP skills learning at their individual pace and while working
  • Foster a common vocabulary among PPP practitioners globally as well as common expectations around PPPs by different practitioners involved at different stages and on different sides of the PPP process.

The primary audience for the program will consist of professionals working on PPPs in developing low and middle income countries, including public and private sector employees, policy makers, regulators, project managers, advisors, consultants, legal and finance professionals and others involved in PPP projects in various stages.  The expected key results of this work are the development of well-structured PPP projects and improved basic PPP skills among PPP professionals in developing countries.