Public-private partnerships (PPP or P3) are cooperative arrangements between two or more public and private sectors, typically of a long-term nature. In the United States, they mostly took the form of toll roads concessions, community post offices and urban renewal projects. In recent years, there has been interest in expanding P3s to multiple infrastructure projects, such as schools, universities, government buildings, waste and water. Reasons for expanding public-private partnership in the United States were initially cost-cutting and concerns about Public debt. In the early 2000s, P3s were implemented sporadically by different States and municipalities with little federal guidance. During Obama's second term, multiple policies were adopted to facilitate P3 projects, and Congress passed bills in that direction with overwhelming bipartisan support. My Brother's Keeper Challenge is an example of a public–private partnership. Some Private-public partnerships were carried out without incident, while others have attracted much controversy.
Origins
Public-private partnerships in America have existed in one form of another since the beginning of the colonial period, as colonial charters were based on a partnership between the British Crown and a company responsible for colonisation. Much of the early infrastructure of the United States was built by what can be considered public-private partnerships. This includes the Philadelphia and Lancaster Turnpike road in Pennsylvania, which was initiated in 1792, an early steamboat line between New York and New Jersey in 1808; many of the railroads, including the nation's first railroad, chartered in New Jersey in 1815; and most of the modern electric grid. In the mid to late nineteenth century, toll roads concessions were first introduced in the United States, and this became a prevalent form of P3s in the country during the 20th century. P3s in the United States are also "traditionally associated with urban renewal and downtown economic development".
The prevalence of Public-Private Partnerships in public infrastructure increased around the world during the 1990s and 2000s. This was particularly the case in countries such as the United Kingdom, Canada and Australia, with strong encouragements from their national governments. The United States did not take part of this worldwide trend partly because the federal and States government traditionally had a small role in these areas, with public infrastructure projects being mostly funded through a well-functioning municipal bonds system. However, the United States became friendlier to P3s during Obama's second term, with the adoption of the Fixing America's Surface Transportation Act (FAST) and the Water Infrastructure Finance and Innovation Act (WIFIA) by Congress. The Department of Transportation also created the Build America Transportation Investment Center (BATIC) to help P3s access federal credit and facilitate their implementation.
Motivations
Pressure to sign Asset Montization P3 deals and to change the standard funding model for infrastructure projects arise from concerns about the level of public debt.
U.S. city managers' motivations for exploring P3s vary. According to a 2007 survey, two primary reasons were expressed: cost reduction (86.7%) and external fiscal pressures, including tax restrictions (50.3%). No other motivations expressed exceeded 16%. In the 2012 survey, however, interest had shifted to the need for better processes (69%), relationship building (77%), better outcomes (81%), leveraging resources (84%), and belief that P3s are "the right thing to do" (86%)." Among those surveyed, the provision of public services through contracts with private firms peaked in 1977, at 18%, and has declined since. The most common form of shared service delivery now involves contracts between governments, growing from 17% in 2002 to 20% in 2007. "At the same time, approximately 22% of the local governments in the survey indicated that they had brought back in-house at least one service that they had previously provided through some alternative private arrangement.
There has been proposals to reform social security and emergency services in the United States by transforming them into public-private partnerships to ensure their continued funding.