- Title
- Tendering phase of Australian social public private partnerships: a success framework
- Creator
- Simon, Laura
- Relation
- University of Newcastle Research Higher Degree Thesis
- Resource Type
- thesis
- Date
- 2021
- Description
- Research Doctorate - Doctor of Philosophy (PhD)
- Description
- Australia’s population is expected to grow from 24.6 million to 36.4 million from 2017 to 2047; this represents nearly 12 million more inhabitants in 30 years (Infrastructure Australia, 2018). This growth is a major challenge for the infrastructure market. An increase in private and public funding sources is essential, along with an assessment framework for selecting and delivering priority infrastructure projects. In addition, simplifying private sector investment in the design, construction and operation of Australia’s infrastructure networks is essential (Infrastructure Australia, 2016). One model designed to meet these objectives is the Public Private Partnership (PPP) procurement model. PPPs are long-term contracts between the public and private sectors, used for the development of new public infrastructure. One single contract involves design, construction, financing, maintenance and delivery of ancillary services for a specific period of time. PPPs each have a unique set of characteristics, and successful delivery means navigating various complexities and stages. One of the key stages in PPPs is the tendering phase, and its main aim is for the public sector to select a strong private consortium (with appropriate financial abilities, experience and capabilities) that is able to provide reasonable delivery costs. Enough competition is needed to allow the public entity to choose the best consortium; however, it has been established that costly project proposals, high transaction costs, a lack of transparency and a long duration for the tendering phase will have a negative impact on competition. To date, there has been little discussion on how to improve the tendering phase, with only one study attempting to summarise the improvements needed in order to increase the efficiency of the PPP tendering phase (see T. Liu et al., 2016). Liu et al (2016) concluded that more research is needed in this area to extend their findings. The overall aim of this thesis is to identify and examine the factors affecting the efficiency and effectiveness of the tender phase of social infrastructure PPPs in order to develop a success framework. The framework can be used by the private sector to improve its tendering performance, and by the public sector to decrease costs, duration and complexity of the tendering phase while getting the infrastructure and service they need. The success framework can also inform policy makers. The framework was established by developing and testing a theoretical model. This model was tested on two current PPP project cases studies, both located in New South Wales (NSW), Australia: the Clarence Correctional Centre in Grafton and the Northern Beaches Hospital in Sydney. Five (5) main areas of focus were identified at this stage of the study: the organisation in general; the people in the organisation; the different processes; communication (inside the teams and between the public and private entities); and the context and market around the project. More attention to these factors would help to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the tendering phase. Twenty-seven (27) factors were identified, aimed at improving each area. In order to make the framework more practical for the public and private stakeholders, and to assist decision makers in their judgments about the tendering phase of PPPs, a Delphi methodology was used to prioritise the factors. Ten (10) factors were identified as very important to the success of the social PPP tendering phase: a clear risk allocation (process factor); the clarity of outcomes requested (communication factor); the efficient use of interactive sessions by the private sector (communication factor); the previous experience of individuals (people factor); the quality of the state government team (people factor); the quality of the consortium leader (people factor); the Public Sector Comparator (PSC) (process factor); the communication inside the consortium (communication factor); the level of standardisation (organisational factor); the straightforward approval process (process factor). Communication and People are two (2) areas strongly emphasised among these ten factors, with three (3) factors well ranked for each. Communication, and especially a focus on clarity in the description of the need being addressed, was the link between the three (3) first factors. Clarity of risk allocation and of the outcome requested will help the private consortia to tailor their offer to the needs of the client. Communication, particularly in the form of interactive workshops, will also help stakeholders to gain clarification on uncertain points during the tender phase. Experience, and quality of both the teams and of management are also key to tender-stage success. A commitment to training individuals on the specifics of PPP-type projects must also be made by both the public and private sector stakeholders. Hiring the required experts and being able to retain experienced people in the company will also affect the efficiency and effectiveness of the tendering phases of a PPP. Overall, the findings provide strategies for public and private sectors to follow in order to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the tendering phase of social infrastructure PPP projects in NSW, Australia.
- Subject
- procurement; tendering; PPP; social infrastructure
- Identifier
- http://hdl.handle.net/1959.13/1446582
- Identifier
- uon:42911
- Rights
- Copyright 2021 Laura Simon
- Language
- eng
- Full Text
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| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT01 | Thesis | 3 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download | ||
| View Details Download | ATTACHMENT02 | Abstract | 408 KB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |