The neutral, non-partisan Eno Center for Transportation has started accepting applications for a new technical assistance award program in Public-Private Partnerships (P3). Eno has designed the program to assist public agencies in better understanding the P3 development process, to spur action among states that have an established framework for P3s, and to build technical capacity among agencies’ professional staff.
In September 2014, the Surdna Foundation provided Eno with a two-year $150,000 grant in support of its Public-Private Partnership (P3) Working Group led by former U.S. Transportation Secretaries Norman Y. Mineta and Mary E. Peters. The grant is being used in two primary capacities: to disseminate the findings of the P3 Working Group’s report entitled Partnership Financing: Improving Transportation Infrastructure Through Public Private Partnerships and to help train public and private sector employees aiming to work together on P3 projects. Today’s announcement advances the latter of these two objectives.
“P3s are an underutilized delivery mechanism for infrastructure in this country, primarily because we are unfamiliar with them, but they can offer substantial public benefits and innovation,” said Joshua Schank, president and CEO of the Eno Center for Transportation. “We are excited that this program will be able to help states and localities that wish to better develop their capabilities in this area."
“P3s can be an important resource option to support and maintain infrastructure — but only if public agencies adequately understand the complexities and realities of this form of financing,” said Helen Chin, director of Surdna’s Sustainable Environments program. “There’s a myth that P3s are risk-free in that they can finance infrastructure without adding to the public debt. Or, that they guard against wasteful spending. Eno’s work will help municipalities understand the realities of P3s and how to assess them to optimize public value.”
Eno will select up to three public agencies to receive a specialized, one-day P3 summit with customized briefings and a separate onsite implementation training session with follow-up online support. Applications are due by May 29. For information on eligibility and selection criteria and detailed application instructions, interested parties should visit Eno’s P3 Working Group online.
