Category Archives: School PPP

Education Strategy, International Finance Corporation, Key Performance Indicator, KPI, Multilateral Development Bank, School and Education PPP, School PPP, World Bank

Kosovo – Supporting the Development of the first Education PPP

We have been appointed by the International Finance Corporation (IFC) to support them and the Municipality of Prishtina with the preparation and implementation of the first Education PPP project in Kosovo.  The project will see two schools rehabilitated and four new ones built.  Our role will be to help address various technical and commercial issues as part of IFC’s due diligence and transaction structuring.

This will be the first Education PPP in Kosovo, and continues our leading role in structuring Education PPPs worldwide.  It adds IFC (part of the World Bank Group) to the list of Multilateral Development Bank partners with whom we have worked on Education PPP assignments, a list that also includes the Asian Development Bank, Inter-American Development Bank, Development Bank of Latin America and the European Investment Bank.

Economic Development, School and Education PPP, School PPP, Smart Cities

Uruguay XXI Event

On 18 May 2018 Martin Finnigan joined around 50 delegates at the Why Uruguay? event at Tower Bridge, London, organised by Uruguay XXI (the National Investment and Export Promotion Agency), the Department for International Trade, and the Embajada Británica Montevideo.

Presentations by representatives from Embassy of Uruguay in London, the British Chamber of Commerce in Uruguay and Uruguay XXI described the key strengths of the Uruguayan economy and explained the many incentives that make it an ideal hub for companies wishing to enter and trade throughout Latin America.

The main points we took from the event were:

• it was the first country in the world to provide laptop computers to all primary and secondary school pupils, and to all teachers. Smart Cities, Smart Towns and Smart Education concepts are at the heart of schooling.  Language skills are good, all teachers have access to English tuition and a significant number of Portuguese speakers helps companies trade with Brazil;

• the country has high standards of transparency, strong institutions and is committed to investment in knowledge: facts I can relate to in my own experiences working in Uruguay;

• income per person is the highest in Latin America and Uruguay’s fifteen straight years of GDP growth far outstrip the performance of its massive neighbours, Brazil and Argentina;

• the country has implemented strategies that make it a very attractive location for companies seeking to establish a hub for goods and services in the region. Examples include excellent internet connectivity, free ports and free airports, no restrictions on repatriation of profits, no discrimination between overseas and domestic investors, unrestricted forex market, single taxation system throughout the country, and slick procedures for setting up a company.

For our part, it is good to see that the Education PPP program, which we helped develop, has recently issued invitations to tender for the fourth bundle of schools.

Key Performance Indicator, KPI, Publications, School and Education PPP, School PPP

Asian Development Bank – Learning from Scottish Education PPP models

The Asian Development Bank has published our article on Scottish Education PPP models and how they could be applied in the bank’s sphere of operations. In this blog we:

  • look at reasons why PPP is less widely adopted as a development model for education infrastructure compared to other sectors such as energy, transport and utilities;
  • consider the benefits that wider adoption of PPP could bring;
  • describe innovative structured that have been developed in Scotland; and,
  • suggest how they might be structured and deployed in the region.

The full article can be accessed on Asian Development Bank Blog.

Key Performance Indicator, KPI, Organisation Development and Training, School and Education PPP, School PPP

Our second Aberdeenshire Schools DBFM/PPP has reached financial close

Our appointment as Transaction Financial Advisers by Aberdeenshire Council on the procurement of a replacement for Inverurie Academy and Community Campus came to a successful conclusion when financial close was achieved on 19 April 2018.

This is our second such appointment by the Council, having previously supported the procurement of Alford Community Campus which opened its doors to pupils for the first time in October 2015.

alford

Photograph credit hub North Scotland

Both new schools were procured with our support from hub North Scotland under the hub/DBFM/PPP structure. They will variously serve pupils in early years (#kindergarten), primary and secondary education and include a range of community facilities such as theatre, sports hall, swimming pool, community library and dance studio, with all-weather and grass playing fields.

 

Education Strategy, Key Performance Indicator, KPI, School and Education PPP, School PPP

Angus Council – transaction adviser for two new primary schools

We are very pleased to have supported Angus Council on the procurement of replacements for Muirfield and Ladyloan Primary Schools in the coastal town of Arbroath, which reached financial close on 24 November 2017.  The new schools are being developed under a single Design-Build-Finance-Maintain contract with hub East Central.

Each school will have a capacity of approximately 335 primary pupils and 72 pre-school pupils.

We supported the Council’s in-house team in confirming that financial submissions from the private sector partner are within the various limits set by the Territory Partnering Agreement and we worked closely with the financing partners to achieve a successful financial close to the project. 

This continues our long relationship with Angus Council which including supporting the initial feasibility study, and subsequently acting as transaction advisor, for the Forfar and Carnoustie schools PPP.

Organisation Development and Training, Publications, School and Education PPP, School PPP

Uruguay – Management of Operational PPPs

On October 9 and 10 2017, Martin Finnigan participated an inter-institutional seminar on Control and Monitoring of PPP Contracts, at the invitation of Ministry of Economics and Finance of the Government of Uruguay and the British Embassy.

2-foto-evento

Presenting alongside Dr. Patricia Benavente (Peru) and Inspector of the Contract of UPPL No. 1 Bernardo Vidal (Uruguay), I delivered two sessions that explained the relevance of the Scottish PPP experience to Uruguay.

The event was attended by over 50 professionals with an interest in PPP in Uruguay including central government agencies, service delivery bodies, investors and funders.

I developed a theory of the forces the drive the evolution and development of PPP in an economy, and noted how managing a PPP pipeline demands the ability to adapt to foreseeable changes in the external environment, and cope with unexpected ones.

I also identified lessons we have learned in Scotland over 20 years of PPP, and interpreted these in the Latin American context.  Finally, I presented our report on the management of operational PPPs in the social infrastructure sector.

Economic Development, School and Education PPP, School PPP

Perth & Kinross – New Bertha Park High School Financial Close

The procurement of the new Bertha Park High School by Perth & Kinross Council reached financial close on 27 September 2017 . Built to accommodate pupil generated by the rapid expansion of the city, the new school will be developed under a single compact PPP contract between the Council and  hub East Central Scotland.

As the public sector Financial Transaction Adviser on this PPP we supported the Council’s in-house team and were responsible for assessing financial submissions from the private sector partner. This included confirming that returns, margins and fees are in line with the market and consistent with pre-agreed levels.  We worked closed with technical specialists to calibrate the payment mechanism, and supported commercial negotiations.

Education Strategy, Healthcare and Hospital PPP, Organisation Development and Training, Publications, School and Education PPP, School PPP, Uncategorized

Caledonian Economics Review of Operational PPP Projects

Caledonian Economics helps Local Authorities, Health Agencies and National Government develop and deliver excellent PPP projects.  We work at all stages of the PPP process: PPP strategy development, business cases, financial modelling, transaction support, Operational PPP performance improvement, rescue of distressed projects, and Public Sector training and capacity building.

Many of the projects we have supported have been open and operating successfully for ten years or more.  The senior public sector officials who have been responsible for these projects are  uniquely experienced to comment on the most effective approaches to long term management of PPP projects.

We spoke to ten of these public sector professionals, asked about their experiences, and discussed what advice they would give to new projects, now and in the future.

In our new report on Operational PPP projects, we ask seven key questions about the effectiveness of PPP Management, and identify important lessons.  You can read what we found out in our new report by downloading it here: Caledonian Economics Report on Operational Projects.

Healthcare and Hospital PPP, Organisation Development and Training, Publications, School and Education PPP, School PPP, Smart Cities, Smart City, Training and Development, Uncategorized

Caledonian Economics PPP Masterclasses

IMG_1915Senior public sector officials from central government departments in Beijing and several Chinese provinces including Jinan, Guangzhou and Hebei have taken part in our PPP Masterclasses this month.  This follows events we have run previously for government officials in Latvia and Uruguay and of course many training and development events in Scotland.

Our bespoke events draw from a menu of knowledge areas that covers all financial and commercial aspects of Public Private Partnerships.  They  provide an ideal opportunity to learn and share expertise that equip participants will skills to develop robust projects which deliver real social and economic benefits.

Our Event Leaders include some of the most experienced PPP practitioners in the world.  This professional team has worked at every stage in the PPP development process including sectoral strategy  development, feasibility and planning, transaction support, operational performance improvement, and rescue of distressed PPP projects.

Please contact us if you would like to know more about how we can help you shape better projects.