Tag Archives: Schools PPP

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.

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.

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.

 

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

Dumfries and Galloway Schools PPP – Operational Support

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We have been reappointed to provide financial advisory support to Dumfries and Galloway Council for the operational phase of the Smarter Schools PPP project.

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Stranraer Academy, refurbished and extended

This project was signed in 2008 and all eleven schools were operational by 2010.  The project was financed by a £127 million facility provided by HSBC and the European Investment Bank.

This reappointment continues our long relationship with the Council which spanned the project business case, tender preparation and evaluation, financial close, and project effectiveness assignments during the operational phase.

Healthcare and Hospital PPP, Key Performance Indicator, KPI, Publications, School and Education PPP, School PPP, Training and Development

Education PPP – IDB, CAF and World Bank in Uruguay

Education PPP training Uruguay

Education PPP seminar

This October with Maria Jimena Cordoba from Castalia we provided a Education PPP training workshop for Uruguayan government agencies including Corporación Nacional de Desarollo (CND), Administración Nacional de Educación Pública (ANEP) and the Institute for Children and Adolescents (INAU) in Montevideo. The workshop covered international experience with Education PPP and management of  PPP contracts.

We also delivered a presentation on best practice in Education PPPs at a breakfast briefing event in Montevideo organised by the Inter-American Development Bank, the Development Bank of Latin America (CAF)  and the World Bank to promote the forthcoming Uruguay Kindergarten PPP project. 

Approximately 100 delegates from across  the Uruguayan PPP industry heard our presentation which described the Scottish experience of Education PPP over the last twenty years.

School and Education PPP

Aberdeen City – New South of the River Secondary School

Contracts were exchanged yesterday between Aberdeen City Council and hub North Scotland for the construction of a  new £45 million 1400 pupil school to service the south of the city.  This is being delivered under the Scottish hub/DBFM/PPP commercial structure.

We have supported the council throughout the project’s development, first in 2013 by helping develop the Educational Benefit Statement which underpinned the decision to create a new school by closing and merging Torry Academy and Kincorth Academy, and more recently as the Council’s financial advisers.

In this latter role we advised the Council throughout the procurement, testing and analysing the financial model, checking it was consistent with the technical solution and the central government funding offer, and ensuring it was fully optimised and delivering value for money across a range of inflation scenarios.

This continues a long relationship with the Council. We advised on the procurement of the ‘3Rs’ schools PPP from 2004 onwards, and in 2011 we assessed options for educational provision in the north western part of the city.

 

 

Economic Development, Education Strategy, Healthcare and Hospital PPP, Key Performance Indicator, KPI, Organisation Development and Training, Publications, School and Education PPP, School PPP, Smart Cities, Smart City, Training and Development

Latvijas Pašvaldību savienība (LPS), Latvian Association of Local and Regional Governments

Working with LPS, we delivered a half day seminar and web broadcast to around seventy representatives from Latvian municipalities and local government bodies.  The Webinar described the Scottish experience of PPP, its evolution to meet the particular social aspirations of the nation, and its relevance to other states of similar size and latitude.