Category Archives: Organisation Development and Training

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.

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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.

 

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.

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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.

Ground breaking work of e-sgoil recognised in our report

How often do we see a project that breaks genuinely new ground? 

Very rarely I would say, but e-sgoil does, as Holyrood Magazine reported while commenting on our recent study.

E-sgoil is not just another distance learning package. It seeks out situations where location is at the root of a mismatch between the demand for – and supply of – education.  Then it asks how technology can be used to address the mismatch.  It takes Smart Cities concepts and applies them in the Smart Islands context.

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Developed in the Western Isles with the vision of “Placing the Periphery at the Centre”, e-sgoil is finding applications across Scotland: helping address shortages of specialist teachers, delivering Gaelic language courses in places where it was not previously feasible, broadening the curriculum in small island schools, and enabling students of all ages to study courses up to postgraduate levels in the workplace or close to home.

 

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.

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.

 

PPP in Scotland and Uruguay – APP en Escocia y Uruguay

Scotland and Uruguay have much in common including a strong ethic of equality and social justice.

As Uruguay begins a programme of school PPP projects, Martin Finnigan was invited by Sunny Sky Solutions to give his thoughts on what this charming Latin American country might earn from the Scottish experience.

Click here to read more.

Escocia y Uruguay tienen mucho en común, incluyendo una fuerte ética de igualdad y justicia social.

Mientras Uruguay comienza un programa de proyectos APP escolares, Martin Finnigan fue invitado por Sunny Sky Solutions a dar sus pensamientos sobre lo que este encantador país latinoamericano podría ganar de la experiencia escocesa.

Haga clic aquí para leer más.

 

Dumfries and Galloway Schools PPP – Operational Support

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.

NHS Orkney New Hospital – Financial Close

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Caledonian Economics would like to congratulate NHS Orkney, Robertson Capital Projects and the project team on reaching financial close and signing the contracts for the New Orkney Hospital and Healthcare Facility. 

With colleagues from QMPF we have been working with NHS Orkney for several years to support the business case and subsequent procurement under a variant of the Scottish PPP/NPD model.        

The new Rural General Hospital will have 49 inpatient beds covering acute, cancer & palliative care, maternity and rehabilitation  and will host a variety of services including two GP Practices, Dental and support services.  When it opens in 2019 it will provide a state of the art modern building which will enhance the services staff can offer, utilising technology and the improved facilities.

More details here: http://www.ohb.scot.nhs.uk/new-hospital-and-healthcare-facilities 

This continues Caledonian Economics’ long association with Orkney, having previously supported Orkney Islands Council on the procurement of the new Kirkwall Grammar School and Theatre, Pickaquoy Leisure Pool and Stromness Primary School, using a unique variant of the PPP structure.

Healthcare PPP Programme, Turkey

We have been selected as preferred bidder, alongside partners in Istanbul, Ankara and Warsaw, to assist the Government of Turkey and the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development with the design and implementation of the Ministry of Health Monitoring Unit for the national Healthcare PPP programme.

This is the largest Healthcare PPP programme in the world and will deliver at least 14 new hospitals with over 26,000 beds.

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.