Top 5 ways to Align Vision of a PPP

If you have not given much thought to Public-Private Partnerships, also referred to as PPPs or p3, you are missing out on understanding the collaborative relationships responsible for projects big and small across the country. From toll roads to national parks and monuments, PPPs are the collaborative agreements between public and private entities that allow these projects to be undertaken effectively. Including public groups, the government, and private groups, ranging from consultants to construction companies and private investors, PPPs bring together all the necessary parties for tackling complex projects. The first step toward completing a successful PPP project is aligning all of the moving parts. From partners, planning, strategy, and expectations, aligning the vision of all these separate components is key for finding success in these complex projects.

Start Early

Aligning vision and strategy for a PPP is essential for success, but it is critical to establish a shared vision from the outset of a project. Deciding to start aligning the vision of several partners after each has begun their own planning process presents a difficult hurdle. Decisions and ideas have already been made. Changing someone’s mind can be far more complicated than starting with a clean slate.

Start aligning the vision across the partnership from the outset in order to create a collaborative environment and avoid contradictory expectations for the project. Ensuring that everyone involved is working with the same expectations and following the same plan to get there is key for guaranteeing success and satisfaction for all partners.

Understand Roles and Work to Your Strengths

You can't show up to a PPP and expect every other partner to do the hard work. You have to reach into your pockets when necessary and be willing to complete your responsibilities. The best way to avoid this type of confusion is to build role and responsibility expectations into the vision. The purpose of a PPP is a partnership. These projects require the collaboration of multiple entities. Getting ahead of the confusion by establishing roles and expectations in your vision alignment will prevent hiccups and complications in the midst of the project.

Recognize Scale and Structure Benefits Top to Bottom

There are many players involved in a PPP, and it is essential to focus on more than just your own profit. Structuring a plan to provide tangible benefits for everyone contributing encourages a collaborative partnership and motivates better outputs from everyone. Because PPPs are crafted in order to complete projects that require the collaboration of public and private entities, it is essential that everyone gets their fair share and proper treatment throughout the process. Spoiling the partnership with 80% of the project left to complete leaves a difficult and less efficient path forward.

Put it in Writing

Don’t assume everybody remembers every conversation and that none of them contradict each other, the best way to make sure efforts are aligned and agreed upon is to put it in writing. With records of discussions and a firm alignment strategy, partners cannot deviate from the plan based on what they thought was correct. Having records and references for your alignment vision is an effective way to ensure accountability throughout the project for all partners.

Develop a Joint Business Plan

The best way to meet the four steps above? Craft a business plan for the project. A joint business plan outlines roles and responsibilities, intended efforts, goals, and forces partners to craft a physical plan for their visions. The process of creating a business plan will force partners to resolve any differences between their visions. This outline allows for a unified effort towards a common goal. Start this process early and be thorough. Having a top to bottom plan for all partners and all pieces of the process provides the space for total alignment. This allows all partners to agree on how to best align the vision for a PPP not only in the end goal but in all the steps leading up to it. Working your vision into the fine details is how to truly create total alignment. A concrete plan ensures that the effort and responsibilities of even the smallest contributor are included and aligned. Making a firm plan for all partners promotes collaboration, inclusion, and all of this leads to better vision alignment.

We know that there is much more to public-private partnerships than simple toll roads. Public-pivate partnerships have the potential to effectively complete massive local, state, or national projects. This blog just scratches the surface of the inner workings of public-private partnerships by introducing our readers to a fundamental step in beginning a PPP project. Thoroughly aligning the vision of all partners allows the partnership to live up to its maximum potential. Alignment leads to proper coordination and transparency amongst partners. All of this is a step toward maximizing the likelihood that projects will not only succeed but do so efficiently and effectively.