Public-Private Partnership (PPP)

These are partnerships between the public and private sectors for the purpose of delivering a project or service traditionally provided by the public sector.

The term can cover anything from the building of a Private Finance Initiative hospital to a contract for a business to collect domestic rubbish.

Further information

The concept of public-private partnerships began to emerge in the early 1990s in regeneration programmes such as City Challenge, where the public sector, predominantly local authorities, were encouraged to work with private sector investers such as AMEC to regenerate areas and neighbourhoods. Additionally, the voluntary sector and communities were expected to be involved in the partnership.

One example of where PPP has worked effectively is Hulme City Challenge (pdf).

» HM Treasury (pdf)