Public-Private Partnerships with No Contractual Base Case: Adjusting for the Impacts of Covid-19

The purpose of this article is to discuss a method for compensating a private concession-aire for cash flow losses related to Covid-19 suffered in 2020 and 2021. The analysis is based on a public-private partnership (PPP) set up to exploit surface parking lots, signed between a Portuguese municipality and a private corporation. The contract has no financial base case. The article concludes that a base case is not an obstacle to calculate this type of compensation, that the previous performance of the contractor is a reasonable basis to estimate losses and the forecasts extending to 2026 are a good schema with which to estimate the extension of the concession period claimed by the Petitioner. The arbitration court deciding the corporation's claim has valid reasons for an equitable decision. © 2023, Lexxion Verlagsgesellschaft mbH. All rights reserved.

Innovation, Collaboration and Wine Tourism in Canada's Okanagan Valley: The British Columbia Beverage Technology Access Centre

Wine tourism is an important component of the wine industry in Canada's Okanagan Valley. This chapter discusses the role of the federally funded British Columbia Beverage Technology Access Centre in assisting small to medium enterprises in the development of their wine tourism business specifically and their sustainability in general. The chapter identifies and discusses the benefits and challenges faced by public organizations in collaborating with private sector operators. It also discusses the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the operation of wine tourism in the Valley and how the Centre has responded to this major impact. Finally, the chapter also discusses the interaction between Okanagan College, the Centre's primary sponsor, its faculty and students with the wine industry including the ways in which this interaction has benefitted wine tourism in the region. © Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd. 2023.

A critical review of public–private partnerships in the COVID-19 pandemic: key themes and future research agenda

PurposeUndoubtedly, coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has released unprecedented disruptions and health crisis on people and activities everywhere. The impacts extend to public–private partnership (PPP) arrangements in the construction industry. Concomitantly, PPP pacts are contributing to combat the pandemic. However, literature on the PPP concept in the COVID-19 era remain under-researched. This study aims to review the current literature on PPPs in the COVID-19 pandemic and present the key themes, research gaps and future research directions.Design/methodology/approachIn this study, 29 highly relevant literature were sourced from Web of Science, Scopus and PubMed search engines within the systematic literature review (SLR) methodology. With the aid of qualitative content analysis, the 29 articles were critically analysed leading to the extraction of hot research themes on PPPs in the coronavirus pandemic.FindingsThe results of the SLR produced eight themes such as major changes in PPP contracts, development of the COVID-19 vaccines, economic recession, facemasks and testing kits, governance and sustainability of PPPs. In addition, the study reveals seven research gaps that need further investigations among the scientific research community on mental health and post-pandemic recovery plans.Research limitations/implicationsThe articles selected for this review were limited to only peer-reviewed journal papers written in English excluding conference papers. This restriction may have taken out some relevant literature but they had insignificant impact on the overall outcome of this research.Practical implicationsTo improve the understanding of practitioners in the construction industry on key issues on PPPs in the COVID-19 pandemic, the study provides them a checklist of relevant themes.Originality/valueAs a novel literature review relating PPPs to the coronavirus, it sets the foundation for further research and contributes to practical measures to control the virus.

Reinsuring pandemics: the role of government and public-private partnerships between reinsurers and governments.

Pandemic-related business interruption (BI) losses are generally considered 'uninsurable' because, in order to pool sufficient premium revenue to meet valid claims, premiums would be unaffordable for the majority of policyholders. This paper explores whether and how such losses might be made insurable in the U.K. The authors consider post-pandemic governmental responses, including the role of the Financial Conduct Authority (FCA) and the meaning and implications of FCA v Arch Insurance (U.K.) Ltd ([2021] UKSC 1). The central premise of the paper is to highlight the importance of reinsurance in increasing an underwriter's insuring capacity and to illustrate how, with the support of government in the form of a public-private partnership (PPP), 'uninsurable' risks of this type may be made insurable. The authors propose a PPP, 'Pandemic Business Interruption Re', which provides, in their view, a feasible and defensible solution that would confer the benefit of increasing policyholders' faith in the industry's ability to underwrite pandemic-related BI claims and reduce reliance on ex post government aid.

Building Trust and Advancing U.S. Geoeconomic Strength Through Public-Private Partnership Stakeholder Capitalism

The United States and China are currently engaged in a struggle for global influence and critical resources known as the Great Power Competition (GPC). Strategic access to key populations, geographies and supply chains, largely built on trust, will be the deciding factor in determining a competitive advantage. The global devastation of the COVID-19 pandemic has demonstrated that no one wins in a power struggle that overlooks human security for shareholder interests. This chapter explores a new way for the U.S. to engage within the modern GPC that increases competitiveness while better supporting the dignity of human constituents: specifically, to employ stakeholder capitalism rather than shareholder capitalism to win the hearts and minds of global citizens. This chapter will demonstrate that traditional national security policies, based primarily on the state, are less effective geopolitically and should no longer drive foreign policy or U.S. industrial policy. In order for the U.S. to compete in the current global arena, its policy must prioritize human and business security. Additionally, the chapter will explore the interdependent and complex relationship between the U.S. and China within the context of the modern GPC and the effects of this relationship on U.S. economy and industry. Finally, the chapter prescribes Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs), both at home and abroad, as an effective means to bolster U.S. and foreign institutions. Such a strategy will better serve all stakeholders in a post-COVID-19 global society while positioning U.S. security interests uniquely within the modern GPC. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

From the Great Power Competition to Great Power Cooperation: Strategic Lessons from a Pandemic

A swiftly changing geopolitical and geoeconomic landscape in Central Asia-Southeast Asia (CASA) resulting from the COVID-19 pandemic coupled with the modern Great Power Competition (GPC)-calls for a timely shift in U.S. foreign diplomacy to "soft power” facilitation and cooperation in this fragile region. The COVID-19 pandemic has revealed that isolationism and/or the over-reliance on militaristic might are ineffective strategies for maintaining long-term U.S. national interests. As China rapidly expands its "soft power” influence in the Central Region through its Belt and Road Initiative (BRI), the U.S. must enact similar strategic undertakings to remain competitive. To that end, the New Silk Road Initiative (NSRI) is the United States' best option to compete and/or cooperate with China's BRI. Strategic implementation of the NSRI is critical, not only for gaining traction in the modern GPC, but ultimately for expediting a successful recovery from the pandemic, through increased regional trade and economic development. The NSRI can facilitate the commercialization of Afghanistan's vast wealth of natural resources, especially its rare earth and critical minerals, ensuring continued U.S. strategic influence in the CASA region. The NSRI can also be instrumental in affording new opportunities for interstate cooperation within the scientific and technological communities during this crucial time of global recovery. The COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted not only our global interconnectedness and interdependence, but also the prospect of great power cooperation in the service of global healing. © The Editor(s) (if applicable) and The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Switzerland AG 2022.

In search of legitimacy: covid-19, education policy response and the emergence of ‘digital compradors' in Georgia

Using an interdisciplinary approach, this paper draws on theoretical concepts from political science and comparative education to explore policy-makers' responses to COVID-19 in Georgia. The findings show how the Ministry of Education of Georgia has sought external endorsements from global actors–Microsoft Corporation and The Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD)–as legitimising authorities to claim policy effectiveness domestically. The findings indicate that in a political environment with low public support for the government, this approach has contributed to further deepening of public discontent. Moreover, such external endorsements have created conflicts of interest, as private authorities in education have acted simultaneously as policy advocates and service providers. The changed role of a government in creating markets through public–private partnerships (PPPs) and serving the business interests is a well-studied phenomenon. This paper goes beyond documenting policy influences and the growing role of businesses in education by considering the additional roles that corporations play: endorsers and legitimators of education policies. The pandemic accelerated the digitalisation of education and created even bigger markets promoted by governments in exchange for external political support. Finally, the paper offers a new analytic term ‘digital compradors' and conceptualises this emerging phenomenon in relation to PPP. © 2023 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group.

PUBLIC-PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS: POLICY PRESCRIPTION DURING THE ERA OF PANDEMICS

The COVID-19 pandemic caused disruptions in global supply chains that have resulted in prolonged shortages and financial hardships for many corporations. While organizations have dealt with supply chain interruptions for natural disasters and stock market crashes before, the COVID-19 pandemic presented a larger and unique challenge, and it required the need for resiliency in supply chains. This paper discusses several alternatives that can mitigate potential supply chain disruptions. Despite the natural inclination to protect domestic companies and industries, this paper cautions against the use of protectionism policies to prevent supply chain disruptions, as protectionism is proven to be damaging to innovation and eliminates the positive aspects of international trade and globalization. The paper recommends that governments and corporations establish strategically designed and aligned public-private partnerships that simultaneously encourage the principles of the free-market economy while providing increased preparation for supply chain disruptions caused by future global events. We further attest that Public-private partnerships will increase supply chain resiliency while simultaneously enhancing public welfare.

The South Korean case of deploying rural broadband via fiber networks by implementing universal service obligation and public-private partnership based project

Despite broadband being essential infrastructure for conducting basic socio-economic activities and reducing inequality and the digital divide, expanding broadband coverage in rural areas remains a significant challenge in many countries due to high deployment costs. South Korea, a developed country in terms of fixed broadband penetration, implemented two policies for rural broadband via fiber access networks simultaneously during the COVID-19 pandemic. One is the universal broadband service at 100 Mbps speed introduced in 2020, and the other is the rural broadband project in terms of a public-private partnership (PPP) that proceeded from August 2020 to 2022. While both policies contribute to reducing the broadband gap between the urban and the rural in the country, it is still important to find the optimal cost-effective combination of the plural rural policies as much as possible from the cost perspective. Accordingly, this study proposes an investment cost estimation model for deploying rural broadband via fiber networks in South Korea and evaluates whether implementing two rural broadband policies in the country is cost-effective. The proposed model is designed according to the bottom-up approach, which involves building an efficient network with the latest technologies;thus, it gives a more accurate and reliable estimation of the investment cost of building rural broadband in the South Korean territory. The significant findings of this study are twofold. First, the PPP-based project could make the participating internet service providers (ISPs) deploy broadband at a cost-effective level, similar or lower to the universal service, and then recover the investment cost per building within a reasonable period. Thus, the result implies that governments need to consider the PPP-based project as an effective measure to deploy rural broadband, in addition to the introduction of universal service. Implementing multiple broadband policies to expand rural broadband coverage could be a reasonable and practical approach to improving broadband availability. Second, the governments still needs to make efforts to solve the complicated difficulties in rural areas in South Korea where rural-related broadband policies are still challenging to implement. This study confirmed that in some regions, the PPP-based project was still inferior to universal service in terms of average investment cost. In contrast, universal service had significant constraints to providing broadband because of the end-users cost burden, resulting in low broadband adoption. Therefore, the government needs to consider some measures to increase broadband availability and broadband adoption, such as widening the rural areas under the jurisdiction of participating ISPs, decreasing the proportion of participating ISPs bearing the investment cost of deploying broadband, and improving the cost burden of the end-users of universal service in some limited areas.

Blockchain Predictions for Health Care in 2021.

With coronavirus (COVID) spreading across the world and the health care system being pushed toward more digitization and technology, last year was a unique year of human tragedy. There is a silver lining to this tragedy, that is, providers, payers, and pharma companies have shifted quickly toward better technologies, including artificial intelligence (AI) blockchain, and so on.

How to be prepared for the future

The chapter "Disease by Decision – human-induced threats to biosafety and biosecurity” starts with the 2001 anthrax attack in the USA, which was the event that led to the Fink Report, and a range of prescient interventions, including the creation of the National Science Advisory Board for Biosecurity, a committee that later considered gain-of-function (GOF) controversies. The risk of a lab accident is discussed, but Gostin concludes that an incident with global catastrophic impact has not yet occurred, thus dismissing the hypothesis that SARS-CoV-2 originated from a laboratory leak. Because of the anthrax attack in 2001, the USA have been the most advanced country in considering biosecurity risks. Gostin provides a very comprehensive plan for health system strengthening, financing, research and development, governance, equitable access to pharmaceuticals, and global cooperation.

COVID-19 and Homelessness: Response of South African Municipalities during First Wave of the Pandemic

The coronavirus is a quintessentially urban pandemic that wreaked havoc in all social settings, from villages to cities. Homelessness can create an ideal environment for the rapid spread of the SARS-CoV-2 within this vulnerable group. The current pandemic has exposed the inaccessibility of healthcare services by those experiencing homelessness. As such, this paper uses an event methodology to examine how (1) local municipalities have responded to homelessness during the COVID-19 pandemic and (2) the extent of the involvement of civil society groups across Cape Town, Durban and Johannesburg. It also compares each city's policy frameworks and strategies to identify the challenges and successes experienced. Findings suggest that although a cookie-cutter technique does not exist for addressing homelessness during the current pandemic, there are valuable lessons to be learnt such as the use of public-private partnerships with shared responsibility. It is hoped that through the findings of this research, future local, provincial and national homelessness housing policy could avoid the barriers that will arise in addressing homelessness.

Public-Private Partnerships: Renegotiations, Demand Guarantees and Alternatives in Turbulent Times

In this article, we assess the motivations, scope and options available for governments that seek to renegotiate public-private partnership (PPP) concessions in sub-Saharan Africa (SSA). Existing literature reveals that scholars have made efforts to study PPPs and provide recommendations for maneuvering renegotiations in turbulent times such as Covid 19 era. The uniqueness of COVID-19 and its impact on PPP concessions have largely remained unnoticed despite the creation of a hypothetical environment that is likely to increase voluntary and involuntary renegotiations by governments in SSA and the world. Based on a review of the literature, the study reveals that during uncertain times, renegotiations of the terms of PPP concessions are imminent. To understand the dynamics and complexities of renegotiations, the study was guided by game theory since the negotiation and renegotiations operates on principles of a game. While the existing literature, focuses on reasons for renegotiation, provides general renegotiation outcome options, it has not provided guidance on appropriate options for various situations, such as turbulent times manifesting in the context pandemics and recessions, and when the public purse is constrained. The outcome of the study reveals that in such case traditional cash demand guarantees are impractical. Therefore, the study contributes to the body of knowledge of PPPs by departing from the elusive approaches of earlier studies and provides more context based alternative renegotiation options that governments can offer as tradeoffs when renegotiating PPP concessions in turbulent times.

Demystifying Bretton Woods Institutions' Rhetoric on Public Services.

This article reviews Bretton Woods Institutions' approach to public services, including during the recent COVID-19 crisis. Drawing on the specific case of IMF and World Bank's response to the multiple crisis triggered by the pandemic, it shows that there is a discourse-practice disjuncture in the institutions approach to public services as they continue to favour austerity and market-oriented solutions for the delivery of public services. The article therefore seeks to demystify the Bretton Woods institutions rhetoric and demand the adoption of a different way of understanding public services, and social policy more broadly.

COVID-19 Vaccination: A Public and Private Partnership

This study evaluates the COVID-19 environment as well as the healthcare infrastructure necessary to provide timely immunization to the American public during a pandemic. The study will propose a public and private partnership for hospital and healthcare organizations comprised of government hospitals, not for profit hospitals and for-profit healthcare organizations to maximize vaccination efforts. Data was obtained from the 2019 American Hospital Association (AHA) annual survey. This data file provides essential information on individual United States hospitals in support of the communities they serve. The AHA data were evaluated to identify hospitals with the appropriate infrastructure to treat the COVID-19 pandemic. Additionally, other data bases were used to identify population demographics to develop national, state and local plans to provide COVID-19 vaccinations in local communities (AHA, 2019). The data show that the federal government operates 208 acute care hospitals and the Veterans Administration (VA) and Department of Defense (DOD) operate another thousand clinics. At the state level, there are 1,283 non-federal government hospitals and 2,800 local public health departments available to provide immunizations during a pandemic. These federal and state healthcare facilities, augmented by state National Guard medical personnel can provide the foundation upon which to build a robust vaccination plan during a pandemic. In support of a public and private partnership, there are 3,126 not for profit hospitals representing 75% of US hospitals, which have a responsibility to provide local communities with healthcare services. Additionally, there are another 1,162 for profit US hospitals operating within local communities. The American Hospital Association data show that many of these hospitals are larger and are located in metropolitan areas which have the greatest need for COVID-19 vaccinations. In rural communities there are 1,350 Critical Access Hospitals which can support vaccinations in rural America. The study has managerial implications associated with local planning for COVID-19 vaccinations and policy implications for future vaccine planning during a pandemic.

Sustainable Real Estate and Resilient Cities: Management, Assessment and Innovations

The main topics of this Special Issue include the following: (i) building management, (ii) building costs, (iii) mass appraisal methods, (iv) econometric models, (v) real estate risk management, (vi) economic valuation of real estate investment projects, (vii) real estate market, (viii) social housing, (ix) urban economics, (x) land, (xi) transport economics, (xii) real estate economics and finance, (xiii) sustainable building transformations and economic effects on environment, (xiv) green buildings, (xv) resilient cities, (xvi) COVID-19 pandemic and (xvii) Environmental, Social and Governance (ESG). [...]the universities or research institutes affiliations to which the Authors belong are distributed throughout the world: in the Europe the authors come from Spain, France, Portugal, Netherland, Germany, Belgium, United Kingdom, Poland, and Hungary;in Asia from China, Korea, Russia, Malaysia, and United Arab Emirates;in South America from Colombia and Chile;in Africa from Ghana;and in Oceania from Australia. In particular, in the study the central role played by public-private partnership (PPP) to combine the competencies of the public sector and both the financial and managerial commitment of the private entities in the process of delivering infrastructure, to fulfilling social and economic needs, to rise the quality of life, and to support sustainable development, is recognized and, then, a conceptual model for the identification and classification of stakeholders in this projects typology, is developed and tested [5]. By selecting a single-story 3D-printed house in the United Arab Emirates, the authors implement the life cycle assessment (LCA) framework to quantify the environmental loads of raw materials extraction and manufacturing, as well as energy consumption during construction and operation phases;the authors also identify the economics of the selected structural systems through life cycle costing analysis (LCCA).

The traditional Italian Universities' reaction to the pandemic emergency: The role of the intellectual capital

Purpose>The lockdown imposed to avoid the increase in the number of infections caused by the pandemic emergency declared in January 2020 has unavoidably compromised the normal functioning of the Universities. They have been forced to stop the operation of their traditional student-oriented activities. In this light, the present work aims to analyse how traditional Italian Universities continue to deliver services to their students during the emergency.Design/methodology/approach>Qualitative explorative research was done. The paper used a multiple case study focused on two main public universities located in Rome (Italy). The data was collected using action research with participant observation. The activities observed before and during the health emergency are those related to the second mission and their services.Findings>Until the pandemic emergency arose, in the organizations analysed, the work was done traditionally. When the lockdown started the main instruments adopted to teach and provide the related services to students were the digital tools. Therefore, these devices represent how these organizations could immediately react to face the challenge arising from the impossibility to physically meet the students while continuing to support them in their educational path. Based on the findings obtained these universities fall into the “corporate entrepreneurship” definition.Research limitations/implications>The present work has managerial and academic implications. The academic implications can be summarized in two main points: the work (1) promptly analysed the changes necessary to overcome the problematics caused by the pandemic emergency;(2) contributes to the debate concerning the transfer of knowledge using digital tools and their relevance on the intellectual capital. One of the limits of the work is that only two Italian traditional universities are analysed and that the study focuses on universities located in a same city.Practical implications>On the other hand, in referent to managerial implications, this paper highlights how the corporate entrepreneurial view could be useful to support an inspected challenge that could happened in a certain historical period. Therefore, a real implementation of the entrepreneurial concepts is preferred.Originality/value>The paper discussed an original and contemporary topic not yet investigated since it refers to the Universities' reaction to the pandemic emergency in 2020, with the focus on their ability to maintain the intellectual capital value and give more points that could be investigate in the future, as, e.g. a selection of more than three traditional universities or with a comparative case study, useful in highlighting the strengths and weaknesses of the decisions taken in different contexts, considering: (1) telematic universities and traditional universities;or (2) universities located in other countries. Another future line of enquiry could be to focus the analysis on the effective quality of the MOOCs applied at the universities' activities, using the students' opinions obtainable through OPIS (Rilevazione Opinione degli Studenti) or through direct interviews.

Financing Vaccines for Global Health Security

Recent outbreaks of infectious pathogens such as Zika, Ebola, and COVID-19 have underscored the need for the dependable availability of vaccines against emerging infectious diseases (EIDs). Prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, the cost and risk of R&D programs and uniquely unpredictable demand for EID vaccines discouraged many potential vaccine developers, and government and nonprofit agencies have struggled to provide timely or sufficient incentives for their development and sustained supply. However, the economic climate has changed significantly post-pandemic. To explore this contrast, we analyze the pre-pandemic economic returns of a portfolio of EID vaccine assets, and find that, under realistic financing assumptions, the expected returns are significantly negative, implying that the private sector is unlikely to address this need without public-sector intervention. However, in a post-pandemic policy landscape, the financing deficit for this portfolio can be closed, and we analyze several potential solutions, including enhanced public–private partnerships and subscription models in which governments would pay annual fees to obtain access to a portfolio of stockpiled vaccines in the event of an outbreak.

Construction industry to remain in recovery despite forecasted growth

AFRICAN DEVELOPMENT : The construction industry is expected to grow by 6.2% this year, but will remain in a recovery phase after experiencing a near recession that was exacerbated by Covid-19 and the associated hard lockdown. This will have a positive impact on employment, while contributing to improved sentiment towards the economy, said GVK-Siya Zama CFO John de Sousa. Contributing towards this forecast has been improved sentiment in the market, largely due to the government's recent emphasis on growing public-private partnerships and increasing infrastructure spend. However this does not guarantee a "immediate recovery" in the domestic construction market as the Covid-19 pandemic starts to ease or in response to government's positive news for the industry, GVK-Siya Zama CFO John de Sousa said

Critical Success Factors of Public-private Partnership (PPP) Projects in the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia

In a world where governments are looking at alternative ways of developing economies, infrastructure development remains a key aspect of these aspirations. For Middle East economies, which have relied on oil proceeds, the growth strategy is not as before as the oil prices have been fluctuating and resulting in low fiscal incomes. Saudi Arabia is one such economy. Thus, in the Kingdom's development strategy outlined in Vision 2030, there has been an emphasis on private players coming into partnering with the government in infrastructure and broader economic development projects. While the concept is easy on paper, running successful Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) projects is a complex endeavor given the conflicting interests of the partners themselves. This research investigated the critical success factors of PPP projects in Saudi Arabia based on the reflections of a quantitative study for infrastructure projects. For descriptive analysis, the entire population of participants (1200 respondents was used), and for the inferential statistics, a sample of 543 respondents was used in a Structured Equation Model tested on Smart PLS was used. The model tested critical success factors mediated by Openness and Communication and a multigroup analysis moderated by job level (representing the level of decision-making classified into strategic formulators - strategic level and above;and strategic implementersoperational managers). The models had an R2 of a stratified sample of 54.5% for the strategic level model and 45.9% for the strategic implementers model. Both models confirmed the importance of Procurement transparency, Risk sharing and allocation, Knowledge management. However, they had differences in the influence of governance, Openness and Communication and efficiency of the financial model. Governance had a significant influence on the success of PPPs only at the operational level while having a fully mediated relationship with Openness and Communication at the operational level. The study then produced two frameworks that are relevant for policymakers and potential private players to understand the relevant factors to be prioritised at each decision-making level to ensure the successful completion of PPPs in Saudi Arabia.