Building Flexibility. New Delivery Models for Public Infrastructure Projects

Infrastructure development remains at the heart of the modernisation of UK public services. From the upgrade of secondary schools to the development of new IT systems, the public sector has rarely been under such pressure to deliver effective and efficient improvements in its infrastructure.

The public sector has always worked with private sector partners to help deliver its infrastructure requirements – typically through so-called ‘conventional procurement’. Recent years have seen the private sector play a new role in the Private Finance Initiative (PFI), and the partnership models of Local Improvement Finance Trusts (LIFT) and Local Education Partnerships (LEP). However, these schemes continue to be subject to considerable discussion and debate.