Information Requirements for Effective Risk and Contract Management in Public-Private Partnerships: A Delphi Approach

Abstract

Effective risk and contract management are crucial in Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) and require adequate collection and utilisation of the project and financial information. Although access to sufficient information is indispensable, there is a lack of empirical literature documenting the information requirements in PPPs. This research aims to identify the information items the public party needs for effective risk and contract management in PPP projects undertaken in the construction sector. Information requirements were determined in three steps including (1) a structured literature review to identify the information items from academic studies, (2) identification of the information items currently used in the industry via expert interviews, and (3) validation of the information items via the Delphi Method, which included three rounds of consultations with 12 PPP experts. The findings present 52 qualitative project information requirements under various categories. In addition, 33 quantitative financial items were determined as essential information requirements for effective risk and contract management. The proposed information requirements were utilized to develop a qualitative risk assessment tool for the public party and its consultants to streamline structured data collection, avoid overlooking important project and financial information in risk assessment, and facilitate knowledge management in PPPs. The developed tool was tested by 21 PPP experts and found usable as a customizable knowledge-based system for qualitative risk assessment utilizing extensive project information during early risk assessment, feasibility studies, contract drafting and management in PPPs.