Council Says Public-Private Partnerships Misunderstood

A new report says public-private partnerships are often misunderstood and fall prey to misinformation and misperceptions.

1 minute read

February 3, 2003, 2:00 PM PST

By Chris Steins @planetizen


"For the Good of the People," a white paper from the National Council for Public-Private Partnerships, says that much of the opposition to such partnerships is based on "a belief that the profit motives cannot operate for public good." The white paper says that public interests are assured in part because of private companies' need to assure customer satisfaction. And, the report says, most current partnerships provide for public-sector employee guarantees: "To the credit of government leaders andmanagers in thousands of jurisdictions, they have found ways to utilize the resources of the privatesectorto assist in meeting the surging demands of their constituencies. By establishing public-privatepartnerships, government authorities have achieved goals that would otherwise go unmet because ofbudget limitations." Editor's note: The link below is to a 1.5MB PDF file.

Thanks to Laura Kranz

Monday, February 3, 2003 in National Council For Public-Private Partnerships

portrait of professional woman

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching. Mary G., Urban Planner

I love the variety of courses, many practical, and all richly illustrated. They have inspired many ideas that I've applied in practice, and in my own teaching.

Mary G., Urban Planner

Cover CM Credits, Earn Certificates, Push Your Career Forward

Logo for Planetizen Federal Action Tracker with black and white image of U.S. Capitol with water ripple overlay.

Planetizen Federal Action Tracker

A weekly monitor of how Trump’s orders and actions are impacting planners and planning in America.

June 18, 2025 - Diana Ionescu

Rendering of Shirley Chisholm Village four-story housing development with person biking in front.

San Francisco's School District Spent $105M To Build Affordable Housing for Teachers — And That's Just the Beginning

SFUSD joins a growing list of school districts using their land holdings to address housing affordability challenges faced by their own employees.

June 8, 2025 - Fast Company

Woman and young girl looking at subway map, woman pointing.

Can We Please Give Communities the Design They Deserve?

Often an afterthought, graphic design impacts everything from how we navigate a city to how we feel about it. One designer argues: the people deserve better.

June 9, 2025 - John Pobojewski

Close-up of cracked and damaged two-lane roadway with double yellow stripes on a bright sunny day.

Engineers Gave America's Roads an Almost Failing Grade — Why Aren't We Fixing Them?

With over a trillion dollars spent on roads that are still falling apart, advocates propose a new “fix it first” framework.

7 hours ago - Transportation for America

Group of e-scooters messily parked on street in London with black cab in background.

The European Cities That Love E-Scooters — And Those That Don’t

Where they're working, where they're banned, and where they're just as annoying the tourists that use them.

June 19 - Bloomberg CityLab

Map of Western U.S. indicating public lands that would be for sale under a Senate plan in yellow and green.

Map: Where Senate Republicans Want to Sell Your Public Lands

For public land advocates, the Senate Republicans’ proposal to sell millions of acres of public land in the West is “the biggest fight of their careers.”

June 19 - Outdoor Life