A Road to Success Under Construction? Examining the Constraints of Public-Private Partnerships in Sweden

Abstract: Public-Private Partnerships (PPP) have been embraced across the globe the past decades, with the driving forces varying across countries. Considering the relatively scarce usage of PPP in Sweden it appears highly relevant to identify the constraints for realising PPP projects. The outcome of such a study provides better understanding on what factors could constrain countries with low utilisation, as well as what could drive PPP usage in countries with high utilisation. The purpose of this thesis is to identify the constraints of realising public-private partnerships in Sweden and suggest measures to overcome them. By assessing Sweden’s PPP readiness in the Economist Intelligence Unit’s (EIU) Infrascope index, low-scoring PPP readiness areas are identified. By combining the low-scoring areas and critical success factors for PPPs, three major areas were identified as the major constraints. These three major constraints of realising PPP projects in Sweden were identified as; insufficient evaluation, inadequate organisational support and knowledge and political resistance. The first refers to the lacking capacity of evaluating public and private alternatives. The second refers to the insufficient coordination of support and capturing and sharing of PPP knowledge. The third refers to the lack of political will to conduct PPP projects and the underlying arguments. Measures involve the establishment of a formalised and systematic evaluation tool for the first constraint. A domestic and international PPP knowledge infrastructure is recommended for the second constraint. Finally, nuancing the debate, an investigation of alternative financing forms and the establishment of a clear decision-making tool for is suggested for the third constraint.