4 December 2018: Following the second session of the UN Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE) Working Party on Public Private Partnerships (PPPs), UNECE is launching a call for “people-first” PPPs, in view of the gap in infrastructure funding and investment needed to meet the SDGs. Member States are invited to submit projects to the UNECE secretariat.

Convened from 20-21 November 2018, in Geneva, Switzerland, the session took place under the auspices of the Memorandum of Understanding signed in May 2017 between UNECE and the National Development and Reform Commission (NDRC) of the People‘s Republic of China. The session launched the International PPP Dialogue for Belt and Road (BRI) countries, and served as an opportunity to discuss how PPPs can be made “fit for purpose” to implement the SDGs.

While the session played host to a “robust debate” on the extent of PPPs’ contributions to sustainable development and poverty eradication, one participant noted that people-first PPPs are aligned with the SDGs and include accountability mechanisms to ensure compliance. Consensus was found on the overarching mechanism by which people-first PPPs could be submitted and evaluated, following their submission by Member States:

• Projects would cover large scale cross-border infrastructure but also include smaller scale social projects, “people-to-people” projects supporting small- and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs), and projects that do good for the environment.
• Selection would be undertaken using an evaluation methodology for people-first projects, an example of which is available here. Such a methodology could set useful benchmarks for bankers in their own lending strategies.
• Project ideas submitted would be turned into bankable projects and turned over to the multilateral development banks (MDBs) and other lenders.

The discussion noted distinctions between PPPs and privatization, where in the latter, a Government divests assets. Under PPPs, the government acquires services, enabling the public sector to retain control over projects’ design and structure, and delivery of social and environmental outcomes.

The first session of the Working Party on PPPs was convened from 7-9 May 2018. Supported by a compendium of 60 case studies spanning 33 countries, the initial meeting focused on identifying and scoring effective partnerships, and building linkages across them to broaden their impacts. [UNECE Press Release] [Revised Guiding Principles on People-First Public-Private Partnerships for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals]