A paradigm shift in risk management in public–private partnership arrangements

Abstract

This research sought to determine how public–private partnership (PPP) arrangements can more efficiently address risk management issues using the example of Mozambique as a case study. Analyses of 15 interviews in this country were conducted using the Gioia methodology. The results indicate that integrating key risk indicators into PPP contracts can improve risk management. These measures have been widely used in company risk management. The indicators can serve as monitoring, reviewing and supervising tools, allowing the integration of external factors into PPP contracts at the right time, which is hard to predict when the contracts are signed. Key risk indicators can capture megatrends, track risk evolution and develop future scenarios throughout the entire lifecycle of contracts, preventing conflicts between partners, contract renegotiations or early contract terminations by facilitating an improved understanding of contracts' current realities. The findings suggest that these measures should be applied by PPP units. The proposed approach encourages originality and empirical research-based improvements of PPP risk management frameworks and provides guidelines for future studies. HIGHLIGHTS Integrating key risk indicators into PPP contracts can improve risk management.; The key risk indicator approach to PPP contracts adds an extra phase to contract supervision (i.e., monitoring and reviewing) that assesses risks’ evolution and trends.;

Keywords

• key risk indicator
• public–private partnership
• risk management