Government Procurement and P3 Insights Blog
As governments strive to build smarter cities and expand and adapt their infrastructure to meet ever-changing needs with a view toward long-term sustainability and resilience, they are increasingly turning to the private sector to plan and execute complex developments and transactions. Opportunities abound for businesses engaged in the provision of goods and services, through both traditional public procurement processes and under public-private partnership (P3) arrangements. Regardless of the selection and execution methods chosen by public authorities, the bidding, procurement, and performance of government contracts is complex.
The public needs, which the private sector is regularly called upon to meet, are becoming increasingly multifaceted on both the business and legal sides, whether those needs involve mass transit systems, utilities infrastructure, or the provision and operation of ‘social infrastructure’, such as educational campuses, government buildings, and healthcare facilities. At the same time, the rapid evolution of these needs has created unprecedented business opportunities for companies that compete for contracts that arise from government’s addressing the associated challenges.
The Government Procurement and P3 Insights Blog serves as a timely and informative resource for all companies involved in government contracting matters and public-private partnerships, whether they are real estate developers, consortia, contractors, concessionaires, or operators. The blog aims to illuminate the issues and trends shaping government contracting and P3’s in Florida and beyond, giving private companies key insights on the rewarding opportunities that come from working with the public sector to serve civic needs.
In the world of public procurement, government entities face a myriad of challenges. As the safe keepers of the public trust, they must balance the need for fairness and obtaining the best value while also delivering goods and services to their constituents efficiently. In addition, many government entities also use their procurement process to further their policy goals such as the development of the local economy. It is a complex balancing act, and one potential tool to pursuit some of these goals is cooperative purchasing.
The lack of affordable and workforce housing is particularly problematic for many government employees, and local governments in South Florida are increasingly looking to public-private development not only as a partial solution to the larger, community-wide affordability crisis, but also as a solution to the housing needs of their employees.