UBC P3 Project

Building public infrastructure capacity for Canadian communities

The Phelps Centre for the Study of Government and Business, working with the UBC Department of Civil Engineering in the Faculty of Applied Science, launched the UBC P3 Project in 2004.  Initial funding of approximately $500,000 over 3 years was provided by Infrastructure Canada.

This Project created a University of British Columbia entity for the purpose of producing and transferring knowledge, from research and practical experience, of Public-Private Partnerships and related procurement models. The goal is to help find better ways to provide for the infrastructure needs of Canadians and others.  

The Project has undertaken this work via a number of activities:

1. Support for academic research by Project-affiliated faculty.
2. Support for applied research by qualified practitioner-consultants.
3. Dissemination of research results and case studies through organized conferences.
4. Creation and delivery of academic and executive education courses on P3s and other alternative procurement modes.

Overall objectives

• Foster an understanding of Public-Private Partnerships and related procurement modes as means of meeting the infrastructure needs of Canadians (and others);
• Increase and improve the level of awareness and understanding of Public-Private Partnerships and how they can play a role in public infrastructure provision in communities across Canada and elsewhere;
• Encourage the development and maintenance of multi-disciplinary research in infrastructure development;
• Foster a stronger exchange of information and knowledge of Public-Private Partnerships amongst policy makers, experts, practitioners, communities, non-governmental organizations, industry and the general public;
• Create greater capacity for governments to meet their public infrastructure needs by generating an understanding of P3s and introducing options for innovative and viable financing and procurement practices;
• Create a team of scholars specializing and researching P3s and solutions to public infrastructure delivery from across UBC and, eventually, across the country; and
• Create a specialized and unique research and knowledge dissemination program at a leading Canadian university aimed at educating and fostering an interest in the provision of public infrastructure.

The Future

The team behind the UBC P3 Project is currently working with a group of industry leaders to transform the Project into a permanent institute for infrastructure development. This institute will provide greatly expanded training offerings for practicing procurement professionals from both the public and private sectors across Canada and from other countries. It will also have an enhanced research program involving academic partners, including faculty and graduate students at UBC and elsewhere.

For further information about the UBC P3 Project, including about plans for the institute, please feel to contact the project co-directors, Tom Ross (tom.ross@sauder.ubc.ca) or Alan Russell (alandrussell@civil.ubc.ca).