IIMs develop holistic governance model for PPP projects to deal with contract disputes, investment risks

New Delhi, Sep 16 (PTI) Researchers from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Lucknow and Ranchi have developed a framework to strengthen governance in public-private partnership projects and deal with challenges such as contract disputes and investment risks, according to officials.

Public-private partnership (PPP) projects play a significant role in infrastructure development but such projects often face challenges such as contract disputes, investment risks, institutional gaps, and other issues such as transparency, trust, and integrity.

Though these projects are recognised globally, there is a pressing need of a comprehensive framework that can enable managers to design and monitor accountability across the entire project lifecycle, they said.

Published in the reputed journal Built Environment Project and Asset Management, the research draws on real-world PPP cases to integrate accountability-related themes such as transparency, integrity, responsibility, and performance.

"The proposed accountability framework provides multifaceted implications for policymakers managing PPP projects, such as maximum public display and media coverage of complete information, following joint decision-making process, clarifying individual responsibility and continuous external and internal review of performance," Dipti Gupta, Assistant Professor, IIM Lucknow, said.

"The developed framework can be used by the policymakers, regulating authorities, and project managers in designing accountability governance policies, risk-sharing mechanisms, and performance management systems for PPP projects. By fostering transparency and trust, the framework enables better stakeholder participation and enhances the long-term sustainability of public infrastructure projects," she added.

The framework developed by Gupta along with Santosh Kumar Prusty, Assistant Professor, IIM Ranchi, has combined theoretical drivers such as trust, dialogue, multi-dimensionality, and external control.

The framework facilitates the assessment and monitoring of PPP projects by designing suitable accountability governance policies "It can design internal and external control mechanisms through stakeholders’ dialogue and collaborative decision-making methods, which can enhance transparency, trust, responsibility and integrity.

It can be used by the policymakers in defining risk-sharing policies and contract management strategies across multiple dimensions of accountability in PPP," Prusty said. PTI GJS ARI