Not too long ago some people in infrastructure investing thought — or hoped — public-private partnerships would in short order revolutionize infrastructure investment and procurement in the United States. Maybe that day is yet to come; however, the reality now is that those lofty expectations have not been met. Instead, P3 continues to be used in projects that are well suited to the model, and slowly but surely public-private partnerships are demonstrating their value and earning the respect of a growing number of people in the market. 

“You can’t control what you can’t measure.” These memorable words herald from my student days at the Stanford Graduate School of Business. Their wisdom was meant to guide graduates through the challenges of managing America’s Rustbelt and high-tech businesses. However, the words have a special meaning for those who confront issues related to political risk in planning today’s public-private partnerships.

Institutional investors are as focused as ever on putting money to work. But increasingly, there is an effort to view the asset classes less as totally separate parts of the portfolio.