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2014 News Archived News News

Center Student Advances to Ph.D. Candidacy

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

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Nobuhiko Daito, Center Graduate Research Assistant, is currently a doctoral student at George Mason University School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs. After receiving a Master of Urban and Regional Planning degree from the University of California, Irvine, he began his quest for a PhD at GMU in 2010, hoping to develop analytical skills and explore a research-related career relevant to policy making.  His research interests include infrastructure financing, transportation policy, public finance, public-private partnerships, spatial analysis and non-motorized transportation modes. His research focus under the supervision of Professor Jonathan Gifford is institutional factors and performance of public-private partnership policy and projects.

Public-private partnerships (P3s) have become an important policy instrument for public agencies. In the face of severe fiscal constraints, agencies may employ P3s to achieve life cycle cost efficiency while continuing to invest in infrastructure. Daito’s proposed dissertation will explore the institutional and political factors that affect private investment in public infrastructure and the consequences of those decisions. The dissertation will consist of three essays with focused questions: (1) What are the differences in construction costs between P3s and traditionally procured projects?; (2) What factors contribute to the use of private investment to P3s?; and (3) What are the predicted outcomes of the P3 and traditional models, with respect to tolls, operational surplus, and aggregate welfare?

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2014 Events Events Past Events

Center Graduate Research Assistant, Nobuhiko Daito, Presents at World Bank Conference

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

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Center Graduate Research Assistant, Nobuhiko Daito, gave a presentation September 8 at the 14th Annual Public-Private Partnership Conference: Moving Forward-Building Greater Sustainability. The conference included leaders from across the region and was a comprehensive day of learning and networking in the areas of financial management, social media, fundraising and partnerships. Click link below to download Daito’s Powerpoint presentation.

Nobuhiko Daito Powerpoint presentation

Categories
2014 Events Events Past Events

Center Hosted A Who’s Who of Transportation for NVTC 50th Anniversary

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

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Dr. Gifford welcomed national, state, city, county and industry leaders gathered at the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission 50th Anniversary celebration hosted by the Center at Mason’s Arlington campus, Thursday, Sept. 4 at 6:30 p.m. Following earlier Executive Board and Commission meetings, Gifford welcomed guests such as Congressmen Jim Moran and Frank Wolf, Virginia Secretary of Transportation, the Hon. Aubrey Lane, and U.S. Deputy Secretary of Transportation, Victor Mendez, among many other well-known officials and executives to formally open the celebration.  Exhibits, food and drinks, and presentations on Honoring Transportation Leaders, Celebrating NVTC’s Accomplishments, and Building the Future of Transit were on tap for what turned out to be a remarkable gathering of leaders who shape and advance mobility in the region.  For more information, http://www.thinkoutsidethecar.org/50years.asp

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P3 Center in the Media

Graduate Research Associate Hopes to Impact Metro Silver Line Parking

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

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Thousands of commuters may wonder if there’s enough parking at the new Wiehle-Reston East stop on Metro’s Silver Line, but few, says Jeong Yun Kweun, will think about the public-private partnership that made it possible. Kweun, a PhD student at George Mason University’s School of Policy, Government, and International Affairs, is working on a study that may have impact on parking at all the stops, including those not yet built.

For more, please click here.

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P3 Center in the Media

Gifford Responds to President’s “Build America Transportation Investment Center” Remarks

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

Center Chair Jonathan Gifford Responds to President’s “Build America Transportation Investment Center” Remarks.

Categories
2014 News Events Past Events

Center Panels on New Research and Intergovernmental Agreements at ARTBA P3 Conference

Contact

For general inquiries, the P3 Center can be contacted at: p3policy@gmu.edu

Dr. Gifford, Center Director, can be contacted at: jgifford@gmu.edu

Phone: 703-993-2275
Fax: 703-993-8215

The Center for Transportation Public-Private Partnership Policy sponsored two important panel discussions during ARTBA’s 26th Annual P3s in Transportation Conference. Porter Wheeler, a Center Consultant, organized the panels for the ARTBA P3 Conference, held July 17-18, 2014, in Washington, DC.

New Developments in Transportation P3 Research introduced conferees to recent efforts in academic research. David Earley, Strategic Planning Head at Parsons Brinckerhoff, served as the panel moderator. Panelists included Stanford’s Julie Kim who spoke about her research, “Understanding Political Risk in U.S. Infrastructure Projects.” Michael Garvin of Virginia Tech discussed his paper “Exploring Key Governance Issues for P3s.” Finally, Jonathan Gifford of George Mason discussed “Comparative Data on P3 Projects.”

During panel discussions, Julie Kim emphasized that the U.S. P3 market can no longer be regarded as free from political risks, if it ever was, and understanding and mitigating those risks in the context of the P3 approach are increasingly important factors. Financial uncertainty may pose less of a threat to private investment than political factors. In the past, heavy Federal subsidies have insulated projects from the constraints of private investment. More recently, increasingly fragmented governments pose numerous risks to the complex process of P3 decision- making. Michael Garvin shared that his NSF-sponsored project on P3 governance is cataloguing the variety of formats and is seeking to identify problems as well as ascertain what’s working, as noting that long-term contracts invite renegotiation as the situations evolve and people change out. The focus of the P3 data project, as shared by Jonathan Gifford, is to take an inventory of current practices, identify data needs for better project evaluation and comparison, and develop a prototype database to examine P3 projects, and eventually organize comparable data to verify that the P3 approach speeds up projects and/or reduces costs.

The Growing Role of Intergovernmental Agreements for Mega Projects, highlighted the multi-governmental complexities of several large P3 projects. As an added bonus, the all-important perspective of rating agencies on complex P3s was also incorporated. Corey Boock, Nossaman LLP, served as panel moderator, and the panelists included Lee Saage of San Francisco County Transportation Authority (Presidio Parkway), James Stark, Innovative Project Delivery, Indiana DOT (East End Crossing), Katie Nees of Texas DOT’s Strategic Projects Division (Regional Mobility & Tolling Authorities), and Chee Mee Hu, Managing Director-Project Finance of Moody’s (global rating reports on P3s).

Panel discussants noted that using the P3 approach in a complex landscape adds more moving parts reflecting local conditions. The Presidio Parkway project had many agencies to bring together, including the National Park Service and the Presidio Trust, complicating decision making and financial commitments. In advancing Texas P3 projects, TxDOT must coordinate eight Regional Mobility Authorities and five County Toll Authorities. The East End bridges crossing the Ohio River involve two Governors in a Bi-State Development Agreement. Dispute resolution on the governmental side also becomes more complicated. For Presidio, the lead agency had to wrap (and underwrite) all the multi-party obligations to satisfy lenders. Moody’s noted that multiple participants mean more counter-parties to account for at the same time that long-term governmental availability payments are becoming more prevalent, shifting the focus to complex life-cycle issues and away from demand-risk issues. Moody’s expects to issue a global report on P3s and their financial ratings soon.