Category: 2014 Events

Center Director Jonathan Gifford gave two presentations at the 2014 International Conference on Meeting Challenges through Better Governance and Management towards Sustainable PPPs. Gifford joined many other distinguished professionals from around the world at the Dec 9-10 conference in Seoul, Korea.

Gifford’s first presentation, titled “U.S. Transportation Public Private Partnerships: Governance and Institutional Arrangements,” covered the U.S. Federal system and how it impacts P3s, as well as case studies of the Chicago Infrastructure Trust and the Virginia Office of Public-Private Partnerships (OTP3). Click here to view Gifford’s presentation.

Gifford’s second presentation, titled “Renegotiations in Transportation Public-Private Partnerships: The U.S. Experience,” centered on why the U.S. presents a different context for P3s. After discussing the different types of renegotiation events (Contract Modifications, Defaults, Bankruptcies, and Buy-outs), Gifford further discussed the U.S. context (Federal system, common law and bankruptcy law) and profiled six case studies from across the United States. Click here to view Gifford’s Renegotiation presentation.

Chris Guthkelch, Project Director at Skanska Infrastructure Development, gave a presentation on December 3 to the Introduction to Transportation Systems and P3 Policy classes at George Mason. The presentation, titled “Elizabeth River Tunnels: The Story So Far,” provided a thorough overview of the Hampton Roads, VA project, including early needs and feasibility assessments, pre-development stages, project team members, project scope and the various stages of actual development. His presentation concluded with “lessons learned” during the project, as well as implications for policy makers. Click here to see Mr. Guthkelch’s slide presentation.

Prior to his presentation, Mr. Guthkelch participated in the Center’s Professional Insights series, sharing pizza and observations about his career path with students. Dubbed “Pizza PI,” the series helps students connect with leading professionals and enjoy the rare opportunity to query them about their motivations, lessons learned and other career insights.

Nicolas Rubio, US President of Cintra, gave a presentation on PPPs to the Introduction to Transportation Systems and P3 Policy classes at George Mason as part of the Center’s Professional Insights series. The presentation on the Rationale of Public-Private Partnerships covered the incentives and risks of public-private partnerships, as well as the different types of private sector involvement. The presentation also addressed the business model of concessions and how sponsors make money. Click here to see Mr. Rubio’s slide presentation.

The Bond Buyer, the longstanding daily newspaper of the municipal bond industry, will host a Transportation Finance/P3 Conference, November 16-18, 2014, at the Westin Arlington Gateway, in Arlington, Virginia. The Center is currently in discussion with event organizers about anticipated linkages for the Center’s Graduate and Executive Education activities and related audiences.

Dr. Shanjiang Zhu, Center Research Fellow (pictured below right) and Porter K. Wheeler, Center Consultant (pictured below left), participated in the 2014 Governor’s Transportation Conference held at the Hotel Roanoke and Conference Center November 12-14, 2014. Transportation leaders from around the Commonwealth and the U.S. discussed current transportation issues and the solutions necessary to drive Virginia’s economy forward. New transportation projects and improvements will provide the impetus for lively economic development and community growth.

Graduate Research Associates Nobuhiko Daito and Jeong Yun Kweun presented posters at the Association for Public Policy Analysis and Management (APPAM) Fall Research Conference held November 6-8, 2014 in Albuquerque, New Mexico. The APPAM Fall Research Conference is a multi-disciplinary annual research conference that attracts the highest quality research on a wide variety of important current and emerging policy and management issues. The conference is comprised of panels, roundtables, workshops, symposia and poster presentations, and is designed to encourage substantive interaction among participants.  The Center was pleased to contribute content to this important gathering.

Public-Private Partnerships under Fiscal Distress and Political Contestability, presented by Nobuhiko Daito.