Category: Past Events

Center Director Jonathan Gifford presented a paper entitled,  “The Governance of Surface Transportation in the 21st Century: Understanding the Challenges of Implementing New Technologies and New Procurement Methods” as part of the Privatization and Public-Private Partnership panel at the 19th Annual Conference of The International Society for New Institutional Economics (ISNIE). The conference was held at the Harvard Law School, June 18-20. Click here to download Dr. Gifford’s full presentation.

On Wednesday, June 3, Center Director Jonathan Gifford testified before the U.S. House of Representatives Committee on Small Business hearing titled, “The Road Ahead: Small Businesses and the Need for a Long-Term Surface Transportation Reauthorization.” The purpose of the hearing is to examine small firm participation in the surface transportation construction industry.

Download Testimony

Center Director Jonathan Gifford and Graduate Research Associates Nobuhiko Daito and Lisardo Bolaños travelled to Austin, Texas May 26-29 to participate in the 2^nd International Conference on Public-Private Partnerships (ICPPP), co-sponsored by the Center. The conference focused primarily on financing policies; financial viability and risk analysis of P3 Projects; design, construction, operation and management of P3 infrastructure projects; and legal issues related to P3s.

Dr. Gifford served as a coordinator on the International Scientific Committee, helping to draft the agenda for that aspect of the conference as well as selecting relevant papers for presentation. Gifford, Daito and Bolaños reviewed several papers on financing policies for P3 infrastructure projects that were submitted to the conference.

Gifford moderated a session entitled, “Overall Financing Mechanisms.” The Center also presented two papers: “Renegotation of Transportation Public-Private Partnerships: The U.S. Experience” (Bolaños) and “Understanding the Interaction of Multiple Jurisdictions for Highway Investment: Viability of Public-Private Partnership Alternatives” (Daito).

The Center is pleased to co-sponsor the International Conference on Public-Private Partnerships at the University of Texas/Austin, May 26-29. 

ICPPP2015 is intended to cover a wide range of topics related to PPPs, ranging from policy to engineering, and economics to legal issues. Examples of the main themes include, but not limited to, the following:

• Financing Policies
• Financial Viability and Risk Analysis of PPP Projects
• Design, Construction, Operation, and Management of PPP Infrastructure Projects
• Legal Issues Related to PPPs
• P3 Innovations

Co-sponsors include TRB, ASCE and leading P3 organizations worldwide. Go to icppp2015.org to register now!

On Tuesday, May 19, Center Director Jonathan Gifford served as a panelist at a public Information Technology & Innovation Foundation (ITIF) event in Washington, DC. The event, Getting There in the Digital Age: How to Craft a 21st Century Surface Transportation Bill, focused on leveraging information technology to improve every aspect of the U.S. transportation network—from roadways and private vehicles to commercial truck fleets and public transit systems. While new technology will create tremendous benefits, including improved safety, greater mobility, lower environmental impact, and increased productivity, it will require a new approach to federal surface transportation policy and funding.

At the event, ITIF released a new report, Driving ICT Innovation In the 2015 Surface Transportation Reauthorization Bill, which articulates key principles and provides actionable policy recommendations to make ICT-based innovation a central focus of both the 2015 transportation bill and U.S. transportation policy overall.

The “Public-Private Partnerships: Building on 20 Years of Experience” conference held at George Mason University Center’s Founders Hall in Arlington on May 12 was a rousing success. Lively and informative speeches and discussions by state officials and industry leaders, as well as a bill signing by Virginia Governor Terry McAuliffe, contributed to the celebratory and educational environment of the day.