Exploring Public-Private Partnerships in Singapore: The Success-Failure Continuum

This book looks at what drives effective management of public-private partnerships (PPPs). It examines widely cited Singaporean cases pertaining to successful PPPs as well as those in failure (and subsequently contracted back in the public-sector provision) in diverse areas of public service, such as water services, educational services, trade and logistical data services, residential services, acquisition and maintenance of military systems, research and development services, infrastructure, and sport services.

The book begins each case with an overview (e.g., project goals (motivators), types of PPPs, stakeholders, time period, assigned budget, and capital planning) and then specifically discusses critical success factors and/or risk factors pertaining to the decisions to proceed with ongoing PPPs or to return to self-operation (in-house public production) of services later, respectively. The book concludes with a discussion of lessons learned from Singaporean cases and contexts of PPPs and suggests more feasible strategies and conditions toward successful collaborative governance between public agencies and private counterparts for the new century.

This book will appeal especially to public policymakers.

Soojin Kim is Assistant Professor of the Public Policy and Global Affairs Programme, School of Social Sciences, Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. She earned her PhD in the School of Public Affairs and Administration, Rutgers, The State University of New Jersey, Newark Campus, in May 2015. Her research and teaching interests focus on public budgeting and financial management, contracting out, public-private partnerships, institutional arrangements in policy choices, and mixed methods research design.

Kai Xiang Kwa is currently a PhD candidate at the School of Social Sciences at Nanyang Technological University, Singapore. His research interests include: public administration (PA) and public policy (PP) in Singapore and China; public service motivation (PSM) in Singapore and China; politics, media and culture in PA and PP; mixed methods, quantitative and qualitative research methods in PA and PP.