BASSETERRE, St Kitts, February 3rd 2016. The Federation of St. Kitts and Nevis benefits when its civil workforce is joined by private companies in a united effort to build and develop the nation. With nearly 4000 dedicated public servants who work vigilantly in their duties, there exists a vital and exciting synergy when private enterprise joins government in areas of innovation, safety, speed to market, and labor efficiencies. To have our Federation do this well, "best practices" are necessary in such public-private partnerships (P3s). For example:
PUBLIC SECTOR CHAMPION: Within the Government of National Unity, our leaders serve as champions and advocates for the use of a P3.
DETAILED CONTRACT (BUSINESS PLAN): A P3 is a contractual relationship between the public and private sectors for the execution of a project or service necessary to forestall any concerns.
POSITIVE WORK-FLOW ENVIRONMENT: Transparency and a competitive proposal process is needed.
STAKEHOLDER SUPPORT: More people will be affected by a partnership than just the public officials and the private sector partner. Affected employees, the portions of the public receiving the service, the press, and relevant interest groups will all have opinions, and so it is of the utmost of importance to communicate openly and candidly with these stakeholders and allow for their feedback.
P3 VALUE: The "best value" in a partnership is critical in maintaining the long-term relationship. A candidate's experience in the specific area of partnerships being considered is an important factor in identifying the right partner. Equally, the financial capacity of the private partner should be considered in the final selection process—win/win is desired in such a relationship
LOCAL PREFERENCE: Whenever possible, utilise local talent if skills, experience, and perspectives quality a P3 candidate. Growing and promoting from within is always preferable to sending jobs and money outside the Federation.
All in all, P3 partnerships are most promising when a clear nation building vision and framework exists—where tasks are relevant, designed solely to obtain the promoted outcome. No doubt governments, adopting and fully supporting P3 partnerships in recognition of the five above points, move their nations forward in the most positive and progressive ways.
