PPP is in the centre of today’s spotlights. Though the provision of water services is traditionally a public responsibility, the private sector has always been involved in one way or another: from tendering for construction contracts in large urban supplies to the informal provision of vended water in unserved areas.

However, a reorientation of the role for the private sector is currently being negotiated globally.The interest in private sector involvement creates a whole new array of options for decision makers in the water sector to consider.

Learning objectives

The goal of this online course is to introduce the student to modern thinking and practice of dealing with institutional and management issues related to involving private parties in the water sector in a more sustainable manner. The learning objectives are: 　

to enhance knowledge on PPP, empirically through relevant case studies, but firmly rooted in a theoretical framework;
to increase the ability among participants to weigh possible usefulness of PPP options, based on post-PPP results analysis;
to connect professionals from various countries, different utilities and levels of government involved, to exchange experiences, ideas and insights, data and tools, and to learn from each other’s experiences;
to create a continuous learning environment where professionals can ‘meet’ and refresh their PPP knowledge.

Target group

Professional staff from the public sector, working in governmental departments dealing with PPP; professional staff working for supporting agencies, such as NGO’s, research centres, consultancy; professional staff in water and sanitation utilities that are exploring the possibilities of, are in the process of, or have already established a PPP transaction, and young promising bachelors, the future generation of professionals.

Course structure

This online course is to be completed in 16 weeks. Total study load is 128 hours. The online learning environment is used for downloading training material and communication.

Course content

The course is divided into the following subjects and assignments;

Introduction to the PPP module
PPP, principles and possibilities
Establishing and implementing PPPs
PPP Discussion on a controversial topic
Case studies
Role play

To make learning effective, it is important to intensify the use of assignments and interaction between participants. In this respect every two weeks a homework assignment is distributed on which feedback is given. Next, to maximize the learning in the online learning module it is envisaged that the best result is to have you analyze a PPP case of your choice, individually or as a group.

Every month you will make progress with the case, diving into literature and, if possible, contacting stakeholders involved in the case. Every time when part of the case is ready, feedback is provided by the course co-ordinator and a peer reviewer. Hence every participant acts also as peer reviewer for someone else’s case study.