Managing and Concluding the Pfi Process for a New High School: Room for improvement?

Abstract

This article reports the findings from an in-depth investigation of a Private Finance Initiative (PFI) project to replace a local authority high school. Through a combination of participant observation, semi-structured interviewing and document review, the research seeks to establish whether the belief that the PFI will result in cost-effective innovative design and operation and maintenance cost savings is justified. The findings suggest little evidence of innovation on the part of the private sector. This observation has implications for the comparative cost of the PFI vis-a-vis traditional public sector procurement, given that innovation (on the part of the private sector) is believed to be one of the key drivers of cost savings. In addition the article makes recommendations with regard to best practice in management and completion of PFI projects with reference to issues around consultation, planning, finance and service delivery.