Ex-ante evaluation of PFIs within the Italian health-care sector: What is the basis for this PPP?

Abstract

This paper aims to explore the practices of ex-ante evaluation in the Italian health-care sector (HCS) in order to verify whether (and how), in spite of legislative requirements, public interests are also considered before choosing the PFI solution, and to understand the possible effects of the pre-evaluation method used on the expectations of the public partner regarding the future of the relationship. The research was carried out by interviewing the subjects responsible for six initiatives of project financing in the Italian health-care sector. The empirical analysis has shown that Italian health-care trusts, which are not required to apply a compulsory method for pre-evaluating PFIs from their own perspective, neither drew up any calculation for weighting their future costs and revenues related to the project, nor did they consider the social consequences for the community. However, they merely followed the legal requirements and prepared a financial plan from the private partner perspective. In this situation, the importance of ex-ante evaluation from the public perspective for guaranteeing the beginning of a PPP in a context more suitable for developing trust between partners is even stronger.