The governance of public–private partnerships in sports infrastructure: Interfering complexities in Belgium

Abstract

Although public–private partnership (PPP) in infrastructure development has gained foothold in Flanders (the northern part of Belgium) over time, dissimilar results are evident and the controversy around PPP remains. This paper investigates the contradictory achievements of the Flemish Sports Infrastructure Program. It shows that the form of governance as applied by the Flemish Government was inadequate and led to interferences of political, multi-actor, and technical complexities, which in turn compromised the performance of the Program. A mismatch is revealed between the complicated governance approach and the relatively straightforward infrastructures that were developed, hence the argument that a better sense of contingency is required in future PPP programs. Moreover, governments across the globe are recommended to think twice before embarking on PPP programs which include bundled procurement and mandating agreements: severe complexities are likely to emerge and convincing evidence on the merits of bundling and mandating has not yet been delivered.22This text is based on research conducted within the frame of the Policy Research Center on Governmental Organization – Decisive Governance (SBOV III, 2012-2015), funded by the Flemish Government. The views expressed herein are those of the authors and not those of the Flemish Government.