Social and Behavioral Sciences Commons^™

Putting The Np In Ppp: The Role Of Nonprofit Organizations In Public Private Partnerships, Stuart Mendel, Jeffrey Brudney

Jeff L. Brudney

Since the 1980s, public policymakers and contracting agents in the United States have promoted the concept of public-private partnerships (PPPs). These are typically seen as partnerships between the public and business sectors, but research finds that nonprofit intermediary institutions, either created for the purpose or already in existence, are often what makes it possible for PPPs to function and realize their potential. Nonprofits of this kind provide a "third space" in which PPPs can be formed, implemented, and sustained; they may also serve as value guardians of the PPP process. This article describes the essential but little credited role of …