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PPP = Prolonged, Painful, and Pointless. But not this time. Somehow, against all odds, cultures, and acronyms… The New Royal Adelaide Hospital in South Australia didn’t just avoid disaster — it delivered. Let me break it down for you:
The predictions? “Too complex.” But guess what? They finished it. And not just finished — they pulled off a clinical-grade, digitally-integrated, energy-efficient mega-hospital that actually works. The secret sauce?
Crazy, right? How couldn’t I have thought about it? A PPP that respected scope, handled conflict like grown-ups, and even came out functional on the other side. How could it be possible… Anyway. Some still say it was luck. I say it was proof that PPPs can work… if you don’t staff them with saboteurs. Do you want some blood? Take a look to the lessons below?
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A train fails its final test. Normally, you fix the train. In Ottawa, they found another option. They changed the test. Just as Margaret Thatcher when she didn’t like her unemployment numbers… The context. In 2019, the city’s new light rail system was approaching opening day. The final trial was supposed to show it could run reliably before passengers got on board. The first three days exposed serious problems. Testing was paused. This is the point where a sensible person says: “Perhaps we...
The meeting had everything. An agenda. A board pack. Senior people. Weather conversations. Possibly biscuits. Coffee and tea. Potable sandwiches during the break. But… What it didn’t have… For years… … was the person appointed to protect the public interest. A chair. Welcome to one of my favourite PPP horror movies. Metronet. The company responsible for upgrading and maintaining large parts of the London Underground under a PPP. The issue is that Transport for London appointed a Partnership...
There you are in front of the guys from the government. Ten projects. Billions in investment. A slide deck so polished it should have its own LinkedIn account. Across the table, an experience contractor smiles. “Very exciting.” And then… back to his mobile phone… He checks the calendar. The team needed to bid your PPP is also wanted on a data centre, an energy project and a private industrial development. Tight schedule. Limited resources. All four projects will have problems. That is one of...