An Executive Steering Committee of government and industry members and the Internal Audit and Advisory Services of the Ministry of Finance conducted the review as part of a wider government review of all Crown corporations.
Issues identified in the report included the screening threshold for capital projects, the perception that Partnerships BC (PBC) is competing with the private sector and the need to clarify roles and strengthen decision making on projects.
The steering committee reviewed the report and considered possible organizational delivery model options for services currently provided by PBC. As a result of the steering committee’s recommendations, the capital standard threshold for P3 projects will be increased from the current $50m to $100m.
Options for the delivery of P3 in the province identified in the review included:
- Centralizing the function within a ministry;
- Private sector delivery of all these services;
- Continuing with the current Crown corporation model; or
- Combination of these approaches to best address particular roles
- The steering committee has concluded that the combination approach provides the balance between government’s interests in certain key roles and utilizing the private sector where it can provide greater value and expertise.
It also concluded that the retention of a smaller service delivery crown, while slightly more expensive than centralizing the function in a ministry, provides innovation, flexibility in retention of key knowledge and skills in the management of large and complex infrastructure projects.
A PDF of the Internal Audit and Advisory Services review is available to download below.
For the letter to the Ministry of Finance from the Steering Commitee Chair click here.