A new organization has been established in California that brings together public, private and labor sector players to increase collaboration and enhance the understanding of all forms of project delivery.
The California Infrastructure Delivery Coalition (CALINFRA) sees as part of its mission advocating for “broad and uniform alternative project delivery authority for state and local governments” in California.
It has brought together a whole range of infrastructure players, including the likes of Flatiron and Plenary Americas, as well as advisory giants such as Arup, KPMG, HNTB and Mott MacDonald. On the public sector side, agencies such as the Metropolitan Transportation Commission, the San Diego Association of Governments, and the Southern California Association of Governments are also on board.
“We have a huge infrastructure need in California,” Mark Kempton, of Kempton Strategies, told P3 Bulletin. “But many agencies aren’t aware of all the options that are available to them when developing a project.
“We are pulling together all the stakeholders - the private sector, public sector, labor - so that we can together raise the level of practice around the various forms of alternative project delivery, while also advocating for greater authority to use them.”
Arup’s Ignacio Barandarian, who is also a board member of CALINFRA, added that the focus of the organization is across all sectors, including transportation, water, energy, broadband and more.
The body is planning to publish a White Paper that will provide information about how alternative project delivery has been used in California and act as a launchpad for future discussion and collaboration between public, private and labor organizations.
“The authority to use various project delivery models is piecemeal,” said Kempton. “The level of information available to many public agencies is limited; they want more information and authority. That’s what CALINFRA is all about.”
To find out more about CALINFRA, click here.