PUBLIC/PRIVATE PARTNERSHIPS

No one organization or sector has the full suite of capabilities, relationships or assets to tackle persistent and escalating social problems such as poverty, homelessness, food insecurity, equitable access to education and health care, among others. As public resources dedicated to societal benefit become scarcer and calls for accountability become more urgent, the public sector increasingly is turning to public-private partnership (P3) models. Consequently, these models and approaches are becoming as multi-faceted, systemic and global as the challenges they aim to address, with increased opportunities for philanthropy and the non-profit sector.

The term “public-private partnership” is often misused to identify mostly a shifting of risk from government to a private partner in exchange for an up-front payment. A true or “authentic” P3s generates collective benefits that exceed what individual partners could achieve on their own. This course will examine, through readings and case histories, P3 partnerships that involve the sharing of risks and rewards between public, private and nonprofit partners, where the sector-specific expertise and assets of multiple stakeholders are tapped and valued for innovation in the design, delivery and management of cross-sector projects and services. The emphasis will be on the role of philanthropy and the nonprofit sector as equal partners in all aspects of these shared-value partnerships. Students will consider questions about entrepreneurship, nonprofit leadership, and service: How should core public services be financed? What is the most effective way to manage day-to-day operations of public services? What does it mean to be accountable to the public? Examples are drawn from public health, education, international development, urban renewal, and others. 

This is an elective that builds on the Nonprofit Management Program’s core curriculum and is designed for all Nonprofit Management Program students and, space permitting, is open to cross-registrants from other fields and/or Columbia University programs (other SPS programs; Teachers College; Business School; Mailman School of Public Health; SIPA). Students should have a strong understanding of the nonprofit development sector in the US; familiarity with international fundraising practices also is welcome.