Public-Private Partnerships: The American Tradition of Collaborative Governance

From the Erie Canal in New York State to the Artemis moon mission, the United States has long relied on partnerships between government and the private sector to build infrastructure, deliver services, and drive innovation. But what exactly is a public-private partnership, and what makes one succeed or fail? In this lecture, Maxwell School Dean David Van Slyke, one of the nation's leading experts on public-private partnerships and government contracting, traces this deeply American tradition from the founding era to the present day. Van Slyke begins by defining the three elements that distinguish public-private partnerships—ownership, structure, and risk—and explaining why governments around the world turn to them to meet infrastructure needs that no single sector can address alone. He then walks through the history of these arrangements in the United States, from the Erie Canal and the Transcontinental Railroad to modern examples including the Port of Miami tunnel, the Chicago parking meters deal, the Head Start program, social impact bonds, the Micron semiconductor plant in upstate New York, and the Artemis space mission. Through these cases, Van Slyke illustrates what separates successful partnerships from failed ones: clear specification of objectives, competitive procurement, sound risk allocation, meaningful public engagement, and capable negotiators on both sides. The lecture concludes with a conversation between Van Slyke and Jeff Scruggs, managing director at Goldman Sachs & Co. and chairman of the Syracuse University Board of Trustees. Scruggs is a longtime leader of the Public Sector and Infrastructure banking group at Goldman Sachs. Drawing on more than three decades in public finance, Scruggs discusses the elements of successful and unsuccessful partnerships, the distinction between brownfield and greenfield projects, and the importance of mutual benefit, relationship-building, and honest self-assessment for anyone entering the field. David M. Van Slyke is Dean of the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, the Louis A. Bantle Chair in Business-Government Policy, and a leading international expert on public-private partnerships, government contracting, and policy implementation. He is the author of Complex Contracting: Government Purchasing in the Wake of the U.S. Coast Guard's Deepwater Program (Cambridge University Press, 2013), winner of the American Society for Public Administration's Section on Research Best Book Award in 2014. He has advised the Office of Management and Budget, the Government Accountability Office, the U.S. Coast Guard, the Department of Defense, and the World Bank, among others. This lecture is part of USA@250, a free public lecture series from the Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs at Syracuse University, produced in recognition of the 250th anniversary of American independence.