The interaction of public-private partnerships (PPP) and SDG 17 (Partnership for the Goals) in achieving sustainable development

Abstract

While the United Nations has identified partnerships as key means to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), as illustrated in SDG 17, the contemporary academic discourse on partnerships in line with public-private partnerships (PPPs) indicates that legal, regulatory, and contractual problems threaten the efficacy of PPPs as a tool for achieving sustainable development, yet underexplored. In this regard, we offer a model for mitigating partnership issues to improve their efficacy in achieving the UN SDGs. To achieve this, we draw on our subject matter expertise and contemporary academic discourse on the topic to conceptually illustrate our understanding of current PPP governance issues and potential solutions, thereby better positioning them to meet the UN SDGs. This article is therefore positioned as a conceptual paper informed by an illustrative synthesis of PPP, SDG, governance, legal, regulatory, and contractual scholarship. The contribution is not to provide an exhaustive evidence map of the literature, but to develop the PPP Governance Triad (PGT) as an organising framework for linking contractual design, applicable law, regulatory oversight, and power relations to SDG-aligned partnership outcomes. We set a research agenda on the governance of PPPs to encourage research on SDG 17 in accounting, governance and management journals, where there has been a paucity of research by identifying legal, contractual, and regulatory PPP issues in the contemporary academic discourse on PPPs and offer ideas for mitigating them by conceptually modelling a contractual, legal, and regulatory framework for understanding and addressing recurring PPP governance issues that may weaken their contribution to SDG-aligned outcomes. Our research offers policymakers concrete advice on how to increase the effectiveness of PPPs in achieving the SDGs. We are optimistic that our research can help policymakers and practitioners in the global PPP market better understand and enhance PPPs to achieve the SDGs.