Impact of COVID-19 on the development of infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean and the role of Public-Private Partnerships in times of crisis in the regi

With the support of Governments and Research Institutions in Latin America and the Caribbean, in 2020, the IDB launched the Network of Analysis and Best Practices in Public-Private Partnerships (PPP Network), aiming to drive infrastructure development in the region in terms of quality, sustainability, competitiveness, and efficiency. The PPP Network was created to A) relate public knowledge demands with developed applied research (in other words, research that respond to what policy and project developers want to know about what does or does not work under a PPP framework); B) To systematize information: arrange structured and organized information for projects analysis, from investment decisions to financing ones; C) To generate and coordinate current evidence: through the development of analytical works using public information available through the network, as well as to relate regional applied research to enhance knowledge creation. Beginning in 2020, and by a Public Call to governments in the region, a series of topics were determined which gathered common interests in the development of infrastructure under PPP schemes in five main areas: Regulation and Institutions; Feasibility and Structuring sustainable projects; Financing of projects; Risk management and monitoring; and Evaluation, Performance, and Impact. The document “Impact of COVID-19 on the development of infrastructure in Latin America and the Caribbean and the role of Public-Private Partnerships in times of crisis in the region” responded to such demand and was elected under an exceptional category over the pandemic circumstances, through a competitive call for proposals.