Public-Private Partnerships

Mayor Andre Dickens | Atlanta
Task Force Chair

About the Task Force

The Bipartisan Infrastructure Law is investing more than $1 trillion into America’s cities to rebuild and strengthen our infrastructure. The P3 Task Force was created in 2022 by past president Mayor Francis Suarez. Mayors are leading the work to ensure this historic level of funding reaches the communities that need it most, and public-private partnerships are helping them do that.

Under the leadership of Mayor Andre Dickens, the Public-Private Partnerships (P3) Task Force works with mayors and industry leaders to identify best practices and opportunities for investment around P3s in America’s cities.

“Public-private partnerships have the potential to transform municipal projects as they combine the strengths of both sectors by leveraging public and private sector efficiency, innovation with public sector oversight and social responsibility. The leadership and work of the USCM P3 Task Force is critical to enhancing project delivery in cities across the country and ensuring that community needs are met for generations to come.”

– Tom Cochran, CEO and Executive Director, U.S. Conference of Mayors

P3 Council

The P3 Council is a group of mayors committed to sharing best practices and experiences with the broader USCM community. These mayors represent a diversity of city sizes. The P3 Council also assists the P3 Task Force Chair with identifying relevant issues to address at semi-annual convenings.

The P3 Council organizes exclusive forums with Council members, mayors, and local government officials, providing members with unparalleled access to local decision-makers. These forums serve as a platform for initiating dialog, exploring the value of P3s, sharing innovative project opportunities, and directly influencing local policies and projects that impact the P3 landscape.

Members can directly engage with mayors and local officials, presenting their ideas, projects, and solutions that align with government needs. This direct line of communication facilitates the formation of new partnerships and collaborations.

Benefits:

Federal Advocacy — The P3 Council serves as a powerful advocate for its members at the federal level, offering a unique platform to influence policy, secure favorable regulations, and gain early insights into legislative changes. This advocacy ensures that the interests of our members are represented in critical decision-making processes that affect the P3 sector.
Direct Influence on Policy — Members can participate in discussion and committees that directly engage with federal policymakers, offering a voice in the creation and amendment of policies impacting P3s.
Strategic Alliances — The Council fosters strategic connections with key stakeholders and policymakers, ensuring members’ interests are well-represented and prioritized at the federal level.
Insight and Foresight — Regular briefings, reports, and exclusive meetings with policymakers provide members with advanced insights into federal legislative agendas, enabling strategic planning and positioning.

Mission statement: To engage best-in-class private sector partners as thought-leaders to facilitate and optimize collaboration between Mayors and Industry leaders while navigating the complexities of P3s.

Member Cities:

Albany, NY
Annapolis, MD
Arlington, TX
Atlanta, GA
Austin, TX
Birmingham, AL
Boise, ID
Charlotte, NC
Chattanooga, TN
Chicago, IL

Columbia, SC
Columbia, MO
Columbus, OH
Denver, WA
Dubuque, IA,
Dumfries, CA
Fontana, CA
Fort Worth, TX
Indianapolis, IN
Irvine, CA

Jackson, MS
Kansas City, MO
Lansing, MI
Los Angeles, CA
Mesa, AZ
Minneapolis, MN
Mount Vernon, NY
New Orleans, LA
New York, NY
Newport, RI

Newport News, VA
Oklahoma City, OK
Philadelphia, PA
Phoenix, AZ
Pittsburgh, PA
Providence, RI
Riverside, CA
Salt Lake City, UT
San Antonio, TX
San Diego, CA

Sandy Spring, GA
Scranton, PA
Seattle, WA
Spokane, WA
Tampa, FL
Tempe, AZ
Tucson, AZ
Washington, DC
Waterloo, IA

P3 Advisory Board

The P3 Advisory Board is comprised of members from the private sector. These companies provide a cross-disciplinary perspective and help identify blindspots in the P3 process that would otherwise hamper a Mayor’s efforts to successfully deliver a project via a P3. The P3 Task Force Chair and the P3 Council will rely on insight from the Advisory Board to help develop the P3 Best Practices Guide and Toolkit, the P3 Playbook for cities.

Steering

Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners (SIP) is a consolidated holding company that builds innovative technology-enabled infrastructure companies and projects that deliver positive social and environmental impact. SIP’s platforms are next-generation infrastructure developers with proprietary technologies, all uniquely positioned at the intersection of technology and infrastructure. Our platforms are focused on the future of: the electrical grid, roads, wireless networks, data centers, and recycling. SIP was founded in 2019 and is backed by Alphabet, Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan, and StepStone Group as its anchor partners.

“Innovative partnerships between cities and the private sector can leverage historic federal investments in infrastructure. As a founding member of USCM’s P3 Task Force, SIP is proud to support the nation’s mayors in building more sustainable, resilient, and inclusive infrastructure.”
– David Gilford, Head of Policy and Strategic Partnerships, Sidewalk Infrastructure Partners

HNTB Corporation is an employee-owned infrastructure firm serving public and private owners and contractors. With 110 years of service, HNTB understands the life cycle of infrastructure and addresses clients’ most complex technical, financial and operational challenges, helping to create infrastructure systems that meet the unique needs of local communities. Our professionals deliver a full range of infrastructure-related services, including award-winning planning, design and program and construction management.

“HNTB is excited to partner with the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the P3 taskforce to explore how we can best leverage public private partnerships to support investments in infrastructure. We are energized by the opportunity to be an advisory council member of the U.S. Conference of Mayors P3 initiative and look forward to supporting our mayors as they explore issues that are critical to our industry and local communities.”
– Jim Ray, Corporate President, Advisory, HNTB

Auxiliary

Advocate

P3 Institute

The P3 Institute is a collaboration between the U.S. Conference of Mayors and the Association for the Improvement of American Infrastructure (AIAI), the leading organization dedicated solely to moving P3s forward to strengthen American infrastructure. The P3 Institute will make AIAI’s P3 curriculum available to mayors and their staff. Empowering cities with a stronger knowledge of the P3 process can result in more successful P3s and more efficient delivery of new infrastructure projects.

“I am delighted that AIAI has been selected to collaborate with the US Conference of Mayors on the delivery of the initiatives of the USCM P3 Taskforce. Providing education, information, and resources to cities across the US through the P3 Institute will raise awareness and positively impact project delivery in communities.

Thanks to the foresight of USCM CEO and Executive Director, Tom Cochran, and the leadership of Mayor Dickens, the USCM P3 Taskforce has created a platform to encourage innovation and create more opportunities for Mayors to successfully deliver critical infrastructure to their communities. The AIAI team looks forward to supporting the USCM and Mayor Dickens as they continue to lead the P3 Task Force and drive impactful change.”

– Lisa Buglione, Executive Director, AIAI

AIAI:

AIAI is an action-driven, member-led organization made up of the leading minds in infrastructure who are dedicated to education and the development of best practices on the public-private partnership (P3) procurement model. Members share a passion for advancing American infrastructure to improve our communities through P3 partnerships.

Our mission is to facilitate education among the public sector and support government policies that promote community-based infrastructure development. We aim to provide civic leaders and their staff with the knowledge they need to make informed decisions about the benefits of P3, such as economic development, life cycle cost savings, risk transfer and accelerated project delivery.

Public sector support includes:

An education and collaboration platform
Executive roundtable discussions
Legislative review and support
Public owner P3 education/certification program
Virtual and in-person workshops
Webinars
Access to resource publications

AIAI is led by Executive Director, Lisa Buglione. With more than 20 years of high-profile strategic initiative management and operations experience, Ms. Buglione oversees every aspect of AIAI’s tactical operations and national public outreach initiatives. She is instrumental to AIAI’s rapid growth in terms of membership, brand awareness and prolific organizational expansion across the country. Convening public and private sectors through education and outreach, Ms. Buglione ensures that the P3 conversation centers on best practices and quality conversations.

P3 Institute Sessions

Past Sessions:

Riverside & Rialto, CA – February 8, 2024
Sandy Spring, GA – February 14, 2024
Lansing, MI – March 22, 2024
Arlington, TX – April 5, 2024
Boca Raton, FL – August 2, 2024

Future Sessions:

Tempe, AZ – August 9, 2024
Denver, CO – TBD
Charlotte, NC – TBD

Interested in attending or hosting a session? Contact [email protected]

History

March 2022 — Resolution to express support for Public Private Partnerships adopted at the USCM 90th Annual Meeting under the stewardship of then-Conference President Mayor Francis Suarez
October 2023 — Inaugural meeting P3 Task Force Meeting takes place in Atlanta, GA
January 2024 — P3 Task Force initiatives debuted at USCM Annual Winter Meeting in Washington, DC, with a special address from Special Advisor to President Biden and Director of the White House Office of Public Engagement, Steve Benjamin
February 2024 — Regional Institutes Roadshow kicks off with the goal of providing more information to mayors and other city leaders