The Initiative

PPP.BG – From Dialogue on Public-Private Partnerships to a Platform for Public Debate on Good Governance of Infrastructure and Data

PPP.BG was established as an initiative to promote professional and academic debate on the development of public-private partnerships in Bulgaria and South-Eastern Europe. As the platform evolved, it gradually broadened its perspective – from the legal framework, financing and management of PPPs to the wider issues of the quality of public investment, infrastructure project management, transparency, public participation, digital transformation and good data governance.

From the outset, the partnership model has been an important feature of the initiative. PPP.BG brings together universities, public institutions, professional organisations, representatives of business, the financial and technology sectors, and international experts around shared topics. It is precisely the interaction among different professional communities that makes it possible to consider infrastructure and public-private projects comprehensively – as legal, economic, financial, managerial, technical and information systems.

The common thread linking these areas is the understanding that successful infrastructure does not begin with construction and does not end when an asset is commissioned. It requires sound governance throughout the entire investment lifecycle – from identifying the public need and preparing the project, through financing, procurement, design and construction, to operation, asset management, evaluation of results and public accountability.

2015: Legal Framework, Financing and Management

The First Conference ‘Challenges to the Development of Public-Private Partnerships in South-Eastern Europe’, held in Sofia on 21 April 2015, laid the foundations of the initiative.

At its focus were three interrelated dimensions – the legal and institutional environment, financing, and the professional management of public-private partnerships.

From its very first edition, the initiative was built on strong interdisciplinary academic, professioonal and civic partnership. The organisers included:

  • the Faculty of Law of St Cyril and St Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo;
  • the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’;
  • the Faculty of Structural Engineering of the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy;
  • the European Law Society;
  • the Civil Institute.

This composition already demonstrated PPP.BG’s core philosophy in 2015: PPPs should not be viewed through a single professional lens, but through the interaction of law, economics, construction, management and the public sector.

The discussions covered procedures for selecting a private partner, the allocation of responsibilities and risks, project and structured finance, the use of European and private resources, financial control, and the practical management of infrastructure projects.

Applications of PPPs were considered in road and water and wastewater infrastructure, energy, education, construction, facility management and the management of urban spaces.

Even at that stage, one of the principles that continues to shape the development of PPP.BG was already evident: complex public investments cannot be treated solely as legal, financial or technical projects. They require legal and financial analysis, professional project management, clear contractual relationships, measurable results, and effective risk management throughout the lifecycle.

2018: International Partnership, Public Participation, Open Government and Education

The second stage in the initiative’s development expanded both its thematic scope and its partnership network.

In 2018, the Second International Conference ‘Challenges to the Development of Public-Private Partnerships in South-Eastern Europe’ brought together representatives of universities, professional organisations, business, the financial sector and the international expert community.

The organisations involved in organising and developing the initiative included:

  • the Faculty of Law of St Cyril and St Methodius University of Veliko Tarnovo;
  • the Faculty of Economics and Business Administration of Sofia University ‘St. Kliment Ohridski’;
  • the Faculty of Structural Engineering of the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy;
  • the European Law Society;
  • the Bulgarian Society of Construction Law;
  • the Bulgarian Association for Construction Project Management;
  • the European Association of Public-Private Partnership.

The initiative thus brought together the academic community, construction law, project management and international PPP expertise.

The international perspective was also evident in the programme, including through the participation of Prof. Sara Valaguzza of the University of Milan and the European Association of Public-Private Partnership.

Public participation, transparency, open government and trust between the public and private sectors were added to the themes of law, financing and management.

A particular emphasis was placed on university education for PPPs. This raised the issue of human and institutional capacity as a prerequisite for high-quality management of public investment.

A new type of professional is needed – one who can work at the intersection of law, economics, finance, construction, project management and public administration, and who understands the interaction among these fields.

PPP.BG thus gradually evolved from a space for discussing a particular financing model into a platform for interdisciplinary and international professional dialogue on how public and public-private investments are prepared, financed, managed and controlled.

2020: BIM, Digital Transformation and a New Type of Partnership

The next logical step was the digital transformation of the construction and investment process.

In June 2020, the BIM’2020 series ‘Digital Transformation in Construction’ focused on the role of information and digital technologies throughout the entire lifecycle of construction and infrastructure assets.

The series was organised by ProActiveSolutions in partnership with the University of Architecture, Civil Engineering and Geodesy (UACEG) and professional organisations and companies from the construction and technology sectors, including:

  • the Chamber of Engineers in Investment Design;
  • the Bulgarian Construction Chamber;
  • the Chamber of Architects in Bulgaria;
  • the Scientific and Technical Union of Civil Engineering in Bulgaria;
  • Cobuilder International;

This marked an important change in the development of the partnership network. Technology companies, BIM experts and providers of specialised digital solutions were now systematically joining the universities and professional organisations.

The six thematic seminars connected BIM with information management, Common Data Environments (CDEs), ISO 19650, digital twins, 4D and 5D modelling, facility management, structured descriptions of construction products, Business Intelligence, Big Data, the Internet of Things, and integrated management of resources, schedules and costs.

The programme’s international and technological character was strengthened through the participation of experts from in2it, Bexel Consulting, e-Metodi, SmartConsult and Cobuilder International, as well as specialists and practical solutions from NEMETSCHEK, KNAUF, Next IT Services and other companies in the construction sector’s digital ecosystem.

It is important to distinguish this participation from formal partnership: some of these organisations were represented through speakers and technology demonstrations, whereas the supporting documentation explicitly identifies UACEG and the specified professional organisations and companies as partners.

BIM’2020 created a shared space linking university education, the design professions, the construction sector, technology companies and international BIM expertise.

An important practical element was also the link to education. Participants could receive postgraduate qualification certificates from UACEG, while ProActiveSolutions supported the participation of a limited number of representatives of vocational construction schools and central and local government administrations.

The partnership therefore acquired not only a discussion function, but also educational and applied functions – transferring knowledge among universities, professional organisations, public administration, business and the technology sector.

2026: Good Data Governance as an Infrastructure Issue

The development of PPP.BG naturally leads to the next question: how do we govern the data on which decisions about public and infrastructure investment are based?

Today, it is no longer enough to ask:

‘Is the information available?’

The more important question is:

‘Are there sufficient high-quality, structured, linked, accessible and usable data to enable institutions, investors, designers, contractors, consultants, supervisory bodies and the public to make better decisions?’

This transforms data governance from a technical issue into a key element of good governance.

Incomplete, incompatible or difficult-to-use data hinder planning, risk assessment, control of schedules and costs, contract and asset management, and the public’s ability to track how public resources are used.

Well-governed data, by contrast, create the conditions for better decisions, earlier identification of risks, improved cost control, interoperability between systems, greater transparency, and the accumulation of institutional knowledge from one project to the next.

This is why PPP.BG today places infrastructure data governance at the intersection of public governance, construction and infrastructure, project management, law, finance, digitalisation and open data.

The new stage also entails further development of the partnership model – interaction among public institutions, universities, professional organisations, the construction and design sectors, project and cost management professionals, technology companies, transparency and open-data organisations, and the international expert community.

The specific organisations partnering the 2026 initiatives should be presented in accordance with their officially confirmed participation in the respective events and projects.

OUR MISSION

PPP.BG’s mission is to support professional and public debate on creating a more transparent, predictable, efficient and data-driven environment for the preparation, financing and management of public and public-private investment projects.

We promote the use of internationally recognised principles, standards and good practices, while seeking their practical application in Bulgaria’s institutional, legal, economic and construction environment.

Key areas include standards and practices for information and infrastructure-data management, BIM and CDE, standardised publication of infrastructure-project data, open contracting, cost and risk management, and the use of data for analysis, oversight and decision-making.

Approaches such as the Open Contracting Data Standard (OCDS) and the Open Contracting for Infrastructure Data Standard (OC4IDS) enable information on projects and related contracting processes to be organised in a structured, machine-readable format. The CoST Infrastructure Data Standard (CoST IDS) places additional emphasis on the disclosure of key information about infrastructure projects and on public accountability.

In the construction process, international information-management standards, including the ISO 19650 series, provide a framework for organising information and interaction among participants in a BIM environment.

For PPP.BG, these approaches are not merely technological or standardisation tools. They form part of the broader infrastructure of good governance.

PARTNERSHIP ECOSYSTEM

Partnerships are a fundamental part of PPP.BG’s development.

Since 2015, a network has gradually developed around the initiative, connecting different professional communities:

Universities and the academic community – legal, economic, construction and management education and research.

Professional organisations – engineers, architects, contractors, and specialists in construction law and project management.

Public sector – central and local government, regulatory and supervisory bodies, and organisations that procure or manage infrastructure investment.

Business and investors – construction, consulting, design, financial and specialist companies.

Technology sector – BIM, CDE, digital twins, product data, Business Intelligence, and resource, cost and asset management.

International expert community – universities, professional networks, international specialists and organisations that provide a comparative perspective and access to international practice.

Education and competence development – universities, vocational schools and continuing vocational education and training organisations.

This partnership ecosystem is necessary because no single institution or profession alone possesses all the knowledge and tools required to manage modern infrastructure investment.

PPP.BG’s role is to create a shared meeting space for these communities, where international standards, academic knowledge, institutional experience, professional practice and technology solutions can be connected and translated into practically applicable approaches.

WHAT WE DO

  1. Legal and Institutional Framework
    We examine the rules, institutions, contractual models, responsibilities and mechanisms for interaction between the public and private sectors. We promote the development of administrative and expert capacity for the preparation and management of complex investment projects.
  2. Financing and Public Value
    We examine project financial sustainability, risk allocation, project and structured finance, the investment lifecycle, and the capacity of public investment to create measurable value for society.
  3. Project, Cost and Risk Management
    We focus on planning, schedule and cost management, changes, contracts, delivery, risk control, and the subsequent management of infrastructure assets.
  4. Data, BIM and Digital Infrastructure
    We work to improve information management throughout the entire project lifecycle – BIM, CDE, ISO 19650, structured infrastructure data, OCDS, OC4IDS, CoST IDS, open data, Business Intelligence and analytical tools.
  5. Transparency, Public Participation and Accountability
    We promote access to information, civic and professional oversight, stakeholder participation, and conditions that foster public trust in the preparation and delivery of public investment.
  6. Education, Competences and Research
    We connect universities, vocational education, public administration and professional practice. We support the development of professionals with interdisciplinary competences in law, finance, project management, construction, digital technologies and data governance.