Infrastructure development remains at the the heart of the modernisation of UK public services. From the upgrade of secondary schools to the development of new IT systems, the public sector has rarely been under such pressure to deliver effective and efficient improvements in its infrastructure.

The public sector has always worked with private sector partners to help deliver its infrastructure requirements - typically through so-called 'conventional procurement'. Recent years have seen the private sector play a new role in the Private Finance Initiatives (PFI), and the partnership models of Local Improvement Finance Trusts (LIFT) and Local Education Partnerships (LEP). However, these schemes continue to be subject to considerable discussion and debate.

This report focuses on assessing alternatives to conventional procurement. It attempts to evaluate the PFI and LEP/LIFT models and describe the conditions in which they are likely to work best. It proposes five new delivery models that Deloitte believes have the potential to offer improved outcomes in situations where neither PFI nor LEP/LIFT is suitable.

We believe that the PFI and LEP/LIFT models will go on being good options in many situations, but that they need to be supplemented by alternative approaches if the public sector is to achieve its infrastructure objectives. Our aim is to raise the awareness if the public sector is to achieve its infrastructure objectives. Our aim is to raise the awareness of the public sector to a broader range of delivery models than those commonly considered and to provide a rough and ready guide to their selection.

For more information, download our New delivery models for public infrastructure projects (PDF, 843KB)

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Read our related Deloitte press release: Building flexibility: New delivery models for public infrastructure projects.