Recommendations help make sure P3s are in the public's interest.

• Position: Public-private partnerships

U.S. infrastructure has not received an adequate level of investment for years, according to a paper from Brookings, which cites "political dysfunction, a challenging fiscal environment, greater project complexity, and the sheer size of the need across different sectors" as forces causing leaders "to explore new ways to finance the investments and operations that will grow their economies over the next decade." This includes new kinds of agreements between governments at all levels and the private sector to deliver, finance, and maintain a range of projects--true partnerships between agencies, private firms, financiers, and the general public.

A well-executed P3 is simply another tool for procuring or managing public infrastructure, but the public sector could use more information to improve their understanding of this tool. The paper, titled Private Capital, Public Good, makes the following recommendations to help governments execute P3s that are in the public's best interest:

* Create a strong legal framework at the state level. Jurisdictions need to make sure they have a sound legal basis for pursuing a deal and the ability to mitigate unnecessary risk.

* Prioritize projects based on quantifiable public goals. Not every infrastructure project is suitable for a P3, so policymakers need to base their procurement decisions on economic and financial analysis that captures the social, environmental, and fiscal impacts of the deal.

* Pick politically smart projects. To be successful, P3s require a pragmatic understanding of what is feasible in an evolving political environment.

* Understand what the private sector needs. Strong partnerships are based on finding the right alignment of interests, so jurisdictions need to understand what makes a project appealing to private-sector investors.

* Find the right revenue stream. P3s are not free money; they require localities to find durable and resilient revenue sources that will pay for the investment over the long term.

* Create a clear and transparent process. Standardization will create a market for P3s that provides the public and...