Backgrounder on the benefits and risks of PPD.
A.1 About this Handbook
- Why a handbook on public-private dialogue?
- Who is this handbook for?
- Is there anything else which is a must-read?
- How did this handbook come about?
- Where can I find further information
A.2 Benefits, Risks, and Lifespan of PPDs
Dialogue between the public and private sectors is not a new concept. It has been a feature of public life for decades in some countries. But recent years have seen an upsurge in interest in PPD as a means for promoting private sector development.
PPD has become an important part of the private sector reform process, and is here to stay. This means it is increasingly necessary to promote understanding of what PPD is, and what it can and can’t achieve.
PPD comes in many forms. It can be structured or ad hoc, formal or informal, wide-ranging or focused on specific issues.
A.3 Introduction of the Handbook Methodology
The handbook identifies factors to consider at each stage of a continuous, cyclical process of building and improving dialogue. Taken as a whole, it builds up into a practical toolkit to:
- diagnose the capacity of the public and private sectors to engage in dialogue and the areas in which dialogue can be most fruitful;
- design a dialogue process that gives the best chance for productive interactions between public and private sectors to emerge;
- implement dialogue with an awareness of risk factors that can develop and the ability to identify and address problems as they arise;
- evaluate the effectiveness of dialogue mechanisms, feeding back into the diagnosis phase for designing and implementing improvements.
A.4 The Charter of Good Practice in Using PPD for Private Sector Developement
This Charter was initially drawn up on the Second of February, Two Thousand and Six, at the International Workshop on Public-Private Dialogue, organized by a cross-sectoral team from DFID, the World Bank, the IFC and OECD Development Centre, held at the World Bank Paris Conference Centre, and attended by over a hundred participants from thirty countries.