Ampratwum, G.; Osei-Kyei, R. and Tam, V. W. Y. (2026) Development of a risk assessment model for adopting public-private partnership in building ghana's critical infrastructure resilience against unexpected events. Smart and Sustainable Built Environment, 15(3), pp. 1200-1224. ISSN 2046-6099
Abstract
Purpose – Critical infrastructures are susceptible to unexpected disruptive events that affect their functional performance. Public–private partnership (PPP) offers opportunities for stakeholders to build resilience by proactively coordinating and positioning the capabilities of the stakeholders. Partnerships are mostly riddled with risks that affect the performance and goal attainment of the partnerships. The purpose of this study was to develop a risk assessment model for PPP in critical infrastructure resilience (CIR) using fuzzy synthetic evaluation. Design/methodology/approach – This study used a quantitative approach to analyse survey responses from respondents. Mean score ranking, Kendall's coefficient of concordance and fuzzy synthetic evaluation were used to analyse the responses from respondents. Findings – This study identified seven risk categories; Political, Financial, Ethical, Bureaucracies and red tapes, Legal, Coordination and Institutional as the critical risk categories that may frustrate the partners in a PPP arrangement from performing their responsibilities. A risk assessment model was also developed in the form of a risk index equation to ascertain the risk level of using a PPP to build critical infrastructure resilience in Ghana. It was found that the risk level in using PPP to build critical infrastructure resilience is high. Practical implications – The outcome of this study can be used as an informative and guiding tool to streamline any future PPP arrangement or even amend current PPP arrangements in critical infrastructure resilience. Originality/value – The study has drawn attention to the risks in using PPP to build critical infrastructure resilience within the Ghanaian context. It has also established a risk index to assess the risk level of using PPP to build critical infrastructure resilience. This risk index can be used to ascertain the risk level in different countries. In addition, no research has been conducted to empirically test the risks in using PPP to build critical infrastructure resilience thus making this study a novel contribution to the critical infrastructure resilience research domain.
| Item Type: | Article |
|---|---|
| Uncontrolled Keywords: | critical infrastructure resilience; fuzzy synthetic evaluation; Ghana; public sector; public–private partnership; risk index |
| Index terms: | methodology, fuzzy synthetic evaluation, survey, risk assessment, coordination, critical infrastructure, Ghana, public sector, partnership |
| Subjects: | infrastructure and transport systems, administrative law, partnership management, management, data collection methods, decision-making and optimization, Geography, financial risk, research methods |
| Topics: | Legal Issues, Geographical Context, Engineering Principles, Organizational Design, Stakeholder Management, Research Practice, Cost Management |
| Descriptive scope: | 5 PCTEA |
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