A. Introduction
One session of the conference was organised around two breakout groups to provide participants with an opportunity to interact and share experiences directly among themselves. The objective of the working groups was to identify common themes and present questions related to the respective topics that require additional analysis. These questions will eventually feed back into the PPPUE Global Learning Network, either as research topics for the distance learning participants or as priority areas for municipalities to consider when deliberating the role of the private sector in providing urban infrastructure services.
The first working group focused on how PPPs can reduce poverty and involve local communities. Since future demand for environmental services will be largely concentrated in poor neighborhoods and peri-urban settlements - areas that are already experiencing severe deficiencies of service - the true test of the effectiveness of PPP arrangements will be measured in their ability to expand access to communities that are presently off the grid or otherwise under-served.
The second working group tackled the subject of financing PPPs by looking at the conditions necessary to attract private capital and create an enabling environment for investment. Since it is widely agreed that needed funding for service expansion and improvement will not take place without access to private capital, it is necessary to examine local, national, regional and global mechanisms and conditions that will reduce the kinds of barriers that have to date limited the participation of the private sector in public services.
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