Public-Private Partnership in Rural Development: Experience of Rural Development Academy, Bogura

Abstract

<p style="text-align: justify;"><em>Aims of the study were to assess the present scenario of PPP projects, opportunities and challenges especially for rural development in Bangladesh and to explore the partnership experience of RDA, Bogura. From the beginning PPP projects implemented in Bangladesh mostly related to infrastructure development, few are related to health and sanitation, ICT and social sector but sector related to rural development totally ignored. The common opportunities identified by the respondents for PPP in rural development are privatizing government-owned facilities and services, improving food processing, food safety and quality, developing niche markets, improving sector-specific rural physical and technical infrastructure services, improving financial services, technology development and research in agricultural sectors, improving information communication system, capacity building and extension services through ICT and also for improving access to national and international markets. The probable challenging issues suggested by the respondents for PPP in rural development are the lack of clear PPP policy guidelines and proper institutional framework for rural development, lack of incentives given by governments to private actors in rural areas, incompatible attitudes and understanding between partners, poor infrastructure and limited delivery on public-sector and emerging new risks for small-scale actors. Rural development sectors have not under consideration in PPP law-2015 and PPP guidelines of Bangladesh. The partnership agreements implemented by RDA, Bogura with other private partners were MoU and follow the characteristics of the "Service contract and Management contract" type PPP model with a little deviation in case of investment. Besides these, the six partnerships fulfill the common characteristics of PPP such as win-win benefits for both sectors and citizen, risk-sharing, public service, and ultimate regulatory responsibility remain in public sectors, economically viable for the public sector and financially viable for the private sector, using private sector skills and management for public sector services. These win-win solutions could be useful for both government and private sectors. So the government might modify the existing legal framework and policy guidelines to govern the PPP for rural development. PPP in rural development will be an avenue for achieving sustainable economic growth and development for Bangladesh.</em></p>

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