Social infrastructure P3 projects in the United States may be the next frontier for institutional investors. The pioneers on this frontier are now busy forging new paths that will make the road to success more predictable and stable for those who follow. While P3 projects for social infrastructure such as hospitals, schools, student housing, courthouses and prisons have a longer track record in Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia, in the United States such projects only recently have been seriously contemplated.

The search for higher returns, Africa’s attractive GDP and demographic growth — and the acknowledgement that there must be external sources of infrastructure investment for that growth to continue — has led to a certain optimism among many investors looking at Africa. The trends are creating interest, but it is guarded optimism. Institutional investment in Africa infrastructure is still modest and barriers to investment, while improving, still exist. 

The editorial team at IREI just wrapped up the editorial calendars for the second half of 2015. Each year, the process of setting the topics for feature articles begins by reviewing the discussions at our annual Editorial Advisory Board meetings, where our publication sponsors and board members get to learn what issues and objectives drive the thinking and decision making of the investors at our meetings.