tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//3 2009-10-07T18:22:12Z Movable Type 4.01 tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//3.3879 2009-08-02T18:13:01Z 2009-10-07T18:22:12Z

An exclusive gathering in California hosted by Stanford University sheds light on what pensions are seeking from infrastructure managers-- and what the pensions might do if they don't get what they want....

rjorr An exclusive gathering in California hosted by Stanford University sheds light on what pensions are seeking from infrastructure managers-- and what the pensions might do if they don't get what they want. The psychologist Sigmund Freud is famous for having once asked, "The great question that has never been answered, and which I have not yet been able to answer, despite my thirty years of research into the feminine soul, is 'What does a woman want?'"

In the infrastructure world, the same question is being asked by fund managers with respect to public pension funds. Due to their liability-matching requirements, these multi-billion dollar pools of capital have long been wooed by managers eager to make their mark on the asset class.

But judging by an exclusive event recently held in California, infrastructure fund managers aren't having much luck figuring out what pensions want from them.

On June 25 and 26, senior executives representing about $1 trillion of Canadian, US, UK, Australian and Middle Eastern institutional assets gathered at an event organised by Ryan Orr, executive director of the Collaboratory for Research on Global Projects at Stanford University, to compare notes on how to best approach the infrastructure asset class.

The good news is that all of these groups want to initiate or increase significant allocations to infrastructure. However, a key insight from the Stanford Roundtable on Pensions and Infrastructure, attended by 55 pension officers, academics, state officials and event sponsors, was that -- by and large -- pensions are currently not getting what they want from infrastructure fund managers.

According to people familiar with the event, pensions present at the roundtable firmly said they were reluctant to pay private equity-style fees of 2 percent management and 20 percent carry for infrastructure investments. In most cases, their infrastructure allocations are being carved out of fixed income allocations. That means they're giving up Treasury bills and AAA corporate bonds to invest in the asset class -- not interests in private equity funds. With that comes an expectation for lower returns and, correspondingly, lower fees.

But right now fund managers are still, for the most part, sticking to the private equity model for infrastructure. That means not only higher fees that clash with fixed-income allocations but also closed-end fund structures that don't line up with pensions' investment horizons.

So what's a frustrated pension chief investment officer to do? The general answer is "let's invest directly in infrastructure ourselves", and roundtable participants fielded three different options for accomplishing this.

The first was partnering with infrastructure developers -- firms such as Skanska or ACS, which have extensive expertise in the sector -- to invest in infrastructure projects alongside them. The problem with this approach is that, like the guy in the front of the classroom unaware that a pretty girl in the back of the class has a crush on him, developers are unaware of all the pension money interested in partnering with them. There's an opportunity here for some matchmaking by intermediaries and also for developers to be more pro-active, market sources say.

The second option for doing it themselves is the creation of formal pooled vehicles, whereby pensions would get together, put out a request for proposals for managers, aggregate their dollars and put them to work on their terms. As previously reported by Infrastructure Investor magazine, pensions including California and New Jersey have entertained such an idea. But the general consensus at the roundtable was that such multi-pension arrangements are difficult to orchestrate.

The third -- and most promising approach -- was a more informal alliance among pensions to form a club and invest in opportunities on a deal-by-deal basis. The member pensions would share intelligence, deal opportunities and due diligence resources and invest together in deals where it made sense to do so, given their different needs.

Make no mistake, though. Pensions get the fact that infrastructure investing is tough. They realize that it takes an enormous level of time, human resources, expertise and money that they simply do not have. They also realize that investing in third-party managed funds can give them political cover from politicians eager to legislate their allocation schedules. So outsourcing the process to a third-party fund manager will likely remain an attractive proposition for many, whether they realise this yet or not.

But if that attraction is to spark meaningful relationships, managers are going to have to do a lot more listening.

By: Cezary Podkul, Infrastructure Investor Original Posting: http://www.infrastructureinvestor.com/Article.aspx?article=43175 ]]> tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//3.3779 2009-07-25T01:30:44Z 2009-08-09T19:33:57Z

Two CRGP faculty -- co-director Raymond Levitt and consulting faculty Antonio Vives -- have been appointed to the Public Infrastructure Advisory Commission (PIAC), chaired by Secretary Dale E. Bonner. Details of the Commission, its goals, and membership were published today...

rjorr Two CRGP faculty -- co-director Raymond Levitt and consulting faculty Antonio Vives -- have been appointed to the Public Infrastructure Advisory Commission (PIAC), chaired by Secretary Dale E. Bonner. Details of the Commission, its goals, and membership were published today in the following news release:]]> Sacramento -- In an ongoing effort to spur economic recovery and address the state's unmet transportation infrastructure needs, California's Business, Transportation and Housing Agency Secretary Dale E. Bonner today announced appointments to the Public Infrastructure Advisory Commission (PIAC or Commission), a new auxiliary unit within the BT&H Agency.

The Commission will assist the California Department of Transportation (Caltrans) and regional transportation agencies in developing public-private financing agreements for high-priority infrastructure projects throughout the state.

"After decades of underinvestment in transportation infrastructure, it is now clear that traditional funding and delivery methods cannot keep pace with California's growing demand," said Bonner who will serve as Chair of the Commission. "The newly-created Commission is the Nation's first statewide body formed with an express statutory charge to help state and regional transportation agencies develop performance-based partnerships that deliver real value to the public."

On February 20, 2009, Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger signed Senate Bill 4 as part of an emergency budget package intended to resolve the State's current fiscal crisis. The bill authorizes Caltrans and regional transportation agencies to enter into public-private partnership (P3) agreements that may include private sector finance, design, construction, maintenance and operation of transportation facilities. To ensure that such agreements are in the public interest, a proposed agreement must be submitted to the Legislature and the PIAC for review at least 60 days before the agreement is signed.

California is a state of roughly 38 million people, who are living with infrastructure designed for about half that population. Long-term forecasts suggest the State will be approaching 60 million by 2050 -- with correlating needs for infrastructure. For transportation, the State faces an estimated ten-year gap of $50.3 billion between funds that are necessary and what is available through traditional sources. With the current fiscal and economic crises, comprehensive solutions remain elusive and California's economic competitiveness is at risk.

"The esteemed group of Commissioners is drawn from the most senior levels of academia, industry and government -- together bringing a wealth of world-class experience and expertise to help identify the best opportunities and methods of partnering with the private sector to improve California's transportation system, economy and quality of life," said Bonner.

The newly formed Commission will be chaired by Secretary Bonner and includes the following individuals:

• Ruben Barrales, President and Chief Executive Officer of the San Diego Regional Chamber of Commerce.
• Joseph Cruz, Director of Transportation Policy/Government Relations for the California Alliance for Jobs.
• Danny Curtin, Director for the California Conference of Carpenters.
• Lee Harrington, Executive Director of the Southern California Leadership Council (SCLC).
• Charles Hilliard, President and Chief Financial Officer of Demand Media.
• Tom Holsman, Chief Executive Officer of the Associated General Contractors of California (AGC).
• John V. Hummer, Director of the U.S. Department of Transportation's Northern California-Hawaii Gateway Office (San Francisco).
• John Husing, Ph.D., Research economist specializing in the study of Southern California's growing economy.
• Fran Inman, Senior Vice President of Majestic Realty Co. and President of the Majestic Realty Foundation.
• Roger A. Kozberg, Managing Director at Hub International.
• Ray Levitt, Professor of Civil and Environmental Engineering at Stanford University.
• Richard G. Little, Director of the Keston Institute for Public Finance and Infrastructure Policy, University of Southern California.
• Paul Meyer, Executive Director of the American Council of Engineering Companies of California (ACEC).
• Adrian Moore, Ph.D., Vice President of Research at Reason Foundation.
• Devin I. Murphy, Private Investor, previously a Managing Partner of Coventry Real Estate Advisors.
• Elizabeth O'Donoghue, Director of Infrastructure and Land Use at The Nature Conservancy of California.
• Katherine Perez, Executive Director of the Urban Land Institute, Los Angeles District Council.
• Sean Randolph, President & CEO of the Bay Area Council Economic Institute.
• Roger Snoble, Retired CEO of the Los Angeles County Metropolitan Transportation Authority.
• Peter J. Taylor, Executive Vice President and Chief Financial Officer of the University of California.
• Antonio Vives, Principal Associate at Cumpetere and Consulting Professor at Stanford University.
• Steve Wilder, Vice President-Risk Management for The Walt Disney Company.

The Commission will hold its first public meeting on Wednesday, July 29th in Los Angeles.

For more information on the PIAC or to view the full biographies for each Commissioner visit http://www.publicinfrastructure.ca.gov/.]]> tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//3.3727 2009-07-10T21:21:24Z 2009-07-10T21:27:12Z

Prof, Ray Levitt, CRGP Director, was invited to present a keynote lecture at a NSF Workshop held at the University of Illinois on July 8-10, 2009, to describe CRGP's Collaboratory model as an exemplar for international academic-industry-government collaborative research....

rjorr Prof, Ray Levitt, CRGP Director, was invited to present a keynote lecture at a NSF Workshop held at the University of Illinois on July 8-10, 2009, to describe CRGP's Collaboratory model as an exemplar for international academic-industry-government collaborative research. Other presenters at this International Workshop included Wayne Crew, Executive Director of the Construction Industry Institute, Robert Tener, Director of the Charles Pankow Foundation, and Stanford alumnus, Dr. Keith Hampson, Director of the Cooperative Research Centre on Construction Innovation at Queensland University of Technology in Australia.

CRGP's unique global collaboratory model was the focus of a great deal of interest and discussion at the workshop. There was an expression of Interest from CRC Construction Innovation in Australia to be a collaboratory partner in Australia for research and outreach on PPP delivery of social and civil infrastructure, an area in which Australia has a great deal of experience that could be leveraged into the U.S. context. ]]> tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//3.3711 2009-05-14T18:29:44Z 2009-05-28T18:43:57Z

jennifer Full Story]]> tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//3.3627 2009-04-01T17:15:09Z 2009-04-01T17:20:59Z

jennifer Learn More... ]]> tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2009:/news//3.3603 2009-03-05T22:45:53Z 2009-03-24T16:07:32Z

jennifer The purpose of the hearing was to provide the Commission with an understanding of the major issues facing California in the development of the State's infrastructure. The Commission sought to learn about the state's process for indentifying, selecting and prioritizing infrastructure projects; policies and practices to ensure efficient and effective use of resources. This first hearing focused on indentifying challenges and discussed the state's existing process for planning and facilitating infrastructure development. Subsequent hearings will follow.

The Commission was interested specifically in learning about the Collaboratory for Research on Global Project and its work to understand California's infrastructure development process and indentify ways to improve the planning, financing, and delivery of infrastructure in the State. Dr. Orr testified about the Collaboratory's executive workshop "Renewing California's Infrastructure: Finding a Way Forward" that was held in October 2007 and its findings, both in terms of problems identified and potential solutions discussed. The Commission was also interested in getting a broad sense of the innovations in infrastructure planning and delivery that are occurring in other states and other countries. Learn More.

Read more about the hearing and the Little Hoover Commission. ]]> tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2008:/news//3.3417 2008-12-11T01:28:24Z 2009-01-12T02:11:45Z

John Richter (Chief Technical Officer, Financial Mechanics), will be leading an intensive, three-day cash flow modeling workshop for MBA, law school, and engineering students at Stanford University, February 14 -16, 2008....

rjorr Financial Mechanics), will be leading an intensive, three-day cash flow modeling workshop for MBA, law school, and engineering students at Stanford University, February 14 -16, 2008. ]]> The workshop will be open to students of Ryan Orr's class Global Project Finance and to selected affiliates of the Collaboratory for Research on Global Projects.

Financial Mechanics has designed the 3-day program based on courses it has developed and delivered to firms throughout the world for the past 10 years. It is a hands-on, extremely practical, skills-oriented course. In describing the course, John wryly commented for our Cardinal readers, "An MBA from a well-known East Coast business school, a career in project finance, and now I am teaching advanced typing and spreadsheet design for Excel. Oh well. I have fun doing it, it's useful stuff, and there is a big need."

Financial Mechanics (wwww.fi-mech.com) is a specialist financial modeling services company, providing transaction support, training courses, and model review services to clients worldwide. Its corporate clients include 64 global investment funds, project developers, construction companies, oil majors, leading mining companies, and major utilities. Amongst financial institutions its clients include 9 of the top 10 global banks, more than 30 smaller commercial banks and financial advisors, and 6 of the top 8 accounting firms. ]]> tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2008:/news//3.3645 2008-11-30T22:59:38Z 2009-04-23T23:10:27Z

jennifer SCANCOR is the acronym for The Scandinavian Center for Organization Research, a network of Scandinavian organizations programs connected to Stanford University. SCANCOR was founded on September 15, 1988. The idea behind SCANCOR was to create a foundation for internationalizing research and education in organization and leadership. Through cooperation among Scandinavian business schools and universities, SCANCOR hopes to promote an international perspective in research and education, as well as to strengthen ties among Scandinavian researchers and encourage joint research projects. Download paper ]]> tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2008:/news//3.3401 2008-11-02T01:35:55Z 2008-12-06T02:41:03Z

EMP Bahrain, an affiliate of EMP Global, has joined the Collaboratory's industry affiliate program as a Member....

rjorr EMP Bahrain, an affiliate of EMP Global, has joined the Collaboratory's industry affiliate program as a Member. EMP Bahrain manages the Islamic Development Bank Infrastructure Fund. The Fund was formally closed in November 2001 and consists of two investment vehicles, a US $730.5 million Equity Fund and an additional US $200 million Complementary Finance Facility. The Fund has committed in excess of US$500 million to a range of companies operating in the region. ]]> tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2008:/news//3.3325 2008-10-31T23:15:15Z 2008-10-31T23:49:36Z

Robert (Bob) Bestani has been appointed as a Visiting Scholar at the Collaboratory. Bob will participate in several studies related to infrastructure finance, public-private partnerships, and multilateral financial institutions....

rjorr ]]> Prior to joining the ADB he was a Managing Director and Senior Consultant at PricewaterhouseCoopers, LLP. For most of his career, he has been in International Banking and Corporate Finance, working at Citibank, Texaco, Bank of America, and Duke Energy. Bob has long covered the High Tech, Petroleum/Oil & Gas and Power Industries.

Bob also served in the U.S. Department of the Treasury. His principal responsibilities included: the G-7 negotiations and the Paris and Houston Presidential Summit Meetings, several international trade and financial services negotiations, US-IMF policy coordination, the management of America's $40 billion foreign currency reserve position, policy coordination with Federal Reserve, etc.

Bob has also repeatedly worked as a financial consultant to the People's Republic of China and is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. He has authored numerous articles on finance, energy and the multinational development banks and has been the featured speaker at over fifty international conferences.

Bob holds an MBA in Finance from the University of Chicago and BA in Economics and Computer Science from Rutgers University. ]]> tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2008:/news//3.3281 2008-10-28T18:25:36Z 2008-12-06T02:21:39Z

UPDATE, October 28 - ENR ran a story on our memo today, as did CNBC. Apparently it has also been published on IJ Online....

rjorr UPDATE, October 28 - ENR ran a story on our memo today, as did CNBC. Apparently it has also been published on IJ Online. ]]> UPDATE, October 24 - The memo, "Investing in Infrastructure Projects as Conduits for Economic Stimulus," was submitted to Chairman Bernanke, Secretary Paulson, and various members of Congress earlier this morning.

October 21, 2008 - Investments in infrastructure channelled through state and local governments could be an effective fiscal stimulus package for the American economy. A national network of university professors affiliated with the Leadership and Management in Engineering and Construction Working Group is now working on recommendations for the establishment and administration of an infrastructure stimulus program. In addition, the Working Group is compiling a list of projects that are approved, permitted, and waiting for capital and that could become effective conduits of fiscal stimulus dollars.

One of the main alternative proposals for fiscal stimulus (other than infrastructure spending) would be some form of tax rebate or cashable check sent directly to citizens. Our Working Group is concerned that such a program would either (a) result in people saving the money and not spending it, or (b) buying consumer goods with the money such tat it would ultimately go straight to China (which would not lead to re-circulation in America). On the contrary, if done well, an infrastructure investment program would result in a much more enduring form of public capital, fostering both spending and job creation in the short-term and boosting productivity in the long-term.

One of the reasons that policy makers are putting forward not to invest in the nation's infrastructure as fiscal stimulus is that shaping, approving, planning, and developing infrastructure projects takes too long and critics say that it does not create new jobs and spending fast enough. While this may have been true during the Great Depression era, it is simply not true today at a time when hundreds billions of dollars of infrastructure projects across America have already been approved but are sitting "on the shelf" due to fuding shortfalls.

To demonstrate that a considerable volume of pre-approved projects exist, our Working Group is compiling a list of permitted, approved infrastructure projects throughout America that could be ready for financing in the next 30 days. We are focused on adding to the list only those projects that could add real value to the economy, say, by solving a serious congestion bottleneck, or by creating real jobs and spending. The list will be submitted to political and administrative leaders in Washington later this week with a memo advising on next steps to prioritize projects on the list from the perspective of maximizing economic stimulus.

This idea for the master list evolved out of meetings held at a conference at Lake Tahoe in California over the weekend where several participants committed to engage in new thinking, research, and policy advice pertaining to the concept of infrastructure as a new middle-class fiscal stimulus package.

The eight public and private Universities involved in the Working Group include:

• Clemson University
• University of Colorado at Boulder
• Columbia University
• University of Illinois at UC
• Medical University of South Carolina
• University of Pennsylvania
• Virginia Tech
• University of Wisconsin at Madison
• Stanford University

]]> tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2008:/news//3.3415 2008-10-24T00:14:23Z 2008-12-10T01:26:51Z

The paper "Mobilizing Knowledge for International Projects" by Amy Javernick-Will, Raymond Levitt and W. Richard Scott received the Best Paper Award at ASCE's LEAD Conference in Tahoe, California....

rjorr The paper "Mobilizing Knowledge for International Projects" by Amy Javernick-Will, Raymond Levitt and W. Richard Scott received the Best Paper Award at ASCE's LEAD Conference in Tahoe, California. The conference, occuring October 16-19, 20098 and is sponsored annually by CIB Task Group 64 and ASCE Construction Research Council.

The abstract of the award-winning paper is below:

The knowledge-based view of the firm identifies knowledge as a resource with at least as much importance as capital (Grant 1996). Many have argued that a key asset for global firms is the knowledge they are able to gain from the diversity of environments in which they operate (Bartlett 1987; Ghoshal 1987). However, previous research has also identified the additional challenges that global firms and global projects encounter. These projects frequently bring together diverse participants in an unfamiliar environment. In these situations, firms are exposed to different "institutions" (regulations, norms and cultural beliefs) that can increase project costs and durations and damage reputations and relations (Orr 2005; Orr and Scott 2008). Recognizing that challenges exist for firms who operate globally due to these differences, we are conducting exploratory research on the types of knowledge that global real estate developers, contractors and engineering firms feel are important and how they are able to mobilize this knowledge. In future work we plan to elaborate and expand this research to account further for knowledge type, firm type, and project phase. Ultimately, this research, combined with the work of others, can help firms engaged in international projects develop new processes to enhance the mobilization of their knowledge and thereby improve project outcomes. ]]> tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2008:/news//3.3157 2008-09-13T19:33:58Z 2008-09-19T21:36:10Z

DOHA -- Qatar University (QU) wrapped up its joint summer programme with Stanford University, USA, with a final reception at the Diplomatic Club....

rjorr DOHA -- Qatar University (QU) wrapped up its joint summer programme with Stanford University, USA, with a final reception at the Diplomatic Club. The programme offered the students the opportunity of hands-on training and information about infrastructure and construction projects in Qatar and the Gulf Region. It included classroom lectures and discussions led by Stanford University faculty Dr Ryan Orr, Executive Director, Collaboratory for Research on Global Projects, Dr Martin Fischer, Professor, Civil and Environmental Engineering and Director of the Center for Integrated Facility Engineering.

"Seeing how these projects are managed in terms of structure and in terms of the labour force needed has given me added incentive to pursue a Masters' degree", said Fatima Al-Sulaiti, an architectural engineering student from QU. "The program also helped me to strengthen my interpersonal skills in my interaction with the visiting students," she added

"All our site visits went very well as professionals were very open and discussed many issues frankly, which is key to developing a comprehensive understanding of the field of engineering", said Dr Orr. Field visits featured the Lusail site, RasGas, the new airport and Al -Waab City in Doha, and a two-day trip to Dubai's project sites such as the Palm Jumeirah. The students also met with Qatar's Minister of Finance and Commerce HE Yousuf Hussein Kamal, and took part in a student's conference at Education City on migration, immigration and labour issues.

Full Story...

Web posted at: 9/13/2008 1:58:34, Source: The Peninsula ]]> tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2008:/news//3.3189 2008-09-01T16:58:23Z 2009-01-12T01:13:18Z

Dr. Nuno Gil, CEng, MICE, MSc., PhD. A Corporate Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers, UK, Nuno has several years of professional practice in Portugal and the United States....

jennifer Dr. Nuno Gil, CEng, MICE, MSc., PhD. A Corporate Member of the Institute of Civil Engineers, UK, Nuno has several years of professional practice in Portugal and the United States. Following a degree in Civil Engineering, Nuno earned a PhD in Civil and Environmental Engineering, and specialized certificates in the Management of Technology and in Logistics from the University of California at Berkeley, US. He joined the Business Systems division of Manchester Business School in September 2004 after spending two years in the Manchester Center for Civil and Construction Engineering, and 6-months visiting MIT's Leaders for Manufacturing Program. Nuno has delivered training on project planning and scheduling techniques to the Rolls Royce's Project Management Professional Development Program, on lean construction to the British North-West Development Agency, and on contracting and procurement strategy to the British Petroleum Managing Projects College. Nuno is currently deputy director of the Center for Research in the Management of Projects (CRMP), and coordinator of the case study strategy for the BP Managing Projects College.

Nuno's research focuses on developing contributions to theory and practice on new infrastructure development. His interests are primarily in the domain of design and innovation applied to large-scale infrastructures such as production facilities, high-rises, hospitals, airports, and schools.]]> tag:crgp.stanford.edu,2008:/news//3.3035 2008-08-11T19:06:20Z 2008-08-16T17:53:32Z

Tuomas Ahola is a Ph.D. candidate at Helsinki University of Technology and works as a project manager in the Project Business research group ( http://pb.hut.fi/ )....

jennifer Tuomas Ahola is a Ph.D. candidate at Helsinki University of Technology and works as a project manager in the Project Business research group ( http://pb.hut.fi/ ). Ahola has several years of experience in conducting and coordinating research focusing on inter-organizational networks. His recent research projects have focused on improving both intra- and inter-organizational practices in the contexts of shipbuilding, construction and healthcare industries. He graduated from Helsinki University of Technology, Department of Industrial Engineering and Management, in 2003 and is currently finalizing his doctoral dissertation which focuses on the effects of inter-organizational relationships on project efficiency. Ahola is also responsible for teaching project marketing at Helsinki University of Technology.

Ahola's research interest include project networks, inter-organizational relationships, project marketing, customer relationship management and customer satisfaction measurement. ]]>