# Systems Engineering Methodology for Designing Digital Public-Private Partnership Platforms
## 2 Definitions and Methods  
### Mechanism of Public-Private Partnerships: Opportunities to Use Digital Platform Solutions  
The rationale for the content and substance of the public-private partnership mechanism has been reflected in the modern scientific literature. The complex approach of organization and financing PPP projects, including management methods of both the state and the private sector, has been considered in a number of works [9; 10]. Much of the conceptual view is based on large-scale, capital-intensive projects of building quality public infrastructure or services [11; 12; 13; 14; 15]. The indicated reason for the emergence of PPPs is that the government does not possess the funds for public spending on the one hand and the great pressure of society to provide infrastructure on the other. The use of the PPP mechanism makes it possible to reduce the burden on short-term government spending and, to a certain extent, increase the efficiency and quality of public services [16]. At the same time, the need to create a favorable investment environment and to provide government support in developing a policy and management strategy in the future is noted as a condition for the implementation of PPP projects [17]. The PPP mechanism, which is a combination of the project's effects and the need to attract private investors who plan to get a positive financial result [18], has a high potential to attract investment and facilitate other conditions for the project. Government cooperation with the private sector in the form of PPP reduces initial capital expenditures on projects and makes efficient use of private capital, while private sector partners receive a return on their investment [19]. Researchers have identified some of the most important reasons for the use of PPP: reduced administrative costs of the public sector, general risk assumption, the reduction in the problem of public sector budget constraints, the best mobility for the private party, the ability to raise funds for the project from the private sector [20]. Despite the obvious advantages of this form of cooperation between the state and the private sector, there are difficulties, risks, and uncertainties arising during the implementation of projects, as the authors point out in their studies. It is noted that existing studies of the PPP mechanism are mainly focused on the significant economic and non-commercial benefits of the private party cooperating with the public sector. However, the organizational and managerial problems of such cooperation, as well as any potentially adverse effects on the private sector, have not been widely explored [21]. It has been established that PPP mechanisms are particularly vulnerable to uncertainties caused by several factors [22]. Risk as any event or impact in terms of cost, time, and quality can be described as the most important factor threatening the successful completion of the PPP project. PPP projects are characterized by a high level of long-term risk, as well as a multitude of participants involved in the partnership and risks associated with it [17]. The important component of the PPP is the nature of risk-sharing between the public and private sectors. If each of the risks can be taken on by partners who can cope well with risks, there will be no doubt that the costs can be minimized throughout the entire infrastructure project. In addition, in PPPs, the public sector and the private sector do not share profits but must control the likely high profits in the private sector. The private sector has no right to generate excess profits in the process of project implementation, as it is a public welfare project and is not aimed at maximizing profits [16]. Researchers have revealed that the most significant groups are financial, legal, and political risks, although design, changes in the value of the land provided, and termination of concessions also have a significant impact on the implementation of PPP projects [23].