A Joint Venture (JV) is an innovative way to deliver infrastructure and an alternative to a purely contractual agreement with a service provider. It should not be seen as a delivery model in which the local authority (LA) transfers all risk to the private sector. Setting up a JV comes with its own range of risks which should be carefully considered before choosing this route .

JVs are usually established because the parties forming the business entity have objectives which complement each other and share a common view of the scope of the JV’s activities and benefits. For EVI deployment, this entails the need to deploy investment into assets and then manage a service delivery program. The JV entity should represent the best route for risk management for the LA where it is unable to achieve this through contractual arrangements.

The risk, responsibilities and benefits are usually shared based on each party’s financial contribution to the venture. In reality, this division of categories is a broad sliding scale. Therefore, while the JV might be the entity which invests, owns and operates the EVI network with all associated risks, the LA is taking a business and reputational risk in setting up this entity.