A Smarter Approach to Complex Problems

Public-private partnerships (PPPs) sit at the intersection of government, business, and social impact—where bureaucracy meets innovation, and where rigid systems are often asked to move at the speed of the private sector. Too often, these collaborations become tangled in misaligned incentives, competing priorities, or simply a lack of shared language between institutions that operate on fundamentally different timelines. But when done right, PPPs have the potential to drive some of the most transformative, high-leverage solutions to systemic challenges.

One of the biggest issues in traditional PPPs is that they’re designed like transactions rather than ongoing collaborations. A government agency identifies a problem, contracts a private entity to deliver a service or product, and the relationship is largely defined by terms on paper. This rigid approach leaves little room for iteration, little flexibility to adjust as real-world complexities unfold. I saw this firsthand while working in venture capital, where investment in civic infrastructure often lacked the fluidity that early-stage startups enjoy. Likewise, while developing programs at Vanderbilt’s Innovation Center, I worked on frameworks that helped organizations bridge the gap between structured institutional needs and agile, user-driven problem solving. What I kept coming back to was a simple realization: design thinking could be the missing link in making public-private partnerships actually work.

At its core, design thinking is about building solutions around the people they’re meant to serve. It starts with deep empathy—an understanding of not just the problem at hand, but the human behaviors, pain points, and incentives that shape the system around it. Applying this lens to PPPs means shifting away from rigid, contract-driven models and toward more dynamic, user-centered approaches. It means co-creating with stakeholders from the outset rather than bringing them in once the decisions are made. And it means treating the process as iterative, allowing for real-time adaptation as insights emerge, rather than locking into a static roadmap that may be outdated before it’s even implemented.

One of the best applications of design thinking in PPPs is in infrastructure and urban planning. Too often, large-scale projects are decided behind closed doors, with public input reduced to after-the-fact comment periods that rarely move the needle. But what if design thinking were embedded from the start? What if communities were engaged through real-time prototyping—where proposed solutions could be tested on a small scale before being rolled out city-wide? What if local businesses, tech firms, and policymakers collaborated in living labs where policies and technologies could be piloted, refined, and expanded based on real-world feedback?

In my experience working on policy and innovation-driven projects, the most successful initiatives weren’t the ones that followed a rigid script. They were the ones that allowed space for iteration, where stakeholders weren’t just consulted but actively engaged as co-creators. That’s the power of design thinking in PPPs: it transforms these partnerships from transactional agreements into adaptive ecosystems where public and private actors can truly build together.

The future of public-private collaboration doesn’t lie in more contracts, more red tape, or more advisory boards. It lies in applying the same problem-solving frameworks that have driven breakthroughs in the tech and startup world—human-centered design, rapid prototyping, and an agile mindset—to the institutions that shape our cities, economies, and communities. It’s not about making PPPs faster for the sake of speed or more efficient for the sake of cost-cutting. It’s about making them smarter, more responsive, and ultimately, more impactful.

As someone who’s worked across sectors—from running a nonprofit tackling youth policy to designing innovation strategies in venture capital—I’ve seen how easily organizations talk past each other when they don’t share a common approach to problem-solving. But I’ve also seen what happens when you bring the right people to the table, armed with the right mindset: problems that seemed unsolvable start to crack open. The missing ingredient in PPPs isn’t more funding or better PR. It’s better design.