Today, the increased number of privately financed infrastructure projects, in both developed and developing countries, generates the need for a holistic and systematic management of the national PPP program. The mandate of PPP agencies is to serve as a one-stop shop for line ministries and infrastructure agencies, and for that reason they are usually established either as separate units or as cells under a cross-sectoral ministry.

Although roles and responsibilities of PPP units vary among different countries, their main duty is to manage the development and monitoring of procurement. Additionally, many advanced PPP units serve as knowledge warehouses and provide training and educational functions. Surprisingly enough, this knowledge rarely is disseminated to and circulated among distant PPP agencies.

In June 2006, the Public Private Partnerships in Infrastructure (PPPI) program of the World Bank Institute (WBI) assumed its role in the international capacity building arena and organized the first global summit of PPP units. The program not only used its global status and network to connect developing and developed countries with each other, but also leveraged its vast experience in developing capacity-building programs on PPPs for low- and middle-income countries.

The objective of PPPI Days is merely to promote a global network of PPP units from around the world and provide a forum for them to share information and experiences, discuss problems and successes, as well as to recommend practical solutions to common challenges. As more PPP units are created worldwide, the number of participants increases every year, thus enriching the discussions and raising the level of interaction.