Analysing managerial perceptions of when and how to structure public involvement in public-private partnerships Eric J. Boyer a , Juan D. Rogers b and David M. Van Slyke c a Public Administration Program, University of Texas at El Paso, El Paso, TX, USA; b School of Public Policy, Georgia Institute of Technology, Atlanta, GA, USA; c Maxwell School of Citizenship and Public Affairs, Syracuse University, Syracuse, NY, USA ABSTRACT Previous research highlights what managers perceive to be the purposes of public involvement in public-private partnerships (PPPs) and the need for addressing stakeholder concerns unique to PPPs. Yet, we have little evidence of how particular modes of participation benefit particular goals of participa- tion in this context. Through canonical correlation analysis (CCA) of survey data collected in the U.S., this study examines the modes and sequencing of 14 public involvement activities in respect to 10 goals of public involvement in this context. The results indicate that selections among modes of participation are contingent upon when they are introduced. Respondents prefer widening stakeholder involvement early in the project development phase and during the contract implementation phase, but not during the later phases of con- tract design. Respondents also assign more value to engaging local citizens than their respective political leaders, particularly at mature stages of the PPP’s implementation phase. KEYWORDS Public-private partnerships; public involvement; local government; stakeholder management How do government leaders determine which public involvement activities to conduct for public-private partnerships (PPPs)? When do they prefer to engage stakeholders over the course of PPP contract negotiations? Is greater importance assigned to certain stakeholder groups over others? These questions deserve attention as PPPs are gaining attention among local governments as an innovative method for integrating a private partner in the design, construction, financing and/or operations of a major infra- structure facility (Martínez-Lacambra 2013; Albalate, Bel, and Geddes 2013). Particular attention has been paid to local government involvement in PPPs for transportation and roadways (Bel, Brown, and Marques 2013), water and CONTACT Eric J. Boyer ejboyer@utep.edu University of Texas at El Paso, 500 West University Avenue, Kelly Hall 403, El Paso, TX 79968, USA LOCAL GOVERNMENT STUDIES 2018, VOL. 44, NO. 4, 443–464 https://doi.org/10.1080/03003930.2018.1471396 © 2018 Informa UK Limited, trading as Taylor & Francis Group