<Li> Accountability: With the rise in public--private partnerships there is also a rise in the responsibility that the non-profits tend to hold . With the government relying on many more of these organizations to provide the public services they cannot it is also proving difficult for the government to hold these non-profits responsible . When responsibilities are not set to the letter this can cause some in managerial positions to take the back seat, seeing their counterparts taking the initiative to get tasks done . This leaves an unbalance of work and sometimes those with the most skills are not doing the job . This can also be brought on by undermanagement causing more problems such as a lack of focus for the projects, mismanaged funding, and miscommunication . Too many projects and partnerships can also lead to a lack of accountability . When there are too many tasks they seem to all fall short of the hoped perfection . Some partners may be taking over roles of others because accountability has not been well defined . This can also lead to some taking advantage of others when they note the any weakness . This can cause a distrustful partnership . </Li> <Li> Communication or understanding: One of the largest issues that can be discussed, communication can be a huge downfall and can contribute to many of the other risks within partnerships . It can be said that when entering into a cross-sector partnership it is difficult to understand and collaborate due to the diversity and differing languages spoken amongst the sectors . Items like performance measures, goal measurements, government regulations, and the nature of funding can all be interpreted differently thus causing blurred lines of communication . </Li> <Li> Autonomy within the partnership: While working together is important it is still a strength to be able to work on parts of the project alone, take initiative when needed, and keep some individualism throughout the process . This is beginning to happen more with the privatization of public--private partnerships where the private organization may own the partnership itself and the government then keeps full responsibility for it . This keeps parts of the partnership separate for focus . </Li> <Li> Conflicts: These can arise from any of the above topics but even outside issues or forces may bring a partnership to a halt . Even though these partnerships are entered into with the best of intentions even the most trivial issues can snowball into greater conflict halting a partnership dead in its tracks . Having no understanding and communication between parties can cause conflicts with use of language, stereotyping, negative assumptions, and prejudice about the other organization . These conflicts can be related to territorialism or protectionism, and a lack of commitment to working within the partnership . </Li>

Which of the following statements is true of public-private partnerships ​