Investments in local infrastructure and services is indeed the big current issue, in fact when the infrastructure (e.g. waste or water treatment facility or district heating or local urban transportation) addresses a local public service where part of the revenue stream comes from fees and tariffs that directly affect citizens, a specific attention is required to protect public interest and to achieve a fair allocation of risks while maintaining the project solvency and attracting a sufficiently large number of funding operators. The question is whether consumers should pay, and to what extent, the higher bills involved, and the consequent implication for general fiscal engagement. Investors, on their side, look carefully at what they will ultimately get, in particular from tariffs and fees paid by consumers, balanced with possible equity injections from the public side. Until that becomes clear, in times of dire public finance, involving private finance in very big numbers and build sound and effective public-private partnerships will simply remain wishful thinking. A possible answer to start facing these current challenges is stakeholders and local regulator’s capacity building: it is strongly needed – and there is evidence to prove it – at regional, metropolitan and urban level.The course aims to give participants an overview of the wide implications that the presence (or absence) of local economic regulation in the investment sector can exert on project finance, alongside with deep insights from international real case studies presented and discussed among participants. During the course a specific attention will be given to  build the proper competence of understanding stakeholder dynamics and incentives.