Institutions for procurement beyond one election cycle

How can democratic governments deliver long-lived projects when politicians focus on short election cycles?

Possible mechanisms include longer political horizons or legally mandated, arm's-length organizations with multi-decade plans. The French procurement model shows that this approach also has drawbacks.

Longer election cycles are one possible answer to the short-term incentives described in the question. Another is for Parliament to establish and fund a quasi-governmental organization with a ten- or twenty-year plan. A French defence-procurement model is offered as an example of an institution with real influence. Its effects are acknowledged as uneven, so institutional continuity alone does not guarantee good decisions.