---
title: "Research into Third Party Intermediaries (TPIs)"
ocid: "ocds-b5fd17-0a4253b1-69f1-4fee-8a5e-d325cae9b8ee"
canonical_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-0a4253b1-69f1-4fee-8a5e-d325cae9b8ee"
markdown_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-0a4253b1-69f1-4fee-8a5e-d325cae9b8ee.md"
json_url: "https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-0a4253b1-69f1-4fee-8a5e-d325cae9b8ee.json"
source: "Contracts Finder"
current_stage: "Award"
buyer: "WATER SERVICES REGULATION AUTHORITY"
published: "2018-05-17"
---

# Research into Third Party Intermediaries (TPIs)

Buyer: WATER SERVICES REGULATION AUTHORITY  
Current stage: Award  
OCID: ocds-b5fd17-0a4253b1-69f1-4fee-8a5e-d325cae9b8ee

[View canonical contract page](https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-0a4253b1-69f1-4fee-8a5e-d325cae9b8ee)  
[Download OCDS JSON](https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-0a4253b1-69f1-4fee-8a5e-d325cae9b8ee.json)

## Summary

The WATER SERVICES REGULATION AUTHORITY is seeking research into the role of Third Party Intermediaries (TPIs) in the water and wastewater retail markets. This procurement process is classified under business and management consultancy services and is at the Award stage, with the contract having been awarded on 23 February 2018. The selected contractor, Europe Economics, will undertake work from 26 February to 31 March 2018, with the tender period concluding on 16 February 2018. The services will be delivered in locations including the West Midlands and London.

This tender presents significant opportunities for consultancy firms, particularly those focused on market analysis and customer engagement strategies, to enhance their business reach. Firms experienced in working with regulatory structures or improving market competition would be particularly suited to engage in this process, as the WATER SERVICES REGULATION AUTHORITY aims to explore how TPIs can be better leveraged to facilitate consumer engagement and market navigation. Small to medium enterprises (SMEs) may find this an ideal opportunity to build partnerships and demonstrate their capabilities in a competitive market environment.

## Notice

TPIs play a key role in many competitive markets and we believe they have significant potential benefits to bring to water and wastewater retail markets, especially through encouraging and facilitating competition. We want to enable TPIs to be a strong and positive driver of effective market engagement and competition, while at the same time supporting our objective of customers having trust and confidence in the market. We therefore want the successful Contractor to consider how we can unlock the benefits that TPIs can bring to water customers. For example, our market monitoring suggests that customers who are searching the market find it difficult to compare provider. So we want the Contractor to consider how active customers can use TPIs to navigate the market to obtain better deals or services. In addition, whilst there are default tariff protections in place for customers who don't engage in the market, we recognise that there is the scope for TPIs to help these customers to engage with the market and get them better deals. We would like the successful Contractor to consider where barriers hinder the effective functioning of TPIs, or customers' engagement with them, and therefore prevent customers from accessing their benefits. When carrying out the assessment of barriers we want the Contactor to also provide a range of potential options or actions that could be implemented to overcome barriers and to suggest ways that any risks arising from these options can be mitigated effectively. The Contractor should consider whether options or actions can be delivered by Ofwat alone or if a holistic approach is needed, requiring the engagement and involvement of a range of parties. We expect the successful Contractor to undertake this work through a combination of stakeholder engagement and desk-based research both within the water and wastewater markets and other regulated sectors. We will be able to provide the successful Contractor with evidence and intelligence that we have already gathered from the market.

## Key Details

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication source | Contracts Finder |
| Latest notice | https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/c88db3e1-91fd-4d68-a12e-064be2fc5d94 |
| Notice type | Award Notice |
| Procurement type | Framework |
| Procurement category | Services |
| Procurement method | Selective |
| Procurement method details | Call-off from a framework agreement |
| Tender suitability | SME |
| Awardee scale | Large |
| All stages | Award |

## Dates

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Publication date | 17 May 2018 |
| Submission deadline | 16 Feb 2018 |
| Future notice date | Not specified |
| Award date | 23 Feb 2018 |
| Contract period | 26 Feb 2018 - 31 Mar 2018 |
| Recurrence | Not specified |

## Values

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender value | Not specified |
| Lots value | Not specified |
| Awards value | £58,835 |
| Contracts value | Not specified |

## Status

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Tender status | Complete |
| Lots status | Not specified |
| Awards status | Active |
| Contracts status | Not specified |

## Buyer

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Main buyer | WATER SERVICES REGULATION AUTHORITY |
| Locality | BIRMINGHAM |
| Post town | Birmingham |
| Postcode | B5 4UA |
| Country | England |
| ITL 1 | TLG West Midlands (England) |
| ITL 2 | TLG3 West Midlands |
| ITL 3 | TLG31 Birmingham |
| Local authority | Birmingham |
| Electoral ward | Ladywood |
| Westminster constituency | Birmingham Ladywood |
| Delivery location | TLG West Midlands (England), TLI London |

## Supplier

| Field | Value |
| --- | --- |
| Number of suppliers | 1 |
| Supplier names | EUROPE ECONOMICS |

## CPV Codes

### Divisions

- 79 - Business services: law, marketing, consulting, recruitment, printing and security

### Codes

- 79410000 - Business and management consultancy services

## Release History

- 17 May 2018 at 14:20 - AwardUpdate - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/c88db3e1-91fd-4d68-a12e-064be2fc5d94
- 18 Apr 2018 at 15:51 - Award - Award Notice - https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/c88db3e1-91fd-4d68-a12e-064be2fc5d94

## Documents

- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/c88db3e1-91fd-4d68-a12e-064be2fc5d94
  17th May 2018 - Awarded contract notice on Contracts Finder
- https://www.contractsfinder.service.gov.uk/Notice/Attachment/c87a66b5-75d0-4eb6-be03-27a8b4c81e83
  Contract

## Provenance

This Markdown file is an alternate public rendering of the D3 Tenders contract record. The canonical page is https://d3tenders.com/contract/?ocid=ocds-b5fd17-0a4253b1-69f1-4fee-8a5e-d325cae9b8ee. The underlying structured data is available as OCDS JSON at https://d3tenders.com/contract/ocds-b5fd17-0a4253b1-69f1-4fee-8a5e-d325cae9b8ee.json.