Sydney Water is seeking information on the market capability and experience, and the solutions on offer for its next Strategic Customer Engagement program for 2026-2029.

Project goals

The overarching objective of Sydney Water’s Strategic Customer Engagement 2026-2029 program is to demonstrate that Sydney Water’s decision-making, planning and business practices are shaped by, responsive to, and aligned with the needs, values/interests and preferences of its diverse customers, stakeholders, and community. The sub-ordinate objectives of the Strategic Customer Engagement program are to ensure:

• it is evidence based and captures a wide variety of customer perspectives and experiences (including from Sydney Water’s Customer and Community Reference Group).
• Sydney Water can demonstrate the robustness of engagement with customers, stakeholders, and community to IPART with respect to the depth and breadth of engagement, as well as Executive and Board participation, and that diverse voices are included.
• engagement is carried out in accordance with relevant, best practice methods including IAP2, using a range of approaches and methods.
• customers receive feedback that demonstrates that their voices have been genuinely heard and responded to.
• customer preferences are consistently embedded and reviewed in strategic and operational plans across all planning horizons.
• Sydney Water achieves an overall ‘Advanced’ rating on IPART’s Customer Principles in the next price proposal in 2030-2035.

Scope

At this stage, Sydney Water is gathering intelligence to inform a suitable procurement strategy for the next Strategic Customer Engagement program for 2026-2029. The minimum components that are expected from the Supplier in the Strategic Customer Engagement program are:

• Customer engagement (e.g. deliberative processes)
• Customer research (e.g. online surveys, focus groups, forums, in-depth interviews, WTP i.e. robust contingent valuation techniques, such as choice modelling)
• Economics/regulatory specialisation (provide advice on the economic and regulatory aspects of the Strategic Customer Engagement program to input into the IPART price proposal)
• Diverse and inclusive engagement including at a minimum First Nations, CALD (in-language delivery to cultural groups), financially vulnerable and people with a disability.

Additional details/instructions

Sydney Water expects interested Proponents to provide a response electronically to both Sydney Water Contact Officers listed in the document: Sydney Water Customer Engagement – 2025 – (08) August – Request for Information. This response must be no longer than 20 pages and must be structured as follows:

Cover letter / page including:

• The Proponent’s interest in the Project
• How the Proponent will provide value to Sydney Water
• Why the Proponent will provide value to Sydney Water
• The Proponent’s experience with Customer Engagement in a regulatory environment
• Response to the questions provided in the template – Attachment 1

Requirements

Mandatory requirements

Social procurement (SME Policy) *

Marketing and advertising - Market research

Category and estimated value is subject to social procurement.

If you are successful in winning this opportuntity you will be required to submit quarterly reporting, do you agree?

Response type

Radio button (Yes/No)

Opportunity requirements

1. Supplier understands Response Format

I confirm that I have read and understand Section 2 ‘Content of Responses’ in the ‘Sydney Water Customer Engagement – 2025 – (08) August – Request for Information’ document.

Response type

Checkbox (Agree)

Please see attached files in the link for more information