Bioresources - consultancy support for our 'Review of the Bioresources Market'

Scope of project and overall objectives Ofwat is organised into clusters; the bioresources team sits within the 'Future Assets and Resources' cluster. The Future Assets and Resources cluster helps ensure future major infrastructure, water resource and bioresources needs are delivered in a cost effective and environmentally beneficial way. We have recently been developing our in-house capacity and capability to deliver our work on bioresources. To assist with the review we require additional specialist consultancy support to complement our in-house team of economists and engineers who are undertaking the Review of the Bioresources Market. We expect that the consultant(s) will help to shape the work of the review and work collaboratively and flexibly with the bioresources team. Consequently, we are not specifying all the outputs in detail as a) we would welcome suggestions for work we haven't identified from the Supplier that we could agree in advance, and in any case b) the details of the work will evolve as our review progresses, for example in light of stakeholder engagement. We have need of consultancy support to: 1. Provide expert knowledge and insight regarding the bioresources activity and market - this will include: - the steps and processes involved in the transport, treatment and disposal of sludge; - common commercial arrangements; and - the wider waste sector. This advice will be provided through attending team meetings, providing written input,...uld also be expected to write up the findings of the work described in 3) and 4) below. 3. Strengthen the evidence base. In addition to the desk research above, the consultant(s) will need to strengthen our evidence base through designing, issuing and assessing the results of: - a data request to companies - this could cover, for example, i) details relating to sites (e.g. spare capacity and cost information) and, ii) details relating to sludge transport (e.g. travel patterns and costs); and - where this is more efficient than other forms of stakeholder engagement, one or more surveys to evidence any barriers to competition, better understand the development of the bioresources market and insights in how the market might develop, understand interest from potential market entrants, etc. 4. Help to develop and deploy our stakeholder engagement. Using the consultants' industry contacts, they will help to develop a plan to engage with Water and Sewerage Companies (WASCs) and other stakeholders. This is likely to be through: - industry events; and - bilateral interviews with companies. The nature and timing of this work means this consultancy support could be at or less than 1 full time equivalent over the contract period. The potential Supplier should consider how best to provide the resource as part of their tender - for example, it could be provided by a single consultant, a combination of a more experienced and a more junior consultant or some other approach.