Factors critical to the success of ‘Direct Procurement for Customers’ (DPC) projects have been published by the Water Industry Forum following a multi-stakeholder roundtable held by the Forum in September 2021.
Factors critical to the success of ‘Direct Procurement for Customers’ (DPC) projects have been published by the Water Industry Forum following a multi-stakeholder roundtable held by the Forum in September 2021.

Introduced at PR19, Direct Procurement for Customers (DPC) is a first of a kind delivery model for capital delivery of large projects in the English and Welsh water and sewerage sector. There are now three DPC projects with the combined value in excess of £1 billion progressing towards tender launch.
Additionally, there is a pipeline of 18 RAPID projects going through different Ofwat gateways, some of which may be delivered as DPC projects.
With the support of Turner & Townsend, the roundtable brought together leaders from across the industry representing the regulator, water companies, private financiers, contractors and advisors to reflect on:
The evolution of the DPC model and any emerging trends
- The market acceptance of the model
- The availability of Ofwat guidance and standardisation of documentation in general
- The way DPC is addressing wider strategic policy objectives such as net zero, social value, etc
The resulting paper summarises the lessons learnt over the last two years, and then goes on to identify and prioritise factors for success under the headings:
- CAP Agreement
- Commercial decision making
- Economic regulation
- Market appetite
- DPC process and driving efficiencies
Launched in 2012 to meet the need for an independent, not-for-profit stakeholder forum, the Water Industry Forum membership comprises around 600 organisations including government, regulators, regional water companies, contractors, consultants, manufacturers, research organisations, third sector organisations and investors.
Click here to download the paper
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