The water watchdog has set out recommendations for how data sources on consumer behaviour are used in the next price review after assessing triangulation approaches at PR19.
Central to CCW’s recommendations is making engagement an ongoing process, not only used when writing business plans.
Water companies engaged with more billpayers and stakeholders for PR19 than any previous review but there was not a single approach dictated by Ofwat on how to make best use of data from consumer engagement.
CCW commissioned Sia Partners to create a report on the practice of using multiple sources of data or multiple approaches to analysing data to enhance the credibility of the future business plans.
Sia Partners reviewed the use of triangulation methods by water companies through the PR19 process to find best practices ahead of beginning engagement for PR24 business plans.
Having reviewed best practice of triangulation of multiple data sources for the current price control, CCW noted a range in the approach and practical demonstrations of processes but noted enablers of minimum good practice, which have been used to develop a framework for good practice for the next review.
The sector asked for flexibility to be innovative in how it approaches PR24 so CCW said it left space for further innovation beyond the minimum benchmarks.
The report said engagement should be an ongoing process designed to show how customer opinion has evolved over time and how this impacts decisions. A designed approach should feature specific phases for triangulation with prescribed outcomes and research questions at each stage.
It said triangulation should make use of a wide range of inputs and these should not be solely engagement insight, stressing that the quality and breadth of data used to drive triangulation help to determine the robustness and transparency of the process.
Balanced research decisions should be at the core of triangulation. The report said the role of triangulation is limited where information or feedback agrees so the process should identify the conflicting points within evidence that need balancing.
Validation of findings should make use of a wide range of datasets. CCW said these are made more robust and transparent through comparison with a range of quantitative and qualitative data.
Finally, the report recommended that companies should seek independent assurance of their process and outcomes to cover the whole process and to review the outcomes generated.