Partnering for the future: foundations for smarter, faster, trusted decisions

This article was authored by Mary Kilkelly (Partner, Deloitte) and Jan Theron (Group Director - Water, AECOM).

Global evidence suggests that councils that achieve sustainable water service delivery do so by forming long-term, trust-based relationships with experienced partners. 

As councils across Aotearoa New Zealand continue their journey on a generational transformation of Three Waters services, the need for sustainable, resilient and robust delivery models is more urgent than ever. The Local Water Done Well (LWDW) framework sets a clear path for keeping services locally managed while delivering regulatory compliance, affordability and long-term infrastructure resilience.

Meeting these expectations under new regulatory regimes and heightened community responsibilities demands more than internal effort. Councils need strategic, enduring partnerships that bring stability, expertise and collaborative momentum.

Global evidence suggests that councils that achieve sustainable water service delivery do so by forming long‑term, trust-based relationships with experienced partners. These collaborations support regulatory compliance, encourage progress, and lead to stronger infrastructure, better environmental results, and benefits for future generations.

If these partnerships are necessary to deliver LWDW, how should councils go about establishing them, and what defines a successful partnership?

Partnerships offer a powerful mechanism for public water service providers to meet increasing demands with agility, capability and confidence. Drawing from global experience across mature markets such as the United Kingdom, the United states and Australia, five common drivers are seen to consistently motivate clients to partner:

1. Achieving scale quickly

As infrastructure demands grow, often driven by rising capital investment or service-level expectations, councils urgently need to scale up the capability to deliver. Partnering helps them quickly access the capacity and performance required, especially when constrained by internal frameworks or long-term workforce availability. Without external support, councils risk relying on short-term resourcing, which can lead to higher costs, delays and limited continuity.

2. Accessing specialist expertise, technology and global best practices

Some skills, such as digital water technology, advanced analytics, or regulatory strategy, may not justify permanent internal roles. Strategic partnerships offer councils access to expertise, delivering targeted insights and forward-thinking advice that might otherwise be out of reach. For example, global experts in smart asset management can accelerate predictive maintenance and artificial intelligence–enabled performance tools.

3. Sustaining long-term performance improvements

Building organisational maturity takes time. Long-term partners can support continuous improvement in operations, project delivery and governance by applying proven models from around the world. Well-structured partnerships also help identify opportunities for efficiency and resilience that internal teams may overlook, offering a broader perspective from sector-wide and global experience.

4. Securing resources in a competitive market

With significant delivery demands under the LWDW framework, securing high-performing delivery partners is essential, not optional. Fragmented procurement alone cannot achieve this. Long-term partnerships help clients de‑risk delivery and retain continuity of performance.

5. Sharing risk intelligently

Successful partnerships balance risk and reward. Clients in mature markets have found that pain/gain arrangements, particularly those focused on total life cycle costs, align delivery partners around common goals. Critical enablers could include:

• Investment in partnership culture, data systems and transparent decision-making
• Commitment to shared learning and cross‑programme innovation
• Incentive structures that promote life cycle value over capital cost minimisation.

Types of partnering arrangements

Partnering arrangements in water service delivery should be context-driven, aligning with a council’s internal capability and the nature of the project for specific infrastructure – whether routine, transformational or operational.

Staff augmentation is effective for short-term injections of specialist expertise, supporting early-stage planning and improving efficiency without long-term commitments.

Integrated teams, combining council and partner staff, suit complex projects or multi-year programmes well as they foster a sense of shared ownership and reduce duplication. Where internal capacity is limited or additional leadership is required, consultant-led integration provides structured delivery support while retaining council oversight.

Fully outsourced models could offer the highest delivery certainty, making them suitable for large-scale upgrades, operations or services in high-growth areas.

In practice, a blended approach often works best – using staff augmentation during planning, integrated teams for delivery, and outsourcing for specific operational functions. The key is matching the model to the project’s scale, complexity and desired outcomes – whether those outcomes are cost and programme certainty, improved capability, or innovation. When applied strategically, partnering can drive better decisions, stronger delivery, and more resilient, community-focused services.

A local partnership approach

LWDW is built on the principles of local stewardship and long-term community value. Our partnership model empowers councils to retain local control while building capacity to meet future expectations. Councils should begin by understanding their own unique challenges and priorities, and how they may be impacting performance and operations. These insights pinpoint what targeted expertise may be required in areas such as engineering, asset management, governance and finance, while supporting collaborative design of resilient service models for long-term, community-focused results.

Successful long-term partnering should span four key pillars:

1. Knowledge sharing
2. Infrastructure development
3. Strategic resilience
4. Community engagement.

By supporting performance-based delivery, improving life cycle cost certainty, and strengthening asset resilience, partners can help build a stable, adaptive service foundation for councils and their water services. This approach builds trust through early community involvement and transparency around the journey ahead, to build capabilities and service delivery performance.

Enhancing the water industry together

New Zealand’s water industry transformation journey is unique, but the core truth remains: the future will be shaped by those who build solid foundations, alongside partners who offer the right skills when needed, ensuring reliable and efficient delivery.

LWDW depends on effective partnerships to unlock long‑term value, delivering not just greater cost efficiencies, but also lasting capacity, confidence and connection. When built on shared purpose, transparency and long-term stewardship, partnerships can become a powerful force for local success. This collaborative approach ensures that outcomes are not only sustainable, but also tailored to meet the unique needs of New Zealand’s diverse communities.