besides it is tempting on the part of central government to substitute ex ante control of water services with performance indicators this can lead to retaining control of how subnational authorities implement water policy as they will probably make choices and decisions that allow them to perform well within the parameters of the indicator system at the expense of other elements there is no optimal design for an indicatorbased performance measurement system in the water sector its development should be a collaborative effort between the national and subnational level and the information it yields ought to cover inputs processes and outputs that are relevant for ongoing activities to use such information optimally clear objectives for the data need to be established and proper indicators selected