It requires conducting a cost-benefit analysis at local, regional, national and international levels, to determine how current water information and data are collected and used by policy makers, and the costs and benefits of collecting, analysing and communicating this information. Increased efforts are needed to communicate messages from the reporting and analysis of water data to policy advisors and the wider public. That also implies assessing institutional obstacles and opportunities by identifying areas of institutional overlap and synergies in water data collection, mobilising local stakeholders when designing water information systems, fostering co-ordination between data producers and users, and encouraging multi-disciplinary approaches.