All activities are measured against this overarching goal, and poverty alleviation is one of the key criteria in project selection. The Program operates according to a strategic results framework based on the following logic. The poor are the Program's ultimate clients and also the beneficiaries of its work. Strategically selected investment support services. While experience has shown that no fixed formula works, these principles guide in providing improved sustainable water and sanitation services.
Water is an economic and social good.
When water is managed from this perspective, it leads to greater efficiency and appropriate pricing and frees up resources to extend services to the poor. Water and sanitation should be managed at the lowest appropriate level. Users, especially women, must be involved in the planning and implementation of projects. Decisions about service levels, facility locations, and cost-sharing arrangements should be made locally. Projects should respond to demand and provide users with the services that they want and are willling to pay for, including choices about technologies and service levels.