The South African Association of Water Utilities Benchmarking Project The South African Association of Water Utilities (SAAWU) is a member based organization that, in addition to other advocacy functions, offers products and services to its member organizations that add value to the efficiency, effectiveness and sustainability of institutions involved in the delivery of water services. SAAWU launched a benchmarking project in April 2001. The main focus of the project was to develop a process that would enable participating organisations to learn, share and compare information on their technical and functional operations, to improve their business performance and enhance the services they provide to municipalities. During 2004 SAAWU completed a project that was executed to revise and improve the original benchmarking project. SAAWU members are strongly supportive of the project, as it will enhance the capacity of participating organisations to: Ensure compliance with statutory reporting requirements Provide a single reporting system for all utilities Conduct defensible comparisons with local institutions across an appropriate range of compulsory KPls Identify areas of organisational activity that require focused management attention Act as a catalyst for improved communication between organisations and exchange of skills and knowledge within the sector  Provide a platform for organisations to innovate and learn and improve Identify best practice against the KPls for the water sector