Self-management will be a distinctive feature in future mobile network infrastructures. Decision points and control loops in the network depend on having the right information at the right place at the right time. For this task we present an Information Gathering and Processing System (IGPS) and show how meta-information (e.g. information costs) can be exploited as an organizing principle in the involved processes. Standardization in this area should at least provide suitable high-level measurement parameters that allow for a technology independent characterization of the network situation.