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GENERIC STEP-BY-STEP APPROACH

Develop geographic access standards

Geographic access standards are applied in accessibility modelling, among other things, to identify areas
that are currently underprovided, sufficiently provided and/or overprovided with service points and to
determine the optimum provisioning and location of service points taking into account the population
demand for services.

If departments do not yet have such standards, they need to develop them. Begin by identifying the key
services of the department, their target populations and the various types of service points. Departments
then need to determine maximum distances for beneficiaries to travel to service points in different types of
human settlements and to determine population capacity thresholds for such facilities.

Developing geographic access standards is only the starting point for meeting the service delivery needs
of people. The quality and affordability of services are important, and the needs of people with physical
and other vulnerabilities must be considered. Access standards should therefore be integrated with
service standards, internal capacity standards, and facility standards. All the key factors that determine
where service points should be located must be identified.
Collect and control the quality of spatial information

Spatial data is required about the demographic characteristics of the population, geographical boundaries
and available transport networks. Geographic coordinates are required for service points of departments.
Such data could already exist in the department, otherwise it needs to be collected or obtained directly from
the data custodians such as other departments, private sector vendors and scientific research councils.

Note that, complete, accurate and current spatial and attribute data are essential for conducting accessibility
studies and services planning. It is important to assess the quality and to understand the limitations of the
data prior to conducting such studies. The Guideline sets out practical methods that departments can
follow to collect and control the quality of their data.

Conduct an accessibility study

An accessibility study assesses the provisioning and geographic location of service points in relation to
where people live with a defined geographic area, such as a district or province, using various factors and
sets of information. Among other things, these can include the location and capacity of existing service
points, availability of roads and other travel networks, predefined access distance standards for service
points, and current and/or future population estimates for the selected area. The analysis can produce
maps and accessibility statistics which you can use to display the results of your analysis. Ultimately, the
objective of accessibility studies is to determine a more equitable distribution of facilities.

There are various optional approaches, methodologies and software tools to conduct geographic
accessibility studies. The various tools can be used on their own or in different combinations to meet
the needs of a specific situation. It is important to select the most appropriate methodology and software
package or combination of software that have spatial modelling capabilities, taking into account the
objectives, required deliverables and the particular context of the study.

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