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STEP FOUR: DEVELOP AN IMPLEMENTATION STRATEGY

Introduction

The results of accessibility studies provide guidance on improving access to government services
through the provisioning of a more equitable distribution of service points based, among other things,
on population demand, travel distances and pre-defined access standards.

Accessibility analysis can, in particular, assist departments in:

 Defining service catchment areas for all existing service points and the number of people that reside
in these catchment areas.

 Determining the total number of people that have/ lack adequate access in the areas where they
reside and the distances that they travel to reach their closest service points.

 Identifying service points which are adequately utilised, potentially over-utilised and/ or underutilised
in relation to population demand and the capacity thresholds of the facilities.

 Determining the number and location of additional facilities that would potentially be required to
address service backlogs. These locations could improve the current population coverage in the
geographic study area by a certain number or percentage.

 Testing and refining their access standards, taking into account the implications of their accessibility
studies.

Based on the findings of an accessibility study, intervention strategies and plans can be formulated to
improve levels of service access in the areas of greatest need by, among other things, recommending
increases in facility capacity where feasible and/or the addition of new, well-located facilities. This will,
if implemented, ultimately shorten the distances citizens have to travel to access government services.

Prioritisation of locations for the establishment of service points

In identifying particular areas and places that should be prioritised by the department for the location
of additional service points or the deployment of mobile services, consideration should, among other
things, be given to:

 Higher rankings should be given to those geographic locations that could potentially have the
greatest impact on the reduction of service backlogs and provide the greatest improvement in
population coverage, especially in settlements where access is currently inadequate.

 Reducing the high pressure on existing service points where population demand far exceeds the
existing capacity per facility, by expanding their capacity or creating additional facilities closer to
communities, in order to spread the high population demand for services.

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