Number of Service Providers
Indicator Phrasing
English: number of service providers offering [specify the service] in the target area
French: nombre de prestataires de services offrant [spécifiez le service] dans la zone cible
Portuguese: número de provedores de serviços que oferecem [especifique o serviço] na área-alvo
Czech: počet poskytovatelů [uveďte název dané služby] v cílové oblasti
What is its purpose?
This is an essential 'supply side' indicator assessing the number of service providers (such as commercial extension workers, water pump repairers or latrine sellers) offering the promoted type of service(s).
How to Collect and Analyse the Required Data
Collect the following data by conducting individual interviews with the target sellers:
RECOMMENDED SURVEY QUESTION (Q) AND POSSIBLE ANSWERS (A)
Q1: Do you offer [specify the service]?
A1: yes / no
Calculate the indicator's value by summing up the number of service providers offering the given service.
Important Comments
1) The best way to identify a maximum number of service providers is to use "snowball sampling" methodology - asking service providers, customers or authorities whether they know about any service providers which do or do not provide the promoted service (and then visiting or calling them to verify the information).
2) While the service providers might formally offer a given service, it often happens that due to their passivity, poor marketing and other factors, the number of clients who use the service is very low. Therefore, consider changing the indicator to "number of active service providers..." where "active" means providing the service to a minimum number of clients over a certain period (for example, "providing chicken vaccinations to at least 30 families per month").