23: Access and Affordability

Accessibility and affordability of goods and services, addresses the ability of the organisation to deliver solutions that are affordable to customers and are accessible. It is important for industries like healthcare, infrastructure etc. that their products and services are broadly available, especially to under-served population groups or markets.

Example- Internet use in India
When it comes to the problem of internet inclusion beyond the usage gap, it is necessary to consider accessibility and affordability which are key barriers for the potential users.
In India, the majority of the population lives in rural areas. Due to lack of adequate infrastructure, it is challenging to support rural connectivity. Considering issues such as access to affordable handsets, electricity, data services, lack of technical knowledge and registration requirements are fundamental to increase the accessibility. The internet operators can work with wider vertical sectors, government and other organisations to enable the communities to access affordable internet. Developing and implementing such strategies will help the organisations to distribute its goods and services at affordable prices and also ensure wider reach.

It is crucial for an organisation to act responsibly and benefit the society. Improving the affordability and accessibility of goods and services can enhance the quality of life for both individuals and communities.

The healthcare industry is one of the best instances of this. The following are some prerequisites that must be met to ensure equitable access to high-quality healthcare:

1. Availability: Availability healthcare service and other requirements within a country's healthcare system

2. Affordability: Lowering the financial burden on patients by ensuring affordable medical services and goods to everyone

3. Accessibility: Guaranteeing that everyone has access to healthcare services.

4. Adequacy: High quality medical care with sufficient availability of services, infrastructure and other requirements

5. Appropriateness: Meeting the needs of diverse population groups

Industry best practices

Access and affordability are an important component of the strategies in most of the organisations such as pharmaceuticals, construction, telecom services, healthcare etc.It ensures that people around the world have equitable access to all goods and services. Affordability and accessibility challenges are common among poor communities and disadvantaged sections of society. Organisations can consider following practices to identify and understand the factors that affect access and affordability.

1. Conducting market research :

By conducting market research, the organisation will be able to ask correct questions to the right group of individuals/ target audience and find the gaps in understanding their demands. In order to create a market reach strategy, it is critical to do research and gather data.
In case of accessibility to health care and affordability, the market research focuses on:

• Identifying the under-served areas, where the services are required
• Purchasing pattern of target customers from various sectors
• Behavioural aspects of individuals’ cost management and its impact on their livelihood

2. Working on pricing structure:

The organisations must also work on strategies to find a pricing point that is appealing to the audience, either based on demography or different target markets. The focus of the pricing structure should be on affordability, as it can attract the customers from various market bases. To develop a good pricing strategy, the organisation needs to understand the customers. Analysing the market and collecting information regarding the core demography will help the organisation to identify paying capacity and accessibility of the customers.
Let’s take an example of Khan Academy, a non-profit educational organisation which provides free online education to anyone, anywhere. It gives a platform where learning resources are available to all the learners. Through its commitment towards accessibility and affordability, the Khan academy has been able to provide quality education to millions of people.

Case study - Abbott

Abbott Laboratories is a multinational healthcare company. Abbott is working on strategies that break down the barriers of accessibility and affordability to provide inexpensive and accessible healthcare services and goods to underserved communities.
The organisation has designed three principles to integrate innovative access and affordability as well as create and deliver products and technology to those in need^[1]. The three principles are:

i) Design for broader reach and Equity:

Creating an innovative portfolio that covers more people and incorporates additional areas and communities with restricted access to healthcare.

ii) Design for access:

Identifying and overcoming barriers, to develop inclusive design along with manufacturing, distribution and production strategy to reduce cost across the value chain.

iii) Design to optimise reach and value:

Making decisions during the designing process based on four factors - people reached, consumer benefits, business and societal value.

The organisation is monitoring its work in six areas to achieve the anticipated impact. They are:

• Innovate for access and affordability
• People served
• Transforming standards of care
• Health outcomes
• Cost savings
• Infrastructure

By 2030, Abbott envisions to improve the lives of one in every three people a year^[2].

They plan to achieve the vision by providing increasingly accessible solutions and delivering more to under-resourced areas such as affordable diagnostics, cost savings fund innovation to improve operational efficiency etc.