SUMMARY
Access to cost-effective, high-quality and speedy public services is a legitimate requirement and expectation of all South Africans. However, despite massive increases in successive budgets and grants to the public sector, the economy continues to witness frequent unrest that is typically tagged as being about ‘service delivery’. To deal effectively with this conundrum, an evidence- driven, goal-oriented diagnosis of the health of service delivery in South Africa is required. This is even more important as service delivery deficits and backlogs have continued to grow and widen since democratisation. It is therefore pertinent that a diagnostic tool with a sound and rigid theoretical foundation, and rigorously evaluated against key performance metrics, be developed as part of efforts to close service delivery gaps. This paper explores the necessary criteria for a diagnostic tool to contribute effectively in closing service delivery gaps in South Africa.