sanitation research_outline_final

Research Goals and Focus

The overarching goal of this project is to conduct in-depth research into the behaviors, attitudes, and beliefs surrounding sanitation in low-income urban India, in order to provide a comprehensive and illustrative account of user experiences relating to sanitation and various interconnected issues.

Specific goals for this study include:1. Map user experience around sanitation practices and utilities 2. Identify key triggers for positive and negative user sanitation practices3. Present research data in a format that makes it accessible and actionable by diverse stakeholders, from policy

makers to designers to program implementers who can facilitate innovation within their domains

The primary objective of the study is to capture and communicate the user experience of urban community sanitation services, with a secondary objective of examining provider experiences across the sanitation value chain.

The audience for this study will include a variety of organizations, including those currently working on innovating new products and approaches in the field of sanitation. The Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, WaterAid, the London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, the Acumen Fund, and various other NGOs and individual researchers will directly benefit from the study findings. This study is unique in that it will provide a detailed bottom-up perspective that has been under-examined in the field of sanitation development: that of the individual who must make a variety of sanitation-related decisions on a daily basis. By taking a people-centered approach to this research, we intend to generate new insights that catalyze current and future work in the area of sanitation and development.

Key research questions identified in collaboration with selected domain experts are listed in the following table, along with proposed research activities:

Research Objectives Research Questions Indicative Research Activities

Identify characteristics of collective user behavior around sanitation w.r.t ownership, use and maintenance of utilities.

How can we characterize community interactions regarding sanitation and identify salient dimensions?

- Develop sanitation profiles for 20-25 households in each location; profiling their sanitation habits in a way that is rich and informative - gathering information on who uses what within the family

- Document successful and sustainable community efforts around sanitation - sanitation habits of members of a CBO (community based organization), responsibilities & day to day operations, interactions between CBO and community residents, issues, challenges, solutions proposed and implemented

- Time lapse studies of community sanitation options

- Gathering sanitation related data available with local civic authorities


Do users feel a sense of ownership towards the operation and maintenance of sanitation facilities? What are the determinants of this sense of ownership? What benefits does a sense of ownership provide to users?






What differentiates user from non-user groups? What segments exist within each group?





Quicksand Design Studio | Sanitation Research Project | Research Outline – July 2010

Research Objectives Research Questions Indicative Research Activities

Identify key attributes of user experience around defecation. Analyze how they influence individual decision-making around sanitation.

How do materials and environment drive behaviour? What design attributes are preferred by users?

- Observe sanitation behaviors for different families and different members within the family

- Observe night and day scenarios- Observe private sanitation in

households with similar economic profiles to document how use of materials & design drives user interactions

- Observe the entire journey (of time of use, getting to a facility, act of use, post-use, journey back)

- Observe open defecation & toilet use but for minority demographics (women, children, elderly)

- Journey of open defecation of different user groups - when do people go, who they go with, the experience of reaching there, defecating and coming back, does the location change, why?


What are positive aspects of open defecation (for end-users, for others) compared to alternatives?








Characterize the experience of defecation & expectations surrounding it








In terms of user experience, what other services go hand-in-hand with sanitation?








What are toilets competing with? What alternatives do users choose between and what determines their choice?








What are barriers to access and use by all potential end-users? How do needs differ among users?







Explore people’s perceptions & attitudes towards sanitation. Identify people’s aspirations and how they influence their behaviors and attitudes towards sanitation.

What are norms & taboos associated with defecation and urination? How do they vary by social/cultural/economic segment?

- Co-creation exercise: asking people to imagine sanitation future, design their own toilets (physical model making)

- Get children in a local school or women groups to put on a street theater that captures issues around defecating and urinating in their households. Document the performances.

- Storytelling through scenarios and gathering user reactions


How is “privacy” defined by users? When is it important, to whom, and why?





How do users perceive interventions that challenge the status quo? How do you make them more acceptable?





What are users motivations towards payment vs non-payment?





What attributes of the system are considered aspirational?





What is the role of different triggers in generating demand for sanitation services - communication, lifestyle & income changes, health concerns?





Research Design

The following locations have been identified for a reconnaissance visit: - Delhi - Mumbai- Ahmedabad- Bangalore/Mysore

These tentative location clusters have been selected to illustrate a diverse range of sanitation experiences in India. Taking account of variable factors such as cultural differences between North and South India, population demographics of different cities, local community dynamics, and different types of sanitation facilities and their usage in varying locations will help strengthen our research. Specific variable factors to be analyzed in each location cluster include:

- Size of city - Weather conditions - Types of sanitation facilities available:

- Community sanitation facilities - Private sanitation facilities - No sanitation facilities (open defecation)

- Quality of sanitation facilities available - Time elapsed since sanitation facilities built - Local government engagement- Civil society engagement- Community dynamics: homogenous population vs. mixed/migrant population - Culture of local population

Within each location cluster, we will locate and select a few subset communities which have varying sanitation-related experiences. This may include (but is not limited to) communities which have access to community toilets; communities which have engaged in sanitation-related interventions led by the local government or civil NGOs; communities with no sanitation facilities or interventions; and so on. Within these communities, we will engage with individuals and institutions through a variety of different interactions and activities, as outlined in the “Research Goals and Focus” section.

Aspects to be considered when engaging with individuals in our target communities include: - Gender (experiences of men vs. women)- Age (varying experiences of children, adolescents, adults, and elderly people) - Size/type of households

- Family dynamics- Toilet usage within family

- Income brackets- Education - Livelihoods- Time spent living in present location - Access to media- Exposure to sanitation campaigns- Health (incidence of/exposure to disease, etc.)- Location in relation to community toilets/fields/etc. (distance, quality of access)


Research Schedule

Activity Schedule Objective Methodology/Activities Deliverables

Jul 5th - Jul 21st

Pre-field Preparation

‣ Finalize research goals, methodology and schedule

- Assimilating feedback from project kick off and expert interviews

- Drafting research schedule and plan

- Iterating with the Foundation on appropriateness of suggested objectives and schedule

- Final research plan outlining objective, questions, study design and schedule of activities

Jul 22nd - Jul 31st

Field Visit 1

‣ Define final location clusters for the study

- Visit potential locations- Identify cultural guides and

logistical support - Identify clusters of interesting

sanitation related activities/locations that can become eventual field sites

- Arm’s length (observational) documentation of household sanitation behaviors

Aug 1st – Aug 14th

Synthesis & Preparation + Project Update

‣ Production of research guides

‣ First project update

- Evaluate and confirm relevance of research sites to study objectives

- Generate activity guides for second field visit

- Project update to be emailed to a close group of domain experts

- Activity guides for upcoming field visit

Aug 15th – Aug 25th

Field Visit 2

‣ Comprehensively document collective behavior around sanitation

- Extensive rich media collection in selected locations observing sanitation at a community level

- Baseline interviews with 20-25 households in each study site

- Community mapping/production of a location fact file

- Activity studies of toilet use/open defecation

Aug 26th – Sep 11th


‣ Regrouping and synthesis of findings from second field visit

‣ Refinement and production of research guides

‣ Second project update

- Aggregate data collected to analyze sanitation behavior at a community level

- Working document capturing insights and analysis from second field visit


Sep 12th- Sep 26th

Field Visit 3

‣ Comprehensively document the journey of use of sanitation utilities

- Journey of use (user experiences of open defecation, toilet use)

- Further interactions with a smaller group of users, shadowing sessions to showcase “A Day in the Life”

Sep 27th – Oct 20th


‣ Regrouping and synthesis of findings from third field visit

‣ Refinement and production of field kit

‣ Third project update

- Aggregate data collected to analyse user experience around defecation related activities

- Working document capturing insights and analysis from third field visit



Date TBD

Mid-course Presentation

‣ Share mid-course findings with the Gates Foundation

- Facilitate a mid-course workshop with the Foundation and select partners (India/UK/US)

- Informal presentation of study findings thus far

Oct 21st – Nov 10th

Field Visit 4

‣ Co-create to understand user aspiration and desires around sanitation

- Co-creation workshops within selected locations

- Engagements with the larger community, including a bio-scope presentation, a street theater production put on by local school kids, etc.

- Working document capturing insights and analysis from fourth field visit

Nov 11th - Dec 15th

Project Conclusion

‣ Production of final deliverables

- Handover of the final study output

- Facilitate end-study workshop with the Foundation and partners (India/UK/US)

Visual Timeline of Research Activities

JulJulJulJul AugAugAugAugAug SepSepSepSep OctOctOctOct NovNovNovNovNov DecDecDec

5 12 19 26 2 9 16 23 30 6 13 20 27 4 11 18 25 1 8 15 22 29 6 13 20

Pre-field preparation

Field visit 1

Synthesis

Field visit 2

Synthesis

Field visit 3

Synthesis & mid course

Field visit 4

Project conclusion & handover

End of study workshop


sanitation research_outline_final

Documents