The document discusses challenges related to sanitation in India and how human-centered design was applied to help address these challenges. It summarizes a project called Project Sammaan that designed and planned to build improved sanitation facilities in Indian cities to benefit over 60,000 people. The human-centered design process involved in-depth research through observations and conversations to develop insights into sanitation behaviors and needs. From these insights, scenarios and innovations were developed for facility design, communications, operations and business models. The project faced implementation challenges but its research contributed to policy changes and guidelines.

1. Are we on the same
page about innovation?
Innovations in Government & Policy

2. /38
Are there new solutions to the sanitation crisis?
India has about 600 million people
without access to sanitation. Public
services are dysfunctional and being
abandoned as planned infrastructure.
And yet community sanitation is the
only stop-gap before the vision of “a
toilet for each household” is realised.
Tackling the Urban Sanitation Crisis
for Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation

3. Redesigning Last Mile Malnutrition Diagnosis & Treatment
for International Rescue Committee
Access to some of the remote villages in
war-torn South Sudan is often a few days
of travel on foot. Coupled with the low
levels of literacy, providing last mile
diagnostic and treatment is a major
challenge for public health services.
How can we equip community health volunteers to reliably
diagnose and treat malnutrition?

4. Government to People (G2P)
payments in India amount to USD
100 billion annually. A massive
public program is underway to give
every individual a bank account, a
unique identity number and
transfer government benefits
directly into these accounts.
Transforming Financial Impact of Subsidy Transfers
for Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)
Has the user benefited at the last mile?

5. What is the nature of
these contexts in which
innovation is required?

6. These are all complex systems with
fundamentally similar challenges

7. These are all complex systems with
fundamentally similar challenges
challenge of Behavior
The motivations and attitudes that drive peoples’ behaviour, are often at
the heart of the change we are looking to bring about.

8. These are all complex systems with
fundamentally similar challenges
challenge of Behavior
challenge of Technology
Far too often, technology is pitched as the solution instead of being seen as
an enabler.

9. These are all complex systems with
fundamentally similar challenges
challenge of Behavior
challenge of Technology
challenge of Policy
Achieving scale for promising innovations in this sector cannot be done
without steering policy in a new direction.

10. These are all complex systems with
fundamentally similar challenges
challenge of Behavior
challenge of Technology
challenge of Policy
challenge of Systems
These are problems with multiple externalities and any solution must take
into account a complex web of stakeholders and relationships.

11. These are all complex systems with
fundamentally similar challenges
challenge of Behavior
challenge of Technology
challenge of Policy
challenge of Systems
challenge of Patience
The temptation for an innovation “quick-fix” has to make way for a
sustained engagement, requiring patience and perseverance.

12. What role can
human centered design
play within these
complex systems?

13. Too often human centered design is seen
only as a method
empathize define ideate prototype validate

14. a Practice that depends on user as its source of
inspiration and guidance.
a Team that shares values of curiosity, empathy, and
collaboration.
a Process that embodies values of learning, iterating and
adapting.
When applied to innovation mandates within complex systems, human centered design
must additionally be understood as a set of principles rooted in:

15. Quicksand’s articulation of the human centered design
process is summarised through three simple tenets
Our Process
Meeting People
Telling Stories
Crafting Experiences

16. Meeting People
Our Process

17. Framing an opportunity through
the lens of peoples’ needs or
desires is our entry-point in the
innovation journey.
Meeting People

18. Telling Stories
Our Process

19. Stories have the power to bring
together teams and provide a rich,
fertile ground for insights, ideas
and inspiration.
Telling Stories

20. Crafting
Experiences
Our Process

21. A well designed product or a system is
a standout experience first. Articulation
of this experience can create a clear
roadmap for how an opportunity may
be brought to fruition.
Crafting Experiences

22. Tackling the Urban
Sanitation Crisis
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Case Study

23. The Potty Project was focused on understanding
sanitation in urban slums in India from a user-
centered lens.
The study, explored people’s experiences around
sanitation and hygiene in urban slums - in
particular, the motivations, behaviors and attitudes
that influence the choice, as well as use of facilities
for defecation and other sanitation related
activities.

24. Ahmedabad •
Bangalore •
Delhi •
Mumbai •
Pune •
{}
Individuals
Household
Community
Service
Framework for Research

25. Government
Management
Commerce
Usage ratio
Land Ownership
Individual Landlord Private Contractor NGO Community
Rent Owned Pay per Use Monthly Pass Free
1:1 1:25 1:50 1:Many 1:All
Private Government
Sanitation Spectrum

26. Slum Typologies

27. Observation at Facilities

28. Observation at Homes

29. Conversation with Stakeholders

30. RESEARCH APPROACH > Tools & Methodology Coding & Synthesis

31. Insights & Hypotheses

32. INSIGHTS • Gender segregation at
community toilets is often superficial &
does not ensure privacy and safety for
women.

33. INSIGHTS • Convenience and access
to water sometimes dictates choice of
sanitation, more than the need for
privacy.

34. INSIGHTS • Women tend to club
together activities like bathing self &
kids, washing clothes and utensils.

35. INSIGHTS • Adolescent girls stop using
children’s toilets much earlier than
boys their age.

36. INSIGHTS • For women, menstrual
waste is a bigger cause for “shame”

37. INSIGHTS • Caretakers are ill-
equipped to run repairs and maintain
optimal running condition in the toilet.

38. www.pottyproject.in

39. Scenario Development

40. • The operating models for these sanitation
facilities
Individuals
Household
Community
Service
{} • The business models for these sanitation
facilities
• The design of communication within and
around these sanitation facilities
• The design of community sanitation
facilities in urban slums
Key Areas of Intervention

41. Scenarios: Facility Design

42. Scenarios: Communication Design

43. Scenarios: Operations & Maintenance

44. Scenarios: Business Models

45. }}
Way Forward

46. SAMMAAN • Dignity &
Respect
An urban sanitation
infrastructure project designed
with rigorous impact
evaluation in mind

47. Bhubaneswar
& Cuttack
Pilot Locations

48. 48
Project Sammaan is an urban infrastructure project that seeks to design & build
improved sanitation facilities in the cities of Bhubaneswar & Cuttack.
• 119 toilet facilities (92 community sanitation facilities & 27 public sanitation facilities) will
be built in Bhubaneswar & Cuttack
• 60,000 + people in Bhubaneswar & Cuttack are expected to directly benefit from this
• Scale up through a toolkit that helps urban local bodies replicate the design & process
• Rigorous evaluation through a randomised control trial that tests the impact of
innovations on toilet uptake
• Timescale for design, implementation & testing: Jan 2012 - Dec 2015, including capacity
building through a program management office at Bhubaneswar
Project Overview

49. • Software Innovation
• Rigorous Impact
Evaluation & Ongoing
Monitoring
• Community
Mobilization
Bill & Melinda
Gates Foundation
Quicksand Design
Studio
Jameel Abdul
Poverty Action Lab
• Technical
Assistance
• Partial Financial
Support
• Hardware
Innovation
• Software
Innovation
• Partial Financial
Support
• Implementation
Assistance
Bhubaneshwar +
Cuttack Municipal
Corporation
Project Consortium & Roles

50. 50
• Hardware innovations being tested
Base : Feature gender-segregated toilets, wash areas & menstrual waste incinerators
Enhanced : Base layer features plus bathing areas and retail spaces
• Software innovations being tested
Privately Managed : Organisations with prior experience manage and run the facility
Community Managed : A professional group is set up from within the community &
trained to run the facility
Key Features of the Randomised Control Trial

51. 51

52. Are there learnings from
human centered process
being applied to design of
complex systems?

53. It has taken four years to move through
bureaucratic and political hoops to secure
land, tendering and administrative approvals.
Five years out and the first set of toilets are
yet to be built.
18/38

54. LESSON 1
The paradox of prototyping at scale
The complexity of design and planning at scale left no room for the project
team to take a more measured approach through prototyping.

55. LESSON 2
The fault lines between rigorous evaluation and
design process
The rigorous evaluation methodology and the necessary constraints it imposes,
are inimical to the iterative nature of design.

56. LESSON 3
Balancing innovation with public accountability
Public accountability was of paramount concern to the city government
anchoring this project. The innovation imperative was therefore severely
bounded and had to be located on the side of caution or “reasonable risk”.

57. LESSON 4
Complex multi-stakeholder engagement
For a large infrastructure project of this nature, multiple stakeholders are a
given. How do you manage innovation and design mandates with
stakeholders having poor innovation “literacy” and capacity?

58. Are there contexts where
human centered design has
delivered?

59. /38
Tackling the Urban Sanitation Crisis
for Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation
Despite setbacks in implementation, Project Sammaan has been
invited to contribute to the community and public toilet
guidelines under the Swachh Bharat Mission at Ministry of Urban
Development, Government of India. It has contributed to the
water and sanitation strategy at Bill and Melinda Gates
Foundation especially in areas of policy advocacy and urban
sanitation markets. The rich, visual and multi-media
documentation of the research insights and implementation
process has been referenced by sanitation practitioners
worldwide.

60. World Bank approved a USD 150mn credit to Indian states
of Telangana and Andhra Pradesh for inclusive rural
growth projects. Out of the World Bank funding
announced, USD30 million in each of these states will be
used to set up one stop shops at the village level. These will
serve as the front-end for a range of service providers to
deliver G2P, P2G (People to Government) and basic
financial services to the rural poor. Many of the ideas that
came out of the research now have funding and
government backing.
Transforming Financial Impact of Subsidy Transfers
for Consultative Group to Assist the Poor (CGAP)

61. Redesigning Last Mile Malnutrition Diagnosis & Treatment
for International Rescue Committee
The final set of tools developed for last mile diagnosis and
treatment of malnutrition in South Sudan will be tested
through an RCT by end of 2016. Based on the work done
with Quicksand, IRC has secured funding to plan and
design the study. The eventual goal is to include it as part
of the public health program in several countries in Africa.

62. Quicksand is a
design strategy & innovation
consultancy headquartered in
India, and working in
emerging markets.

63. We work with global corporations to envisage new business
opportunities.
We work with international development partners to drive
social impact through innovation.
We explore and incubate open networks for creativity and
collaboration.
Our Experience

64. a Consulting Practice working with a diverse set of clients on strategy
and innovation.
a Lab, incubating and supporting various independent projects such as
B.L.O.T, Blindboys, Off Grid, Kites and GamesLab.
founders of UnBox Cultural Futures Society, our attempt to build
momentum around inter-disciplinary collaboration.
a member of REACH, a global consortium of design research and
strategy firms.
We are set up as >

65. Consumer Technologies
Google, Facebook , Nokia, Samsung
Consumer Goods
Unilever, Coca-Cola
Cultural Industry
British Council, Dutch DFA, Goethe Institut
Education & Livelihoods
Cisco, International Youth Foundation, One World South Asia
Financial Services
IDFC, GIZ, The World Bank
Humanitarian
International Rescue Committee
Water & Sanitation
Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation, PATH, London School of Hygiene & Tropical Medicine
Our work spans a variety of sectors >

66. www.quicksand.co.in
ayush@quicksand.co.in
@helloQS
linkedin.com/company/quicksand-design-studio