Nudging towards toilets: Using Behavioural Science to accelerate sanitation coverage, AKF Experiences from 4 Indian States
Summary:
Despite rapid economic growth in Asia, inadequate services and inequitable access to WASH exists. In 2015, to support the Government of India's flagship programme, Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) led by Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) launched its Comprehensive Sanitation Initiative. The initiative is a five-year programme aimed at facilitating access to improved sanitation and hygiene for over 700,000 people in six states. A key component of this initiative is generating demand for hygienic sanitation practices, thereby tackling age-old norms and transforming long-standing behaviour change. The initiative adopted an adaptive Behaviour Centred Design (BCD) approach framework that sought to address mindset and behaviour change to drive adoption of toilets and improve behaviours, by changing the individual and changing the environment. Using a campaign mascot and tagline to generate recall, positive messaging for inter-personal communication, leveraging existing social networks such as Self-help groups, reward and recognition to incentivize communities, and mobile enabled real time tracking to inform programme on key motivators and track behaviour change, the initiative was successful in facilitating access to toilets for over 140,000 families. Extensive community efforts perceived social responsibility and community-led monitoring further drove adoption of WASH related behaviours, such that internal assessments suggest 95% of households who gained access to toilets, were regularly using these facilities over the 4.5 years. Further, increase in knowledge of key hygiene practices, especially handwashing and water storage and handling were also recorded.
Background/Objectives:
The objective of the AKDN Comprehensive Sanitation Initiative has been to demonstrate community-centred approaches to achieve ODF status. Increasing access and use of sanitation facilities for all households in the intervention villages, improving hygiene practices and behaviour among target communities; empowering community institutions prioritise, and promote sanitation in villages, and promoting inclusive approaches and gender mainstreaming to improve sanitation access have been the key tenets of the Initiative. Recognizing that social dynamics influence the decision to build and use a toilet, the major focus of the intervention was to adopt community centred approaches to trigger collective community actions.
Description of Intervention and/or Methods/Design:
An ethnography study, to understand barriers to sanitation, and menstrual hygiene was conducted, leading to development of a mascot of a grandmother and two children, who were chosen for their wisdom and ability to connect across all age groups. Positive messaging on personal hygiene, importance of toilet access, clean village environment, menstrual hygiene and handwashing were conducted. Introduction of Mobile based tracking tool, Akvo Flow, enabled programme to gather information on motivation drivers for toilets, and successful communication channels. AKF used concepts from behavioural economics, like Prospect theory, which posits that material benefits frame people's choices, in this case, using better health as the material benefit, to drive demand for toilets. Its strategy to reward Responsible Family and Clean home and Clean Village and spotlight those who did not build toilets, was based on the concept of social proofing' - the act of making people's ill behaviours observable-to add social...
Results/Lessons Learned:
Under AKF initiative, behaviour change was seen in terms of increased demand for toilets, and improvements in knowledge around hygiene behaviours. Formative ethnographic study helped identify key barriers. Real time tracking helped assess key drivers for toilets and key channels for communication: convenience (30%), safety (14%) and Health concerns (13%) were identified as key triggers, and local institutions (40%) and sanitation field workers (32%) were found key channels that had the most reach. Further, Akvo Data also allowed teams to reinforce messaging around handwashing and water storage, using themes and channels that worked -knowledge of which was gleaned through AKF's real time tracking. AKF's SBCC strategy saw success- between 2017 and 2019, handwashing awareness around critical times rose from 25% to 37% and water storage and handling practice improved from 64% to 72%. Access to toilets for 140,000 families, was also ensured, 95% of which are being used.
Discussion/Implications for the Field:
The project interventions have improved access to sanitation for 140,000 families. Its success is due to the design, which relied on behavioural science to unpack barriers and enablers to sanitation. Concepts like Social proofing and Prospect theory helped teams to design key messages and approaches that struck a chord with beneficiaries. Focus on community-led approach for demand creation, use of positive motives in inter-personal communication, recognition of influencers, and dedicated programme mascot for behaviour change were bedrock of communication strategy that saw success. Real time insights on barriers, enablers, and channels of communication were other critical success factors.
Abstract submitted by:
Satviki Varma - Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN)
Asad Umar - Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN)
Despite rapid economic growth in Asia, inadequate services and inequitable access to WASH exists. In 2015, to support the Government of India's flagship programme, Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN) led by Aga Khan Foundation (AKF) launched its Comprehensive Sanitation Initiative. The initiative is a five-year programme aimed at facilitating access to improved sanitation and hygiene for over 700,000 people in six states. A key component of this initiative is generating demand for hygienic sanitation practices, thereby tackling age-old norms and transforming long-standing behaviour change. The initiative adopted an adaptive Behaviour Centred Design (BCD) approach framework that sought to address mindset and behaviour change to drive adoption of toilets and improve behaviours, by changing the individual and changing the environment. Using a campaign mascot and tagline to generate recall, positive messaging for inter-personal communication, leveraging existing social networks such as Self-help groups, reward and recognition to incentivize communities, and mobile enabled real time tracking to inform programme on key motivators and track behaviour change, the initiative was successful in facilitating access to toilets for over 140,000 families. Extensive community efforts perceived social responsibility and community-led monitoring further drove adoption of WASH related behaviours, such that internal assessments suggest 95% of households who gained access to toilets, were regularly using these facilities over the 4.5 years. Further, increase in knowledge of key hygiene practices, especially handwashing and water storage and handling were also recorded.
Background/Objectives:
The objective of the AKDN Comprehensive Sanitation Initiative has been to demonstrate community-centred approaches to achieve ODF status. Increasing access and use of sanitation facilities for all households in the intervention villages, improving hygiene practices and behaviour among target communities; empowering community institutions prioritise, and promote sanitation in villages, and promoting inclusive approaches and gender mainstreaming to improve sanitation access have been the key tenets of the Initiative. Recognizing that social dynamics influence the decision to build and use a toilet, the major focus of the intervention was to adopt community centred approaches to trigger collective community actions.
Description of Intervention and/or Methods/Design:
An ethnography study, to understand barriers to sanitation, and menstrual hygiene was conducted, leading to development of a mascot of a grandmother and two children, who were chosen for their wisdom and ability to connect across all age groups. Positive messaging on personal hygiene, importance of toilet access, clean village environment, menstrual hygiene and handwashing were conducted. Introduction of Mobile based tracking tool, Akvo Flow, enabled programme to gather information on motivation drivers for toilets, and successful communication channels. AKF used concepts from behavioural economics, like Prospect theory, which posits that material benefits frame people's choices, in this case, using better health as the material benefit, to drive demand for toilets. Its strategy to reward Responsible Family and Clean home and Clean Village and spotlight those who did not build toilets, was based on the concept of social proofing' - the act of making people's ill behaviours observable-to add social...
Results/Lessons Learned:
Under AKF initiative, behaviour change was seen in terms of increased demand for toilets, and improvements in knowledge around hygiene behaviours. Formative ethnographic study helped identify key barriers. Real time tracking helped assess key drivers for toilets and key channels for communication: convenience (30%), safety (14%) and Health concerns (13%) were identified as key triggers, and local institutions (40%) and sanitation field workers (32%) were found key channels that had the most reach. Further, Akvo Data also allowed teams to reinforce messaging around handwashing and water storage, using themes and channels that worked -knowledge of which was gleaned through AKF's real time tracking. AKF's SBCC strategy saw success- between 2017 and 2019, handwashing awareness around critical times rose from 25% to 37% and water storage and handling practice improved from 64% to 72%. Access to toilets for 140,000 families, was also ensured, 95% of which are being used.
Discussion/Implications for the Field:
The project interventions have improved access to sanitation for 140,000 families. Its success is due to the design, which relied on behavioural science to unpack barriers and enablers to sanitation. Concepts like Social proofing and Prospect theory helped teams to design key messages and approaches that struck a chord with beneficiaries. Focus on community-led approach for demand creation, use of positive motives in inter-personal communication, recognition of influencers, and dedicated programme mascot for behaviour change were bedrock of communication strategy that saw success. Real time insights on barriers, enablers, and channels of communication were other critical success factors.
Abstract submitted by:
Satviki Varma - Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN)
Asad Umar - Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN)
Source
Approved abstract for the postponed 2020 SBCC Summit in Marrakech, Morocco. Provided by the International Steering Committee for the Summit. Image credit: Aga Khan Development Network (AKDN)