Projects

GEAG, in collaboration with Athena Infonomics, Chennai, was engaged in conducting a Consumer Research in Sanitation for the State of Uttar Pradesh with the support of Water and Sanitation Programme (WSP), World Bank, India to identify factors that influence sanitation behaviours (such as open defecation), and identify the most trusted and appropriate channels of communication.

The research study was done to inform the Government of Uttar Pradesh's sanitation marketing and communication strategy and plans with the aim of improving sanitation behaviours in rural areas. This research was carried out in 33 districts (qualitative research in 15 districts and quantitative research in 18 districts) belonging to different agro-ecological zones of Uttar Pradesh in 2015.

Enhanced understanding of the actual condition of sanitation on the ground, the behavioural issues that govern the toilet demand & usage and the governance issues impeding improvement of the sanitation situation were the key insights of this research. This experience has further endorsed the need to work on the issues of rural sanitation in the state.