Surveys on social norms and sanitation in India

Purpose

To study social norms and networks to understand how they influence open defecation behavior

Activities

Behavior change is now seen as the most important priority that remains to be tackled in India if progress is to be made on open defecation. There are serious reasons to question whether CLTS-type approaches can work as well in India as they have in many other countries, given the strong identification people have with caste and religious groups, rather than their village (making the concept of "community" harder to define and less effective).

Implementing an in-depth social norms survey will provide substantive new information on drivers of OD behavior and ways to address it, by focusing interventions on the creation of new social norms.

The project will consist of several phases. In the first phase, we will be mapping out and analyzing the social networks of various groups of people in Tamil Nadu and Bihar. Next, we will be assessing the same group of people's social expectations (as explained earlier). Based on what we learn about people's networks and expectations, we will consult on the design of an intervention to change those expectations and hopefully behavior. After the intervention, we will follow up to see how behavior and expectations have changed to assess the effectiveness of the intervention, where it worked and where it did not. We will also be conducting a mobile add-on project in which we hope to gather survey data via cell phone in addition to traditional in-person surveys.

Countries of activity

Location of main activity

Objectives

• Develop, deploy, and analyze surveys that assess social networks and diagnose the nature of relevant collective behaviors (e.g., as social norms, descriptive norms, customs, or something else) across Tamil Nadu and Bihar.
• Identify social networks relevant to open defecation in Bihar and Tamil Nadu, including men and women as well as urban and rural subgroups.
• Determine the status of open defecation as a collective behavior. Is it a social norm, a descriptive norm, a custom, or something else? Are there any surrounding norms that support it?
• Based on the finding from our surveys, consult on the design of interventions to reduce open defecation encourage latrine usage.
• Evaluate the impact and sustainability of the intervention. Determine whether social norms and networks shifted as a result of the intervention and whether these potential shifts were the cause of changes in behavior.

Further information

Research or implementation partners: KANTAR Public (formerly IMRB International)

Filter tags

Behaviour change Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation Community sanitation East Asia & Pacific Rural Specific to one or several countries University, education or research institution

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