Rurality as a vehicle for Urban Sanitation Transformation (RUST)
Lead Research Organisation:
Cranfield University
Department Name: School of Water, Energy and Environment
Abstract
Delivering basic services, for example, water, sanitation and energy, to urban populations remains a significant public policy and planning challenge in India. This is especially the case for the 65 million people living in informal settlements or slums, as well as over 300 million people living in areas which have urban-like features but are administratively classified as rural. A significant proportion of these people were recently living in rural dwellings whilst some may still seasonally migrate back to rural areas for livelihood. In such cases, they retain strong socio-economic and cultural ties to rural areas.This project believes that this rurality can be a driving force for sustainable urban transformation, especially in the area of improved and productive sanitation, which is an area of particularly acute need in India.
Rural communities have been shown to be more closely connected to their natural environment, partly because their livelihoods are often more dependent on it, as compared to urban communities. This relative closeness to the natural environment has been connected to more sensitivity around appropriate resource use as well as preferences related to open defecation. Building on that thinking, this research will try to understand whether there are major differences in urban, newly-urbanised and rural populations in relation to sanitation and human waste management. For example, it will examine whether there is potential for more circular sanitation systems that views waste as a resource i.e. as a fertiliser in agriculture, recycled products etc in newly-urbanised communities as compared to more settled urban areas.
We will approach this research through developing three spatial transects of a Tier A1 megacity: Hyderabad. Each transect will cover the different zones of Hyderabad from the centre out into the rural areas of Telangana. This study will use a combination of participatory, qualitative and quantitative methods to assess ecosystem services, sanitation and human waste reuse perceptions and practices, and economic and institutional factors along each of these transects.
A key feature of the research will be the integration of this data onto interactive maps through the ESRI Story Maps platform. These will be used to structure co-analysis sessions with policy and planning stakeholders to examine spatial differences in sanitation across the city. Through these exercises we will co-design new policy and planning frameworks that will bring together urban and rural sanitation into a holistic system. Ultimately, the project is designed to help develop workable solutions that will enable urban planners, managers and policy-makers to provide better services to urban populations with safer (improved public health) and productive (improved economic benefits) sanitation systems.
Rural communities have been shown to be more closely connected to their natural environment, partly because their livelihoods are often more dependent on it, as compared to urban communities. This relative closeness to the natural environment has been connected to more sensitivity around appropriate resource use as well as preferences related to open defecation. Building on that thinking, this research will try to understand whether there are major differences in urban, newly-urbanised and rural populations in relation to sanitation and human waste management. For example, it will examine whether there is potential for more circular sanitation systems that views waste as a resource i.e. as a fertiliser in agriculture, recycled products etc in newly-urbanised communities as compared to more settled urban areas.
We will approach this research through developing three spatial transects of a Tier A1 megacity: Hyderabad. Each transect will cover the different zones of Hyderabad from the centre out into the rural areas of Telangana. This study will use a combination of participatory, qualitative and quantitative methods to assess ecosystem services, sanitation and human waste reuse perceptions and practices, and economic and institutional factors along each of these transects.
A key feature of the research will be the integration of this data onto interactive maps through the ESRI Story Maps platform. These will be used to structure co-analysis sessions with policy and planning stakeholders to examine spatial differences in sanitation across the city. Through these exercises we will co-design new policy and planning frameworks that will bring together urban and rural sanitation into a holistic system. Ultimately, the project is designed to help develop workable solutions that will enable urban planners, managers and policy-makers to provide better services to urban populations with safer (improved public health) and productive (improved economic benefits) sanitation systems.
Planned Impact
The project will deliver new theoretical and conceptual understanding about the role of rurality as a driver of urban transformations as well as evidence-based guidance on driving improvements in sanitation policy within Indian megacities. This makes it relevant for a broad range of direct and indirect beneficiaries. At a local-level the immediate beneficiaries will be the public authorities armed with new co-produced knowledge and insights to inform urban-rural sanitation policy especially for newly urbanised communities. This includes our participants in the City Stakeholder workshops, including representatives from the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board and Telangana Public Health & Municipal Engineering Department.
These beneficiaries will co-design the project e.g. through selecting a transect, and co-produce the outputs e.g. through joint analysis of data. This will provide them with new evidence and a space for dialogue that will enable them to create new solutions for delivering sanitation in difficult contexts. This has the potential for long-term transformational impact to arise from the project with more appropriate sanitation systems as an intended legacy of the project. For this type of engagement the role of Dr Mekala as our Impact Champion is important as she has established working relationships with sanitation agencies at both city, state and national level with both Governent and non Government sector stakeholders.
At a higher level the indirect beneficiaries include national civil servants e.g. at Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, planners e.g. NITI Aayog, civil society organisations e.g. WaterAid India, and researchers e.g. Centre for Science and the Environment. The research holds relevance for these groups as they implement, support and research the national Swachh Bharat policy programme for improved sanitation and a healthier, cleaner India. These types of beneficiaries stand to benefit through the demonstration and validation of a novel but transferable methodological approach for studying and interpreting urban management issues that can be reapplied in different cities or contexts. Further the study involves advanced technical methods and tools which will benefits the civil engineering students of Hyderabad city as they can witness the process during the survey. Efforts will be made to involve and engage such students in the project.
At a global level, broader indirect beneficiaries will be the circular sanitation service providers e.g. SOIL Haiti, INGOs e.g. WaterAid, and governments e.g. Government of Bangladesh, that require new evidence and perspectives on how best to extend services for populations in the context of rapid urbanisation. Direct beneficiaries at a global level will also be the academic and research communities building on the conceptual and methodological advances delivered through the project.
A range of communication and engagement techniques and platforms have been identified to engage with all beneficiaries. This includes the availability of our online transect maps (visualised through the ESRI Story Maps platform) for a minimum of seven years available for anybody with an internet connection to analyse them. More directed strategies include the City Stakeholder Workshops, active contribution to national online platforms e.g. India Water Portal and India Sanitation Portal, and international online platforms (Sustainable Sanitation Alliance SuSanA), co-produced policy briefs and planning frameworks, and five high impact journal papers.
These beneficiaries will co-design the project e.g. through selecting a transect, and co-produce the outputs e.g. through joint analysis of data. This will provide them with new evidence and a space for dialogue that will enable them to create new solutions for delivering sanitation in difficult contexts. This has the potential for long-term transformational impact to arise from the project with more appropriate sanitation systems as an intended legacy of the project. For this type of engagement the role of Dr Mekala as our Impact Champion is important as she has established working relationships with sanitation agencies at both city, state and national level with both Governent and non Government sector stakeholders.
At a higher level the indirect beneficiaries include national civil servants e.g. at Ministry of Housing and Urban Affairs, planners e.g. NITI Aayog, civil society organisations e.g. WaterAid India, and researchers e.g. Centre for Science and the Environment. The research holds relevance for these groups as they implement, support and research the national Swachh Bharat policy programme for improved sanitation and a healthier, cleaner India. These types of beneficiaries stand to benefit through the demonstration and validation of a novel but transferable methodological approach for studying and interpreting urban management issues that can be reapplied in different cities or contexts. Further the study involves advanced technical methods and tools which will benefits the civil engineering students of Hyderabad city as they can witness the process during the survey. Efforts will be made to involve and engage such students in the project.
At a global level, broader indirect beneficiaries will be the circular sanitation service providers e.g. SOIL Haiti, INGOs e.g. WaterAid, and governments e.g. Government of Bangladesh, that require new evidence and perspectives on how best to extend services for populations in the context of rapid urbanisation. Direct beneficiaries at a global level will also be the academic and research communities building on the conceptual and methodological advances delivered through the project.
A range of communication and engagement techniques and platforms have been identified to engage with all beneficiaries. This includes the availability of our online transect maps (visualised through the ESRI Story Maps platform) for a minimum of seven years available for anybody with an internet connection to analyse them. More directed strategies include the City Stakeholder Workshops, active contribution to national online platforms e.g. India Water Portal and India Sanitation Portal, and international online platforms (Sustainable Sanitation Alliance SuSanA), co-produced policy briefs and planning frameworks, and five high impact journal papers.
Publications
Cooper GS
(2020)
Regime shifts occur disproportionately faster in larger ecosystems.
in Nature communications
Hutchings P
(2022)
Understanding rural-urban transitions in the Global South through peri-urban turbulence
in Nature Sustainability
Mallory A
(2020)
Evaluating the circular economy for sanitation: Findings from a multi-case approach.
in The Science of the total environment
Mallory A
(2020)
Evaluating the circular economy for sanitation: Findings from a multi-case approach.
in The Science of the total environment
Martínez-López J
(2019)
Towards globally customizable ecosystem service models.
in The Science of the total environment
Sourav, M.
(2019)
Faecal Sludge Management in India: Challenges and Opportunities
Welivita I
(2021)
Evidence of Similarities in Ecosystem Service Flow across the Rural-Urban Spectrum
in Land
Willcock S
(2019)
A Continental-Scale Validation of Ecosystem Service Models
in Ecosystems
| Description | The RUST research project aimed to deepen understanding about how urban transformation influences sanitation outcomes in India. Our survey covering over 3,000 households across the rural, peri urban and urban areas of Hyderabad has identified how sanitation changes across the city. Complimented by over 100 interviews with sanitation stakeholders and vulnerable households and a review of international best practice, the project produced new data and insights on sanitation and rural-urban transition, the sanitation circular economy, the role of nature in processing sanitation related wastes, and the sanitation needs of vulnerable, urban populations. The research shows people living in communities undergoing rural-urban transition are more likely to have poor sanitation (and other WASH) services, compared against urban or rural citizens. This happens because there is a "sanitation service provision gap" as the rural sanitation paradigm, based largely on household managed septic tanks and latrines, is overwhelmed. There is a lag before an adequate urban sanitation paradigm, involving a much larger role for municipal institutions and infrastructure, emerges. Improving the "horizontal governance" of sanitation (between neighbouring administrative units) is required to facilitate more sustainable sanitation transitions. There is a series of technical and managerial decisions required to support such a transition, but our research has showed it is also a deeply political process and therefore such elements have to be carefully considered too. On the circular economy for sanitation, the research qualitatively investigated five different approaches to the circular economy for sanitation in India, to identify the barriers and opportunities to advancing sustainable systems. Overall, across the five cases, major difficulties were faced by all of them either in: scalability and financial viability, selling and marketing of end-products, inability to collect waste or using models that do not fully treat the sludge. Achieving circular economy for sanitation that fully treats and re-uses faecal sludge would require improved policy and enforcement of collection, integrated planning and collection of other biological waste streams, marketing and certification of products, and improved governance to speed up the implementation process. This analysis is already published in a journal (Science of the Total Environment). Another key finding from the project is on the role of nature in processing sanitation waste within cities. Using 48 case studies from cities across the world (spanning 82.0 million people), we show that nature plays a vital role in sanitation. Our results indicate that, on average, 13-26% of sanitation in cities across Africa, Asia and the Americas is exclusively performed by ecosystems, and in some cities this is up to 80%. Across 15 cities (35.3 million people), we conservatively estimate that nature is responsible for sanitising a total of 2.2 million m3 of faecal sludge per year, saving each city approximately 1.4±1.6 million USD yr-1 (n=8). However, since we only quantify entirely natural aspects of sanitation, we underestimate the true extent of the role that nature plays in sanitation both within our case studies and across the globe as integrated sanitation services sanitising pathways (i.e. infrastructure and nature) are neglected. Only by quantifying how nature supports all aspects of sanitation can we identify synergies and trade-offs between SDG 6 with other SDGs; e.g. understanding how land-use decisions (SDG 15) may have knock-on effects for hygiene and human health. This analysis is already published in a journal (One Earth). Finally, we have another finding on sanitation and vulnerable populations. This works shows that the largest contributor to households' sanitation related vulnerability is the Unsanitary Micro Environment or the unsanitary premises of a household, rather than presence or not of a sanitation facility. This analysis also suggests across all households in our study, on average households belonging to the Scheduled Caste (SC), Scheduled Tribe (ST) and Other Backward Castes (OBC) are more vulnerable compared to others. From this analysis we conclude there is a need to broader the perspective of sanitation programming beyond toilets/latrines to consider wider factors and to more proactively target vulnerable groups. Many of the above insights have already been published (e.g. Science of Total Environment, One Earth, Land) but we are now close to submitting three further publications. |
| Exploitation Route | Moving forward, the research has identified ways to strengthening sanitation policy and programming. This includes through: 1) the integrating nature-based solutions that may prove more cost effective and sustainable than some investments in man-made sanitation infrastructure; 2) broadening the sanitation paradigm to consider the micro-environment around households as key sources of vulnerability; 3) monitoring and more strategic planning with regards to peri urban sanitation needs. All these findings have implications for public policy, planning and engineering of sanitation solutions, as well as future research in this area. Some of the key lessons are being taken up in follow-on grants (e.g. ES/T007877/1). |
| Sectors | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment,Healthcare,Government, Democracy and Justice,Other |
| Description | The RUST research project has sought to deliver impact at local and global levels. At the local level we have built meaningful and durable partnerships with municipal stakeholders in Hyderabad throughout the project. The Executive Steering Committee of the project includes the Managing Director of the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sewerage Board and senior representatives from other municipal bodies, civil society and academic actors in Hyderabad. Through regular update meetings we have been able to understand policy and practical needs related to sanitation, water supply and waste management in the city and develop real-world initiatives to help support efforts to respond to issues in the city. For example, this has manifested by the municipal authorities establishing a new committee to identify steps for developing Circular Economy models for sanitation in Hyderabad, which was conceived following the presentation of interim RUST results on this subject in November 2019. Researchers from the RUST project, including Co-PI Dr Prajna Mishra (University of Hyderabad) and Dr Snehalatha Mekala have been invited to become members of the committee. We have also delivered research dissemination events and policy and evidence briefs to municipal authorities, which resulted in the request for a letter outlining our specific policy recommendations for the city in adjusting its sanitation policy to respond to future challenges around rural-urban transition. At a global level we have sought to influence thinking about the future trajectory of research and policy on sanitation management in low and middle-income countries. This manifests most strongly through our argument about the value of recognising the role of nature as a risk reducer within the sanitation space. Our recent paper published in One Earth has attracted media coverage in key publications such as New Scientist and picked up in 10 news websites in our latest assessment of from PlumXMetrics. It was also covered in regional newspapers in India including the Telangana Today paper. We published a Perspective piece in 2022 in Nature Sustainability which conveys the core theoretical ideas from this project and some additional empirical papers are due in 2023. We expect the impact agenda from RUST to mature and expand over the coming years as the ideas developed and proposed in the project grow in influence and become implemented within policies and programmes. |
| Sector | Agriculture, Food and Drink,Environment,Other |
| Impact Types | Policy & public services |
| Description | Establishment and membership of government committee on Circular Economy in Sewerage and Fecal Sludge Management |
| Geographic Reach | Asia |
| Policy Influence Type | Membership of a guideline committee |
| Description | Between environmental concerns and compliance: How does media messaging affect motivation and choice between disposable versus reusable facemasks? |
| Amount | £343,974 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | AH/W003813/1 |
| Organisation | Arts & Humanities Research Council (AHRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2021 |
| End | 05/2022 |
| Description | EPSRC Centre for Doctoral Training in Water and Waste Infrastructure Systems Engineered for Resilience (Water-WISER) |
| Amount | £6,453,010 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | EP/S022066/1 |
| Organisation | Engineering and Physical Sciences Research Council (EPSRC) |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 05/2019 |
| End | 11/2027 |
| Description | EnsemblES - Using ensemble techniques to capture the accuracy and sensitivity of ecosystem service models |
| Amount | £47,862 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | NE/T00391X/1 |
| Organisation | Natural Environment Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 09/2019 |
| End | 08/2020 |
| Description | GCRF Capacity and Capability Award |
| Amount | £15,648 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | S44906 |
| Organisation | Bangor University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2019 |
| End | 06/2019 |
| Description | Institutional GCRF Research Grant |
| Amount | £10,000 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | P12579 |
| Organisation | Cranfield University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2019 |
| End | 07/2019 |
| Description | Scaling up Off-Grid Sanitation |
| Amount | £1,749,830 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ES/T007877/1 |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 07/2020 |
| End | 09/2023 |
| Description | ScienceAlliance - Enhancing capacity to report science technology within Alliance Earth: Bangor University ESRC Impact Acceleration Account Knowledge Exchange Fellowship |
| Amount | £17,800 (GBP) |
| Organisation | Bangor University |
| Sector | Academic/University |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 01/2019 |
| End | 02/2019 |
| Description | The impact of Covid-19 restrictions on recreation and use of green space in Wales |
| Amount | £10,877 (GBP) |
| Funding ID | ES/V004077/1 |
| Organisation | Economic and Social Research Council |
| Sector | Public |
| Country | United Kingdom |
| Start | 06/2020 |
| End | 11/2021 |
| Title | Ecosystem Service Data for Hyderabad, India, 2019 |
| Description | These data contain observations, measurements, and participatory appraisals of ecosystem service use obtained from two transects across the city of Hyderabad, India. The ecosystem services studied include: spirituality, recreation, sanitation, water quality, food production (rice), and carbon storage. The direct measurement/observation were predominantly made using the established TESSA protocol, and the participatory methods follow Schreckenberg et al (2016), with full details of the method included in the data package. The data predominantly show statistically similar levels of ecosystem service use across rural, peri-urban and urban areas. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | 2 data downloads to date |
| URL | http://reshare.ukdataservice.ac.uk/id/eprint/854680 |
| Title | Global ensembles of Ecosystem Service map outputs modelled at 1km resolution for water supply, recreation, carbon storage, fuelwood and forage production |
| Description | This data set contains Global maps of five ecosystem services using 6 different among-model ensemble approaches: the provisioning services of water supply, biomass for fuelwood and forage production, the regulating service Carbon Storage for CO2 retention and the cultural non-material service Recreation. For water, the data comes as one shapefile with polygons per watershed, each polygon containing seven ensemble estimates. The other services - recreation, carbon storage, biomass for fuelwood and forage production - come as seven tiff- maps at a 1-km2 resolution with associated world files for each tiff-map contains 43,200 x 18,600 pixels for one ensemble approach, with LZW compressed file sizes between 400MB and 950MB. For all maps, 600dpi jpg depictions are added to the supporting information with uniform colour scaling set for the median ensemble per service. Ensemble output maps were calculated with different approaches following the supporting documentation and associated publication. Uncertainty estimates for these services are included as variation among contributing model outputs and among the employed ensemble approaches. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2023 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | None yet (associated publication is still in-review) |
| URL | https://catalogue.ceh.ac.uk/documents/bd940dad-9bf4-40d9-891b-161f3dfe8e86 |
| Title | Household Sanitation Survey across Hyderabad, India, 2019 |
| Description | The data in this collection includes recorded answers of 3010 survey interviews held across two transects in Hyderabad, India in 2019, to understand the psychosocial and contextual barriers to change using the Knowledge-Attitude-Practices survey method. The survey aims to understand how sanitation knowledge, attitudes and practices change across the urban-rural interface. For that purpose we need to understand the current and the preferred situation but at the same time understand what would be the best channels for accompanying behavioural practices if necessary and wanted such that the outcomes are the most effective and beneficial for the local population and the natural environment. Building on the principle that urban and rural communities have different social norms related to appropriate environmental and resource management, this project aimed to assess the extent to which the rurality (identity, culture and institutions) of newly urbanised populations can be leveraged to drive sustainable urban transformations in India. It has examined this overriding question through the prism of sanitation and human waste management within the Indian megacity of Hyderabad. The survey collected data to assess spatial changes in sanitation knowledge, attitudes, practices, institutions and economic costs along two spatial transects from the inner-city to rural areas. Questions were designed based on a review of the literature notably following sanitation survey recommendations from Noronha and Dashgupta (2016) and past KAP surveys on sanitation referring to questionnaire examples from various guiding documents from the WHO and UNICEF's core questions on drinking water and sanitation for household surveys (Montoute and Cashman, 2015). The questions were aligned to the objectives and research questions of the study. Particular attention was given to covering the knowledge, attitudes and practices aspects in a purposive and balanced manner. Thus, all the questions were categorised in terms of these three concepts but also to cover the following themes : socio-demographic, socio-geographic, ecosystem services, water, sanitation, health and institutional. (Due to a technical issue, the health questions were not surveyed and have been removed from the survey). Questions were prioritised in terms of their relevance to the RUST project's aims. Questions were kept for the most part structured, standardised and close-ended to ease the interviewing process for both field-investigator and interviewee. Multiple choice questions made the data gathering faster and the data analysis more efficient given the large sample size targeted and the size of the questionnaire. |
| Type Of Material | Database/Collection of data |
| Year Produced | 2021 |
| Provided To Others? | Yes |
| Impact | Forms the basis of project analysis. Results, analysis and recommendations have been discussed with key stakeholder institutions, including the Greater Hyderabad Municipal Corporation, the Hyderabad Metropolitan Water Supply and Sanitation Board, as well as civil society organisations including WaterAid and Freshwater Action Network South Asia. |
| Description | Alliance Earth Collaboration |
| Organisation | Alliance Earth |
| Country | United States |
| Sector | Charity/Non Profit |
| PI Contribution | The MobilES team have invested in collaborating with the science communication NGO Alliance Earth (https://allianceearth.org/). ESRC 2018 Impact Acceleration Award (ScienceAlliance - Enhancing capacity to report science technology within Alliance Earth; £17,800 delivered via Bangor University). This project funded an ESRC IAA Knowledge Exchange Fellowship to immerse Mr Barbee within my ongoing ESRC-funded projects. In early 2019, Mr Barbee accompanied me to India and Cambodia to understand the research I am conducting through MobilES and RUST. |
| Collaborator Contribution | Alliance Earth is a not for profit scientific and environmental reporting initiative based in Colorado and working globally under an environmental education remit. Alliance Earth successfully supports environmental and science education, partnering internationally with organisations and media groups but focused mostly on the developing world. They work with Reuters, PBS, the Guardian, KCET Television, and regional news outlets like the Daily Maverick in Southern Africa, and also with higher education schools like The Stellenbosch Sustainability Institute in Cape Town and Oxford University the in UK. A sample of their award-winning film, writing and photography work is available through their website. See above for details of the knowledge exchange |
| Impact | The results from this are still on-going, but already an article on the MobilES project was published by the Thomson Reuters Foundation (http://news.trust.org/item/20190424111627-9icab/) and subsequently republished on numerous other platforms across the globe, including: • https://www.reuters.com/article/us-cambodia-climatechange-farming-featur/cambodians-try-out-smartphones-to-track-and-ease-climate-woes-idUSKCN1S01EO • https://www.phoneweek.co.uk/cambodians-try-out-smartphones-to-track-and-and-ease-climate-woes-news-eco-business/ • https://af.reuters.com/article/commoditiesNews/idAFL8N21U48X • https://webcenters.netscape.compuserve.com/tech/story/0002/20190424/M1L8N21U48X_1400675825 • https://sports.yahoo.com/feature-cambodians-try-smartphones-track-113032320.html • http://saudigazette.com.sa/article/564846/World/Asia/Cambodians-try-out-smartphones-to-track-and-ease-climate-woes • https://www.thepeninsulaqatar.com/article/24/04/2019/Cambodians-try-out-smartphones-to-track---and-ease---climate-woes • https://www.eco-business.com/news/cambodians-try-out-smartphones-to-track-and-and-ease-climate-woes/ • https://telecom.economictimes.indiatimes.com/news/cambodians-try-out-smartphones-to-track-and-ease-climate-woes/69037453 • https://www.phoneweek.co.uk/cambodians-try-out-smartphones-to-track-and-and-ease-climate-woes-news-eco-business/ • https://www.thisismoney.co.uk/wires/reuters/article-6954827/Cambodians-try-smartphones-track--ease--climate-woes.html |
| Start Year | 2019 |
| Description | Engagement with Alliance Earth |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | ScienceAlliance activity originated from three pieces of research associated with Bangor University. In May 2018, Willcock participated in an expedition to Mozambique (https://theconversation.com/why-we-explored-an-undisturbed-rainforest-hidden-on-top-of-an-african-mountain-98744), part-funded by Bangor University. On this expedition that Willcock met Jeffery Barbee (Alliance Earth - a not for profit scientific and environmental reporting initiative working globally under an environmental education remit; https://allianceearth.org/). This impact activity builds on this, linking to two existing Economic and Social Research Council (ESRC) funded projects: MobilES - Using mobile-phone technology to capture ecosystem service information (ES/R009279/1), and RUST - Rurality as a vehicle for Urban Sanitation Transformation (ES/R006865/1). Being ESRC funded, both projects are socio-economic research. The disciplinary areas of focus are: human geography, development studies, environmental planning, and social statistics, methods and computing. MobilES aims to understand who is using natural resources and where in Cambodia. RUST investigates how sanitation services vary across a rural-urban transect in India. Both projects use Open Data Kit (ODK), a cutting-edge method of social science data collection being validated against more traditional methods as part of MobilES. ScienceAlliance was designed to facilitate a two-way knowledge exchange between Bangor University and Alliance Earth. These activities will focus on Dr Willcock (PI and Co-I of the underpinning research) and Mr Barbee (Director of Alliance Earth), and was broken down into two parts: 1) Knowledge exchange at Bangor University - Mr Barbee visitted Bangor University for two days (January 24th-25th, 2019). Dr Willcock introduced Mr Barbee to the cutting-edge underpinning research (e.g. how social science can benefit from mobile phone technology). Mr Barbee led a scientific communication workshop for Bangor University staff to enhance our impact with non-scientific audiences. This activity was very successful and generate lots of interest among Bangor University staff. Impact captured via post-workshop feedback forms (see Appendix 1). 2) Knowledge exchange in the field - Together, Dr Willcock and Mr Barbee visited the RUST and MobilES study sites in India (February 4th-8th) and Cambodia (February 11th-15th). This first-hand experience deepened Mr Barbee's understanding of the cutting-edge methods developed in these projects, enhancing the ability of Alliance Earth to carry out scientific and environmental reporting about these technological innovations. Additionally, Dr Willcock gained a deeper understanding of the processes involved in scientific journalism. Willcock learned how to better explain his work to a lay audience and how to capture images useful for the media. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Engagement with FSG |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | Discussion with FSG about the Circular Economy for Sanitation, specifically its applciation in Senegal by USAID. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | One Earth Press release |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A press release, press conference or response to a media enquiry/interview |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Media (as a channel to the public) |
| Results and Impact | Press release linked to journal paper "Nature provides valuable sanitation services", covered up by New Scientist, UPI, Science Daily, Gizmodo Australia and earth.com |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| URL | https://www.newscientist.com/article/2268469-soil-safely-filters-38-million-tonnes-of-human-waste-ea... |
| Description | Policy maker workshop |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | Participation in an activity, workshop or similar |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Policymakers/politicians |
| Results and Impact | Research Results Dissemination Meeting for Policymakers in Hyderabad, India. Attendees included senior members of key muncipial bodies responsible for water and sanitation services in the city, including HMWSS, GHMC, HDMA, and CDMA. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2021 |
| Description | Rural and Urban Sanitation Transformations; the case of Hyderabad, India |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | I presented the Rust project as one of 15 research presentations to approximately 45 people attended a University of Gloucestershire conference on the Sustainable Development Challenges from a range of disciplines, including business, literature, accountancy, education, geography, economics, sociology, criminology. Two guest participants joined by live video connection from Sierra Leone. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |
| Description | Rurality as a vehicle for Urban Sanitation Transformation |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A talk or presentation |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | Local |
| Primary Audience | Other audiences |
| Results and Impact | Seminar presentation as part of the School of Natural & Social Sciences Seminar series. The aim was to explain to colleagues and other researchers the project context, research problems and research design. The presentation involved a report on the research approach, challenges and progress and provided time for questions, comments and discussion. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2019 |
| Description | Workshop training for using smartphone survey methods |
| Form Of Engagement Activity | A formal working group, expert panel or dialogue |
| Part Of Official Scheme? | No |
| Geographic Reach | International |
| Primary Audience | Professional Practitioners |
| Results and Impact | We ran two 2-day workshops in India and Cambodia and invited participants from non-governmental organisations (NGOs) as well as academic attendees. At the end of the workshop, participants were confident in developing their own survey and we will establish a social network for longer-term peer-to-peer (i.e. south-to-south, south-to-north and north-to-south [SDG 17.6]) survey development assistance. This work is associated with two ongoing ESRC funded projects (both using ODK) in India (RUST - Rurality as a vehicle for Urban Sanitation Transformation; ES/R006865/1) and Cambodia (MobilES - Using mobile-phone technology to capture ecosystem service information; ES/R009279/1). However, this funding enabled us to extend the capacity building activities outside of the direct project partners and open up the workshops to key researchers, NGOs and government stakeholders with an interest in ecosystem service research. We already had an established relationship with local partners (i.e. Dr Mishra and Dr Nou) as part of these ongoing projects. As a team, we have multiple years of experience using ODK for our own research agendas (e.g. in Bangladesh, Cambodia, India, and Madagascar), but also have experience conducting similar workshops on ODK in the UK (including at Bangor University), Madagascar, Malawi and Uganda. Our workshops in India and Cambodia helped us train over 33 DAC researchers in smartphone data collection techniques. The participants represented sanitation and health NGOS, social development councils, university lecturers as well as government officials. Of the participants, 6 were female and 17 male. We collected workshop impact information as well as written feedback. We have also gained consent to continue with a follow up survey, to further assess the impact of the workshops in 6 months. |
| Year(s) Of Engagement Activity | 2020 |