New Project Manager

There has been an exciting new development with Project Sammaan. Siva Cotipalli has disengaged from the initiative due to other, more pressing professional considerations and I have taken over his responsibilities as project manager.

The change comes at a fairly critical juncture in Sammaan as we continue working towards the release of the tender for the Public Toilets in Bhubaneswar and securing the technical sanctions for the Community Toilets in both Cuttack and Bhubaneswar.

One of the primary concerns that the Sammaan team had with the role of project manager was the need to have this individual spend a considerable amount of time in the pilot cities. Quicksand is tasked with managing the implementation of the Hardware side of the project (i.e., the physical structure of the facilities) but is based in Delhi and Bangalore. Siva was brought on as a consultant but, again, due to other professional constraints, could only spend a few days a month in Odisha. This was identified by all parties concerned as a shortcoming that required immediate attention.

During internal discussions regarding challenges faced during Project Sammaan, it was almost universally recognized that internal team communication needed to improve. Efforts to share information between partners and stakeholders were largely limited to reportage via the monthly newsletter and project blog. Partner recalcitrance in actively participating in these communication efforts further complicated matters and it became clear that an additional layer of responsibility for the new project manager would be to facilitate conversations amongst the team to ensure all parties felt not only informed of the project’s developments, but included in the dialogues that led to many decisions.

Due to my role as the communications lead, I’ve already established working relationships with all of the project partners. Further to that, my willingness to spend as much time as needed in Odisha, made it the logical choice to shift me into the role of project manager.

Beyond simply the willingness and ability to be based in Odisha for long periods of time and my established relationships with project partners, I bring a great deal of varied managerial experience to the role. I have over 15 years experience working on projects involving multiple stakeholders and, as a non-Indian, bring a different perspective to the position.

While most of the partners share this in some degree, my sole motivation in the project is helping people. I believe that Project Sammaan is an innovative initiative and that each component (e.g., design, research, implementation, expansion) is interesting in their own rights, but all of that is ancillary to the goal of ensuring that lives are saved by providing a functional utility that has long-term sustainability.

As the communications lead on the project, I’ve been fortunate enough to spend time within the slum communities in Bhubaneswar and Cuttack, interacting with the people and gaining, if not an understanding, in the very least exposure to the challenges they face. It may sound like I’m putting too simple a point on matters, but I believe what this project is doing will make a difference and I take great pride in being a part of it. My hope is to impart even a modicum of this to the rest of the team in order to keep people motivated irrespective of the challenges we have faced, and surely will face going forward.

I’ll continue in my role as communications lead and be sure to provide more detailed project updates via this blog going forward.