Project Partner Profile: Quicksand

This is a series of posts that shares more about the project partners and the important roles each plays

Quicksand is a multi-disciplinary innovation consultancy that places user-centered design principles at the core of every innovation effort. The studio has successfully delivered on several new services, products, brands and developmental strategies, creating both measurable social and business impact.

Project Sammaan was born out of research Quicksand undertook as part of the Potty Project, an in-depth design research study focused on understanding three things:

• The end-user experience at community toilet facilities within urban slums in India

• End-user perceptions, attitudes, and mental models around sanitation and hygiene

• The “supply side” aspects of community sanitation in slums including things such as pricing, operations & maintenance, caretaking, and business models.

Quicksand is responsible for project management as well as anchoring the hardware design process for the project. The latter includes conducting user-experience testing and community feedback sessions, furthering the mandate to create a functional facility that reflects what people want and need, while also incorporating learnings from the Potty Project.

Quicksand, in the role of project management and hardware design leads, interacts and coordinates the efforts of various other partners, including the architectural partners, the project and contract management firm as well as community engagement partner, in addition to various subject matter experts on sewerage treatment and design.

Additionally, Quicksand is responsible for the project’s strategic communications. This covers everything from public outreach efforts, developing and maintaining the project website and blog, and developing the end-deliverable “toolkit” that will allow other organizations in the sanitation sector to replicate the project worldwide.