Site Selection Process

The land identification process for Project Sammaan is one of the most complex and exciting processes I have participated in. The excitement comes from the challenge of meeting the deadlines within multiple constraints; the complexity comes from the task of identifying at least 160 sites within 2 months.

There are multiple steps taken before selecting a site:

• A member from J-PAL, a government surveyor and a Feedback Foundation associate visit proposed sites
• J-PAL decides whether the site fits into the scope of the project while Feedback Foundation works with the land department to get land details, including ownership information. (It should be noted that only government-owned sites with clear land details will be selected.)

• After the selection, a team comprising of Feedback Foundation and Anagram Architects visits the location for a detailed survey wherein
  • Feedback Foundation surveys the site’s condition
  • Anagram team conducts an architectural survey
• Concurrently, a team from CFAR studies the nearby community to understand the challenges in community engagement within the shortlisted locations
• Finally, sites are rated based on data from these surveys

There is a triumvirate of groups (Government, Research and Implementation) involved in the process and each has their own challenges, requirements and levels of involvement.

Our partners at the local municipal corporations are tasked with identifying government-owned land in specific locations, which has been a tedious process. They’re working to provide further sites based on the results of land-ownership studies.

Since the research is focused on urban settings, the J-PAL team has certain clear mandates for the sites these include: 1 sites must be located near the city centre, 2 they must be situated within communities that don’t have individual toilets, and 3 there must be no existing government programs at these sites around providing community toilets. Also, for research purposes, J-PAL needs at least 30% more sites than required for construction.

Additionally, all the sites need to be located on approved government land and in communities where there is requirement for renovation/building new toilets. Given these multiple constraints, the complexity of site selection increases manifold.

Here are some key insights about necessary steps for a successful, and smooth, selection process we’ve learned along the way:

• Fully understand each partner’s needs: a collaborative project like Sammaan requires understanding the requirements and constraints of all the partners at the onset;
• Create enough buffer for government interactions: urban municipalities tend to be short-staffed so it is important to budget extra time to ensure completion;
• Develop a structured communication process: the surveys and the site identification exercises are joint activities between J-PAL, Feedback, CTRAN and CFAR. As such, it is important for the field teams to regularly meet and sort out any issues

We’ve come very far with the site selection process, but still have work to do. Additional sites need to be identified, surveyed, and approved in both Bhubaneswar and Cuttack. However, we are optimistic that this will all be accomplished in the coming weeks.