Saket Pande (B. Tech in Civil Engineering, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, 2000; Ph.D. in Civil and Environment Engineering, Utah State University, 2005) is a hydrologist and a water economist. He has advanced education in both Hydrology and Economics, and has expertise in the fundamentals of Hydrology, Applied Statistics, Economic Theory, and their intersections in real-world applications. Prior to joining TU Delft in 2010, Saket was at SOW-VU (Stichting Onderzoek Wereldvoedsel-voorziening van de Vrije Universiteit), Amsterdam.
In recent years Saket has been extensively researching on how fundamentals of applied probability can explain the issues underlying calibration uncertainty in water systems, especially in basin scale hydrology. He has shown that control on hydrologic model complexity can lead to robust prediction performance. He has also been studying the impacts of hydrologic uncertainty on economic systems. Using his training in economics, Saket has also researched into temporal dynamics of individual decision-making as well as into the fundamentals of welfare economics.
Saket has extensive experience in working in multidisciplinary teams on topics such as uncertainty implications of climate change on water availability, food production and human wellbeing in developing countries like Benin, Ethiopia and Sudan. Saket has been involved in development of innovative statistical and GIS tools for integrating data of different kinds, be it by resolution or source, into a unified modelling framework. Most recently Saket has been involved in conceptualizing coupled human water systems in water scarce regions of the world such as India and Australia and consequently has developed parsimonious socio-hydrological models. Saket’s overarching aim is to use his diverse training to solve real-world problems that are interdisciplinary in nature.
The Government of India has set an ambitious target to end open defecation across India. AMMACHI Labs’ approach to ending open defecation in rural India is based upon a collaborative framework that trains women to build their own toilets, through their ICT based training model that has already demonstrated success in empowering marginalized communities. There is broad literature that highlights that individual and household psychology underpins WASH behaviour and adoption of related technologies, such as cVET and building toilets accordingly. Several conceptual models exist to analyse the behaviour. One established model is Risk – Attitude – Norms- Ability – Self regulation (RANAS) model that systematically identifies, measures and integrates behavioural and contextual factors to assess behaviour at an individual scale.
This presentation motivates the use of RANAS model to understand how cVET blended training program (ICT blended with hand-on training) is successfully (or not) leading to the adoption of wise sanitation practices by households in the targeted communities. The aim is to present an environmental psychology based methodology to learn from the success and challenges of implementing the training program in the communities and implement best strategies to maximize successful adoption of the program in other target communities. This is done by providing examples of field applications of the model in other human water use behaviour contexts, such as adoption of household water treatment technologies, efficient irrigation practices and conservation of ground water resources in countries such as Nepal, Indonesia, India and Vietnam.
