HUII Case Study Competition

In Association with Dalberg

Prompt: How can the private sector improve the quality of sanitation facilities in India?
To tackle this larger question, pick a specific sanitation related issue in India, discuss and
analyze the primary and secondary problems associated with this issue, and propose an
intervention model that addresses these problems and involves private sector
engagement. Make sure your final submission answers these key questions: What are the
most significant problems with the chosen issue? Why were the previous strategies
inadequate? Why is it particularly advantageous to engage the private sector? How does
your intervention model address the problems outlined? Who will be affected and in what
manner?

Deadline: 3rd January, 2017 at 11:59 PM IST. Late submissions will not be accepted.

Format: Delegates may enter either as individuals or teams of two. Submissions must
follow the format and mandatorily adhere to all the components below. Please respect the
word limits. Each part should be between 300-500 words. Submissions that fail to fit the
below format will not be accepted. You may include any extra images or diagrams, if
relevant. Please include any additional text material in an appendix. However, you will be
judged on the contents of the components below, not the contents of the appendix. Marks
allotted to each component are listed below.

1. Briefly summarize all the specifics of your paper in a short abstract. (0 marks)
2. Detail the problems that your intervention seeks to address. Below each problem,
argue why the private sector is uniquely positioned to address the given problem.
Then, identify a list of key stakeholders who are most affected by the problems
that you have outlined and state the primary stakeholder. (25 marks)
3. Discuss and analyze the strategies conventionally deployed to address the
problems that you have identified. Appropriately support these claims with
evidence from secondary sources. This analysis must include a brief delineation
of the main advantages of these strategies. (30 marks)
4. Proposal an intervention model. Explain how your intervention would address
each of the problems outlined in part 1. Each solution should state which specific
problem from part one it seeks to address. Analyze the relative advantages of the

solutions that you have outlined over the strategies alluded to in part 2. Explain
why your solutions are both feasible and effective. (25 marks)
5. Discuss the impact of your policy on three other stakeholders from the list in part
1 i.e. situate your policy within a broader socioeconomic context. For example:
burning biofuel instead of charcoal in rural households will eliminate the harmful
effects of burning charcoal, thereby significantly improving the health of rural
women. (20 marks)

Resources: For reference, this Dalberg Capital Report (2016) may be a helpful example
of how to structure your submission and of what private sector engagement can look like:
http://www.dalberg.com/wp-content/uploads/2016/05/Private-investments-in-SSA-
Education.pdf. Please note we do not expect the same level of technicality, primary
evidence and breadth in scope as the report above. We insist that you narrow the scope of
your submission to a specific issue and rely on secondary sources for information.
Looking for examples on the Dalberg website (http://www.dalberg.com/) may also be
helpful.

Judging: Please e-mail your submission as a single PDF to

conference@harvardusindiainitiative.com by 3rd January 2017 at 11:59 pm. Please send
only one file —we will only review one file. Late submissions will not be accepted. HUII
will read all submissions and shortlist the best submissions. Shortlisted candidates will be
notified by 5 Jan 2017 at 11:59 PM. On 8 Jan between 16:10 and 17:20 PM, shortlisted
candidates will present their submissions to the rest of the delegates and expert judges
from Dalberg. Questions from the judges and audience will follow. Awards will be
presented the same day at the closing ceremony between 7:20 and 7:50PM. Winners of
the competition will be favourably considered by Dalberg for an internship. Special
thanks to our partner Dalberg, without whom none of this would have been possible.

Plagiarism: The Harvard College US-India Initiative deeply values the originality and
integrity of work. The transparent acknowledgment of the contribution of others’ ideas
and conclusions to your submission is mandatory. Any submission that does not cite the
sources from which it obtained information will be immediately disqualified. It must be
clear which idea or statistic is being cited. In line with our emphasis on originality, please
note that we will give higher marks to those intervention models that are most original
and effective.