Gully Tails
DESIGN RESEARCH • PARTICIPATORY DESIGN • SYSTEMS THINKING
Overview
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Info
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Facilitating knowledge exchange within the complex system of community-driven street dog management in India
Organization
Role
Design Management Student
Masters thesis - Distinction
In the bustling streets of Indian cities, a silent yet profound drama unfolds daily between humans and free-roaming ‘indie’ dogs. The burgeoning population of street dogs poses challenges for animal welfare as well as public health. The complexities of their deeply intertwined co-existence set the stage for this Major Project.
Through participatory research, this project reveals a spectrum of actors involved in street dog management, from individual rescuers and feeders to community networks and shelters, all facing significant challenges. A critical insight emerges: in the realm of welfare, collaboration, not competition, is key. Facilitating connections between different stakeholders in animal welfare can significantly enhance the efficiency and effectiveness of their efforts.
Gully Tails is a platform aiming to unify the community using a series of knowledge exchange events and a digital toolkit. It aims to empower the community to take collective action to transition towards a future where humans and dogs co-exist in harmony.
Problem
While state-supported mechanisms for street dog vaccination, sterlisation, rescuing and sheltering exist, they have so far been ineffective except in a couple of cities, owning to varying degrees of political will and limited funding accessible by local authorities for street dog management (SDM). This gap is partially filled by individuals and community groups who carry out SDM practices informally. However, even the organized and unorganized SDM efforts put together have proven to be inadequate, as the street dog population continues to grow every year, with thousands of dogs dying across the country every week due to lack of timely medical help.
In empowering the community, there is an opportunity to harness the potential of existing SDM efforts. Doing so requires a thorough understanding of the local SDM ecosystems, but there is a lack of data and literature studying this. Addressing this knowledge gap would shed light on the challenges faced by those carrying out SDM work on the ground, and allow the use of their practical knowledge for designing holistic solutions to empower them.
Outcome
The intervention offered in this report is Gully Tails: a knowledge exchange initiative empowering the widespread animal welfare community to unify, learn from each other, and carry out effective collective action for street dog management. It comprises of:
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a web-based repository of tools and resources to help the animal welfare community to carry out their work with ease
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a series of events to facilitate knowledge-exchange amongst various stakeholders in the community, providing them the opportunity to learn from each other
Timeline
May - Nov 2023
Skills
Academic Research
Design Research Frameworks
Interviews
Ethnography
System Mapping
Comparative Analysis
Thematic Analysis
Participatory Design
Backcasting
Event Design
Website Design
Report Writing
Process
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How might we harness existing local capacity for street dog management in India, empowering the community to find sustainable long-term solutions?
This project uses the Disruptive Design Method by Acaroglu (2017), designed to identify small, impactful system components in complex social and environmental issues.
1. Mine
This phase was a deep dive into street dog management in Indian cities, done using the following qualitative methods:
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Desk research
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Interviews with individual rescuers and feeders
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Ethnographic studies of shelters and veterinary facilities
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Case studies of informal rescue groups, using interviews and social media/website data
2. Landscape
Data from the mining phase was analyzed to map the interconnected systems. Operational workflows of shelters and rescue communities were examined, and challenges and resilience factors were identified through thematic analysis.
3. Build
This stage involved co-design workshops with the community to envision a sustainable future. Using a Transition Design approach, stakeholders brainstormed projects in the present that could act as ‘steps’ along a pathway leading to the envisioned future. Solutions were prototyped, piloted, and evaluated through usability tests and feedback surveys.
Objectives & Methods
Desk Research
Primary Research
Analysis
Design & Test
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To study the local capacity for street dog management in Gurugram: who are the actors involved, what activities do they undertake, how do they operate, what challenges do they face?
PESTLE
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Contextual Analysis
Case Studies
Interviews
Ethnography
System Mapping
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Comparative Analysis
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To engage local stakeholders in envisioning a preferable future scenario of street dog management, and co-creating a transition pathway to reach the preferable future
Co-design workshop - scenario development
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To identify design problems that may be tackled to help the community achieve near-future goals identified in the transition pathway
Thematic Analysis
Co-design workshop - transition pathway
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To design solutions that address these problems
Design thinking - Benchmarking
Design thinking - Personas
Design Thinking - Prototype
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To design solutions that address these problems
Design Thinking - Usability Studies
Primary Research Findings
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Gurugram's SDM System
Feeding & Regular Care
Local feeders provide food, arrange sterilization and vaccination, and secure temporary shelter for strays during harsh weather. In Sandeep Munjal’s gated community, three individuals take responsibility for feeding dogs on different streets.
Capturing
Capturing a wary, distressed dog may require trained personnel or special equipment. Anupriya shares her experience of luring a puppy into a carrier with food.
Veterinary Care
Depending on the case, outpatient or inpatient treatment may be required. Facilities like CGS Hospital offer boarding, while others operate only outpatient departments. Some shelters also provide veterinary services.
Fostering
Fostering involves providing a stress-free environment, appropriate feeding, nursing injuries, administering medication, behavior observation, ensuring exercise, toilet training, socialization, and generating adoption leads.
Reporting Animals in Distress
Residents or feeders report distressed street dogs to local rescue helplines.
First Aid
On-site care includes inspection, massaging, applying ointments/bandages, and administering painkillers. Organizations like Umeed Foundation have paravets for on-site aid, while experienced feeders like Mr. Malhotra often provide first-aid themselves.
Boarding
Before considering at-home fostering, rescuers check with shelters for temporary accommodation until the dog can return to the streets or be adopted.
Adoption Coordination
Rescue groups typically follow strict pre-adoption protocols including interviews, house checks, training, and notarized contracts. Mayank Munjal of PawsforaCause conducts post-adoption house visits and follows up on sterilization and vaccinations.
Comparative Analysis
Rescue communities from various Indian cities, as well as shelters and individual dog lovers from Gurugram were studied through interviews and ethnography. A comparative analysis of their welfare activities, roles, and operational resources was conducted.
Stakeholders in street animal welfare engage in a diverse range of activities, utilizing various human resources, infrastructure, collaborations, and processes. Nearly all stakeholders collaborate with veterinary facilities, but there’s a noticeable lack of collaboration between:
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individuals and communities
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communities and other communities
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shelters and other shelters
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This makes it difficult for stakeholders to benchmark their processes against other’s, posing a hindrance to any potential growth that could come through knowledge exchange between stakeholders with shared goals.
Adoption processes vary among stakeholders. Some individuals and groups focus solely on treatment and rehabilitation, returning recuperated dogs to their original locations and seeking shelter placement only if necessary. In contrast, some groups and shelters include adoption coordination in their activities, following similar pre- and post-adoption procedures. Lack of an organizational structure with well-defined roles, and limited outreach due to lack of a digital footprint are key barriers in managing adoptions.
Thematic Analysis
Through a thematic analysis of interview transcripts, the following challenges and resiliency factors were identified in the systems studied above:
Challenges
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Human-dog conflict on streets caused by lack of public awareness about dog behaviour and irresponsible feeding practices
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Negative public perception of stray dogs due to selective reporting in media leads to frequent animal cruelty, harassment of local feeders, and difficulty in finding adopters
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Overburdened rescuers face poor mental health outcomes
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Fostering stray dogs comes with complexities such as conflicts with existing pets, toilet-training challenges, emotional attachment issues, and difficulty finding specialized vets and trainers
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Veterinary care for strays is limited
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Feeding and rescuing stray dogs incur huge expenses, so financial challenges discourage potential rescuers
Resiliency Factors
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Feeders develop resourceful networks over time, helping them manage extensive feeding operations, sterilize and vaccinate stray dogs, and locally advocate for the rights of street animals.
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Community networks grow rapidly and allow for resource pooling, structured operations and public education initiatives
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The animal welfare community displays increased empathy, strong community solidarity, high ownership, generosity, and a commitment to shared goals.
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NGOs often provide subsidized sterilizations
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Independence of street-adjusted animals is well recognized in the community as well as the legislature. Displacing or killing them is criminalized.
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Gurugram has a hospital providing subsidized and emergency veterinary care for strays
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Policy improvements mandating female stray dog sterilizations have helped population management
Participatory Design
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A co-design workshop was conducted with local animal welfare practitioners, leveraging their experience and insights to ensure that interventions designed through this project are what the community really needs.
Collective Future Vision
Participants collectively envisioned a future where humans and street dogs co-exist in harmony. This future scenario would be comprised of the following characteristics.
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Street Dogs
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Healthy, disease-free, and well-fed.
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Better socialized with humans.
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Controlled population through birth control and increased Indie dog adoptions.
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People and public spaces
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Preference for adopting Indie dogs.
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Familiarity with local street dogs’ behaviors and needs.
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Responsible, respectful interactions with street dogs.
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Active involvement in dogs’ health, feeding, sterilization, vaccination, sheltering,
and rescue efforts. -
Establishment of dedicated feeding zones.
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Organized Community​
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Formation of local committees accountable for street dog management.
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Influence over local authorities for funding allocation.
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Empowerment to advocate for policy reforms.
Using DALL-E, participants generated visuals depicting their vision of an ideal future.
Transition Pathway
The group acknowledged there is no quick fix or magic bullet to achieve this future vision: several interventions are required to eventually make it a reality. Backcasting from this vision the group developed the following “transition pathway” with projects as steps toward the desired future.
Easily accessible knowledge about street dog management for the general public as well as for animal welfare advocates was identified as the primary need to be addressed in the near term.
To address this need, the following two near-term interventions were identified:
• An annual animal rescuers’ conference for regular knowledge exchange amongst SDM stakeholders
• An easily accessible online repository of knowledge, contacts, tools and resources to educate the general public and empower individual rescuers and feeders to work more effectively
Interventions
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A knowledge-exchange initiative empowering the highly distributed animal welfare community to unify, learn from each other, and carry out effective collective action for street dog management.
Digital Toolkit
Website Wireframes
Website Design
Animal Welfare Webinar
Event Registration
Event Promotion
In the week leading up to the event, promotions were done via social media.
Event Recording
The pilot event went on for 2 hours, with 5 speakers and 16 attendees.
Watch the full event recording below. ↓
Conclusion
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Outcomes and Future Plans
Refining the Digital Toolkit
The digital toolkit, still in its prototype stage, needs significant content addition to become a truly valuable resource. While preliminary usability studies have provided some direction, the toolkit’s effectiveness as a knowledge-exchange platform hinges on the quality and relevance of its content. Future efforts should focus on enriching this tool with practical, real-world information and resources.
Event Success and Future Plans
The pilot event, judging by attendee engagement and feedback, may be deemed a success. It offered diverse insights into animal welfare and established a communication link between attendees and panelists. However, the event lacked sufficient interaction among attendees. To address this, future events should include more interactive formats, like workshops, to encourage peer exchange and collaboration.
Scalability and Outreach
To maximize the impact of our interventions, scalability is key. For the digital toolkit, an effective social media marketing and SEO strategy is crucial for wider reach and accessibility. People should be able to find it easily through online searches related to animal welfare. Similarly, the event should be the first in a series, offering varied formats and regular touchpoints to maintain momentum and community engagement.
Conclusion
It is important to remember that these interventions mark only the beginning of a long transition pathway towards a desirable future where humans and dogs coexist harmoniously. Achieving this vision requires grassroots education and policy improvements. These are just efforts to bring the animal welfare community together so that they are empowered to make those macro level changes happen.
Report
The complete project report including references and appendices can be viewed and downloaded below.