Indicia Consulting
We Solve Problems

We offer creative problem identification & solutions via a "walkabout".

Indicia Consulting
We Provide Insights

We offer sophisticated ethnographic analysis, along with a full complement of other qualitative methods.

Indicia Consulting
We Help You Connect

We can help you develop strategies for programs to connect with clients, customers, supporters, users, and vendors..

Indicia Consulting
We Help You Grow

We can step in and give support to tactical projects that help you achieve your strategic goals.

We Are Indicia Consulting
Grounded Insights / Measurable Results

We are on a mission to make the world a better place through human engagement.
Our goal is to improve processes and outcomes by including human factors from the outset.

We Are Unique
Definitely not the usual consulting service.

You should come to us with hard to resolve questions and problems about connecting with and understanding people.

We Have Experience
We have the publications to prove it!

We are one of the few organizations doing large scale ethnographic research in the fields of energy and sustainability.

We Are Committed
Reducing energy consumption & GHGs.

Our goal as an organization to work on climate change issues wherever they crop up - energy, water, pollution, air regulations, land use policy, transportation...

We Have a Philosophy
Every goal needs a well-structured plan.

We will help you transform programs that run on outputs, into programs that run on outcomes. We bring theory and rigor to any design process.

Numbers
Making Changes
Large and Small


Here are some numbers. Numbers can tell stories.

* 99% of Austrians donate their organs. In an experiment in 2003... When participants had to opt in to being an organ donor, only 42% did so. But when they had to opt out, 82% agreed to be donors.
http://www.behaviouraldesign.com/2015/08/11/why-99-of-austrians-donate-their-organs
** 70% of Americans now accept that climate change is happening. Outnumbering those who don't by a 5 to 1 ratio, according to a new survey by the Yale Program on Climate Change Communication. More than half of those surveyed, 58%, said they also understand global warming is caused mostly by human activities, such as the burning of fossil fuels.
https://e360.yale.edu/digest/americans-who-accept-climate-change-outnumber-those-who-dont-5-to-1
*** A quarter of Americans are going commando on a regular basis...
https://www.complex.com/style/2014/03/americans-like-going-commando-vanity-fair
**** Renewable Energy Surges to 18% of U.S. Power Mix. Eighteen percent of all electricity in the United States was produced by renewable sources in 2017, including solar, wind, and hydroelectric dams. That's up from 15% in 2016.
http://fortune.com/2018/02/18/renewable-energy-us-power-mix

Participation *

99%

Building Consensus **

70%

Consumer Comfort ***

25%

Renewable Energy ****

18%

Hub and Spoke
We are a tight-knit team with many partners across the country.

Susan Mazur-Stommen Ph.D.

Susan is a cultural anthropologist who has researched culture, behavior, and sustainability for over twenty years. Her work has included such high points as testifying before Maryland Governor Martin O'Malley with bright pink hair. Any given work day might find her:

  • Hanging out in a metal fabrication shop in Chicago listening for air pump leaks.
  • Taking pictures of people's underwear drawers and asking about laundry pain points in suburban SoCal.
  • Eating goat burgers on a farm in rural Alabama; or trying a 'slug' burger at Borroum's, the oldest drugstore in Mississippi.
Download: Susan-Mazur-Stommen-CV-2020.pdf

Joana Abreu Ph.D.

Joana is a sustainable energy researcher with interest in behavior science, environmental studies, energy efficiency, and demand response. Her focus is on studying how humans engage with technology systems, and those business insights can improve recruitment, enrollment, and engagement of target customers.

You can find her:

  • Designing and managing the deployment of demand response pilots
  • Evaluating energy efficiency opportunities
  • Interviewing grid operators or residents in a random jurisdiction, while hiding from the random bear

 

 

Debbie Levitt

Debbie is a Customer and User Experience strategist, architect, and change agent. Focused on User-Centered Design and cognitive psychology, she loves to deeply research target audiences, predict and mitigate business risk, improve internal processes, achieve strategic goals, and create great customer experiences. She guides business transformations towards prioritizing customer value and product and service quality over speed.

Sheis usually:

  • Being called "Mary Poppins" by clients because she flew in, fixed things, sang a few songs, and flew away
  • Singing operatic Dutch metal and Kate Bush in her home vocal booth
  • Enjoying a simpler life in the Italian countryside

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Stephen Paff

Stephen is a cultural anthropologist. With an additional background in mathematics and programming, he is interested in combining analytical approaches with ethnographic insights. As a former teacher, he strives to understand how culture influences human learning and decision-making.

In his free-time, he is:

  • Literally trying just about any foods he can
  • Planning camping trips to the Rocky Mountains
  • Conducting his own math projects in abstract algebra and topology for the fun of it

_____________ ____ ______________ _____ __________ __ _________________ ____ __________ ____ __________________ _ ____________ ____ ___________ ____ ________ _ ____ ____ __ ___

Haley Gilbert M.A.

Haley is passionate about energy, climate and urban sustainability topics. She approaches projects with both a research and implementation perspective to develop impactful policies, programs, analysis, and products. This has included assisting cities in California to implement 'cool' community projects and policies to improve energy efficiency and adapt to climate change, collaborating with non-profits in Mexico to research building design strategies to minimize life cycle carbon impacts, and designing a social marketing program for U.S. Environmental Protection Agency staff to reduce their environmental footprint.

When she is not working, you might find Haley:

  • Touring around Mexico City in search of new salsas
  • Indulging her football/soccer obsession on weekend mornings in front of the TV
  • Enjoying walks around the local parks with her husband and dog (Chupete)

 

Helena Ottoson M.A.

Helena is an Applied Anthropologist. The past decade has been spend in consumer research, and as a Swede, she finds American contemporary living fascinating. She is equally happy hanging out with painters and plumbers rummaging through their trucks while discussing how the economy influenced their expansion of trade skills, as she is asking to see what is in the back of a woman's intimates drawer to figure out how personal life events change underwear preference.

More fun projects:

  • Mobile phone use and self identity among Hispanic Millennials.
  • Student and teacher learning and teaching techniques.
  • Use of label makers.
  • Federal recognition case of the Little Shell Chippewa of Montana.

_____________ ____ ______________ _____ __________ __ _________________ ____ __________ ____ __________________ _ _____ ____________ _ ____________ ____ ___________ ____ ____ ____________ _ ____________ ____ ________ _ ______ _ ________ _ _______ ________ _ ____________ ____ ________

Cherry Hunsaker-Clark M.A.

Cherry is an Applied Anthropologist who has spent the last 13 years researching human behavior. From consumerism to anti-corruption initiatives, Cherry is thrilled to talk to people about how they use their electronics or observe how they select their frozen potatoes. She is always fascinated with the "why" behind decision making.

During any given week you might find Cherry:

  • Reading for her Ethnography book club because she is passionate about both reading and creating ethnographies - everyone has a story to tell.
  • Making some zero-waste clothing or up-cycling a thrift store find because she is passionate about making her own clothes.
  • Picking up trash in her local park with her three children, because she is passionate about her family and raising her three children to be Eco-conscious citizens of the cosmos.

_ ________ _ _______ ________ _ _______ ________ _ ______

Amy Bayersdorfer M.B.A.

Amy is a creative problem solver and community builder with deep experience in business and technology. She now uses her extensive business experience in the areas of energy, social justice, and non-profits. She speaks the languages of multiple functional areas, enjoys translating between them, and travels fluidly between the forest and the trees of business objectives. Her superpower is recognizing people's individuality.

  • Amy is available for a road trip on a moment's notice, and can be recognized in her car with the eyelashes
  • She enjoys cooking, believing that conversations shared over a meal creates stronger connections
  • Her home is filled with art and artisan crafts, providing beauty and creativity
  • She also enjoys paying it forward by mentoring young entrepreneurs as they launch their businesses

 

Clarissa Dieck M.A.

Clarissa is an applied anthropologist whose research interests lie at the intersection of human-technology interactions and education. She is particularly interested in how individuals' identities and attitudes towards different media and technologies affect the ways they use and interact with them. Most recently she has worked with a STEM-based educational nonprofit where she supported general education teachers as they implemented engineering programming and technologies in their classrooms. She is looking to continue to explore her research interests through other tech-focused opportunities.

You can usually find her:

  • Experimenting with new recipes in her kitchen
  • Listening to her favorite podcasts in the company of her cats
  • Going on a walk in her neighborhood in sunny San Diego

 

Partners

MeterLeader is an online platform that leverages real-time energy data and proven social science insights to motivate people to save energy in their homes and buildings. MeterLeader allows users to easily create and participate in energy saving challenges that are integrated with real-time electricity and natural gas data (PG&E, SCE, and coming soon SDG&E).

Studio Bruno Moynié has over 20 years of practice in ethnographic film production, mastering a singular approach for onsite interactions with consumers to reveal behavioural and cultural truths that help drive product development and communications.

Scott Hoppe is a Geologist with a background in environmental reporting and remediation and the Founder and CEO of Sabreez. Sabreez reports systemwide energy generation data in a consumer-friendly format for utilities, telecoms, and smart home companies that wish to encourage load-shifting.

Microgrid Knowledge leads the way providing news on microgrids and distributed energy resources . Visit microgridknowledge.com to read original content about markets, policies, trends and technologies in this fast-growing energy arena.

At Verdant Brand Communications, we believe that the truth is transformative . We believe that the singular truth of a company or product should not require deception, modifications or exclusions - that if the company or product is of use to the world, its truth alone will set it apart. We accelerate companies in complex industries by combining curiosity-borne expertise with simple creative expression. And in doing so, we create positive outcomes for businesses and humanity alike.

Chris Granda is an internationally recognized expert on energy efficiency standards and labeling for consumer products. Grasteu Associates focuses on the assessment and implementation of new technologies and technology delivery techniques.

Cool Choices leverages game dynamics to inspire sustainable practices. They deliver verified reductions in greenhouse gas emissions alongside shifts in community norms. And they have fun doing it.

Gavin Dillingham conducts research for the Houston Advanced Research Center . He works to better understand the relationship between energy management and student performance in K-12.

Ingo Bensch is a nationally recognized researcher and founder of the Energy And Behavior Network. He is a passionate scholar of the human dimensions of sustainability. His work combines sound research methodology, dedication to quality, creativity, and passion for finding actionable insights.

The Goucher College M.A. in Cultural Sustainability brings together knowledge from cultural anthropology, public history, folklore, ethnomusicology, communications, leadership studies and management, museum education, community development, and activism to teach you to effect positive, community-driven change in the cultures you care about most!

National Profile
Leading experts in behavior change and energy efficiency


Please enjoy this short video concerning our EPIC project on consumer behavior and technology.

The Practice of Anthropology in the National Capital Region: Private Sector Applications. A Special NAPA/WAPA Collaboration, December 6, 2014. Chair: Susan Diane Mazur-Stommen, with presenters: Cathleen E. Crain, Elizabeth Schill, Elzbieta Godziak, and Carol J. Ellick, and Ben G. Blount

Stream Audio NAPA-2014-Private-Practice-DC
(Format:MP3, Duration:1h35m).

It is time to start thinking critically about culture when designing building systems.

The best research starts with Theory.

Design programs that take into account demographic reality.

Paying attention to local, specific conditions and on-the-ground social realities can boost behavior change success significantly.

What We Do

Research
Conduct original empirical investigations

We can conduct high-level, detailed proprietary research for you.
Contact us for a consultation.

Troubleshooting
Creative problem identification and solutions

We can improve any process. We even offer a money-back guarantee.
Contact us for details!

Program Concepts
Connecting key stakeholders

Jumpstart internal brainstorming or use us as an idea incubator.
Contact us to start planning.

Research Design
Develop your internal research plan

You have questions? We tell you how to get the answers. We can design a strategic plan for internal research.
Contact us to talk.

Technical Advising
Review surveys and research plans before you deploy

New product line or program offering? Research you are uncertain about?
Contact us for help, anytime.

Project Management
Tactical support for your strategic goals

Have a project but lack bandwidth? No problem, we can help you with turnkey project management.
Contact us.

Indicia Consulting has been conducting research since 2006.

Take a Look at
Some of Our Work

Documented success across a variety of sectors.

All
Ethnography
Buildings
Utilities
Heat Resilience
Emerging
Training

Take a Look at
Some of Our Press

Documented across a variety of outlets.

Get Connected
Follow Us

Get connected with us on social networks!

We Offer
Different Levels of Engagement

Pick a plan that best works for your needs.

In-Depth

Walkabout

  • On-site consultation & brainstorming
  • Direction - setting
  • All-day/Multi-day
  • Call for pricing

On-Going

Retainer

  • Just want a chunk of our time?
  • We are available on a retainer basis.
  • $10K

Custom

Projects

  • Lets work together on a specific project.
  • Contact us to get a proposal started.

info@indiciaconsulting.com

Get In Touch
Contact Us

We would like to hear from you.