1 P o w e r The P o w e r of Positive Deviance Solutions before our very eyes The Premise: In every community there are certain individuals whose uncommon practices/behaviors enable them to find better solutions to problems than their neighbors who have access to the same resources

2 Positive Deviance (PD) Approach What enables some members of the community (the “Positive Deviants”) to find better solutions to pervasive problems than their neighbors who have access to the same resources? Identifying Solutions to Community Problems Within the Community Today The Key Question?

3 The Positive Deviance Inquiry The PD Inquiry is the tool that enables the community to discover the uncommon PD behaviors/strategies The community must discover what the PDs are doing that is different from their neighbors

4 PD Inquiry norms Establishes community behavioral norms related to the problem to be addressed uncommon behaviors/ strategies Uncovers successful uncommon behaviors/ strategies practiced by the Positive Deviants

5 Analyzing PD Findings PDI findings are passed through a conceptual “accessibility sieve” Only those behaviors/strategies accessible to all are kept The rest are “TBU,” True but Useless (i.e. not accessible to all) and are discarded PD Behaviors strategies practices Accessible to All

6 Focus on PD Behavior We can’t (yet) clone people But we can adopt their successful behaviors/strategies

7 PD Focus on Practice Rather than Knowledge ACT “It’s easier to ACT your way into a new way of THINKING, than to THINK your way into a new way of ACTING”

8 PD Enables us to Act TODAY The presence of Positive Deviants demonstrates that it is possible to find successful solutions TODAY before all the underlying causes are addressed! Although most problems have complex, interlinked underlying causes...

9 PD Inquiry is an “Ends” as well as “Means” and MUST be repeated in each Community To discover successful, replicable PD behaviors MEANS ENDS To empower community to discover and “own” their own solution, based on their own resources

The Six D s of Positive Deviance Approach D D D D D

11 Define Define the problem, its perceived causes and related current practices (situation analysis) Define what a successful solution/outcome would look like (described as a behavioral or status outcome) Stakeholders community

12 Determine Determine if there are any individuals/entities in community who ALREADY exhibit desired behavior or status (PD identification)

13 Discover Discover uncommon practices/behaviors enabling the PDs to outperform/find better solutions to the problem than others in their “community”

14 esign Design and implement activities enabling others in “community” to access and PRACTICE new behaviors (focus on “doing” rather than transfer of knowledge) D

15 Discern Discerns the effectiveness of activities or project through ongoing monitoring and evaluation community

16 Disseminate Disseminate successful process to appropriate “other” (scaling up) Disseminate

17 Define Define the problem: Children from poor families are malnourished Commercial sex workers (CSWs) are unable to get clients to use condoms Define successful solution/outcome (behavior or status): Children from poor families are well nourished Commercial sex workers are able to get clients to always use condoms

18 Determine if there are any individuals who already exhibit desired behavior (Identify PDs) : There are some children from poor families who are well nourished Some commercial sex workers are always able to negotiate condom use Determine

19 Discover PDs successful practices/strategies : PD families using active feeding and feeding children uncommon but nutritious foods, and feeding more frequently Commercial sex workers carry their own condoms, possess special negotiating strategies, including taking onus off client and relating risk to own status Discover

20 Design intervention enabling others to practice new behaviors : Create a Nutrition Program to which parents of malnourished children bring daily contributions of uncommon PD foods, practice active feeding Enlist willing commercial sex workers as peer educators, sharing and role playing successful condom use strategies with other CSWs esign D

21 Discern Discern effectiveness of intervention ( M/E ): Measure change in nutritional status of children in program and spillover effect on all children in community over time Measure CSW’s reported increase in exclusive condom use

22 Disseminate Disseminate to Appropriate Others: Create a “Living University” (Social Laboratory) where others wishing to replicate the program come for hands-on participation in successful ongoing programs Create a “Living University” (Social Laboratory) where others wishing to replicate the program come for hands-on participation in successful ongoing programs

Positive Deviance Determine Discover Design Discern Disseminate Define

24 Illustrative Uses Of Positive Deviance