Positive Deviance Approach

Excerpts from "Basic Guide to the Positive Deviance (PD) Approach":

The positive deviance approach differs from traditional "needs based" or problem-solving approaches in that it does not focus primarily on identification of needs and the external inputs necessary to meet those needs or solve problems. Instead it seeks to identify and optimise existing successful solutions or strategies within the community or organisation to solve problems that require behaviour and social change. Positive Deviance is based on the observation that in every community or organisation, there are a few individuals or groups who have overcome or prevented a pervading problem while using the same resources as their peers.

Guiding Principles of Positive Deviance Approach

• Community discovers existing, uncommon, successful behaviours and strategies and unleashes great ideas.
• Community creates plans to amplify successful practices and act on ideas.
• Community recognises that "someone just like me" can do and get better results especially in the worst case scenarios (social proof).
• Emphasis is on transferring behaviour instead of knowledge. "Act your way into a new way of thinking instead of thinking your way into a new way of acting."
• Community owns the entire process.
• "Everyone" is involved - Go to uncommon places and to "unlikely suspects to find solutions." "Don't do anything about me without me."
• Community creates its own (actionable) performance indicators and monitors progress.

Positive Deviance Design or Methodology

The positive deviance design is made up of four steps:

1. Define the problem and desired outcome
2. Determine the presence of positive deviance individuals or groups
3. Discover uncommon but successful behaviours and strategies through a positive deviance inquiry
4. Design activities that allow other community members to practice these identified behaviours or strategies.

These steps serve as an iterative roadmap to apply the positive deviance approach.