Positive Deviance (PD) is based on the observation that in every community there are certain individuals or groups whose uncommon behaviors and strategies enable them to find better solutions to problems than their peers, while having access to the same resources and facing similar or worse challenges.
The Positive Deviance approach is an asset-based, problem-solving, and community-driven approach that enables the community to discover these successful behaviors and strategies and develop a plan of action to promote their adoption by all concerned. Learn more →
35
years
65
countries
30,820,000+
lives impacted
The successful application of the PD approach has been documented in more than 41 countries in nutrition and a variety of other sectors from public health to education to business. If you would like to use the PD approach in your community or organization, please see the resources in How to Get Started →
The Stanford d.school’s K12 Lab is focused on obliterating opportunity gaps in K-12 education by helping schools apply a design thinking approach to messy, complex, systemic problems that impact their students. When former d.school fellow Marc Chun was introduced to positive deviance and discovered a process intuitive and ripe for application across under-resourced K-12 schools struggling with systemic problems. The Positive Deviance for Educators project was born.
In this project, the stories of domestic violence and abuse in Moldova and Serbia from Geronto housewives and the elderly, respectively are highlighted by researchers in Belgrade.
This publication highlights “approaches that work" in facilitating the integration of Roma minority into the majority population of Slovakia with examples from four different villages.
Watch how PD Israel uses the Positive Deviance approach and edutainment to address child abuse in Bedouin society.
Researchers use the Positive Deviance approach to try to find out which conditions and circumstances in life stories of young people from marginalized Roma communities (MRC) are supportive and lead to success in formal education.
The Grub Hub was a place where parents could go with their children after the school run, where they are all provided with a hot meal and can relax and socialise together. The Grub Hub emerged as a project following Positive Deviance training in 2014 in Cambridgeshire and ultimately provided invaluable support to local families.
Using the PD approach, the Family Center of an NGO in Hawaii decided to focus on the strengths, assets, and resourcefulness of the Native Micronesian families and launched the Sundays Project, turning the educational tide. As a result, Native Micronesian families are now deeply engaged in, and contributing to, their children’s academic success.
Watch the Romanian Red Cross share their success using positive deviance to find solutions to everyday problems in local schools.
VA Pittsburgh Healthcare System uses PD to expand the MRSA Prevention Program to achieve a 80% reduction in MRSA infection rates at 150+ Acute Care Medical Centers and Nursing Homes.
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