What is Positive Deviance?
Positive Deviance 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.
News & Events
02.14.12
The film, "Mother: Caring for 7 Billion", will be screened at 6:30 PM on Valentine's Day, Tuesday February 14, in the Wasserman Cinematheque (Sachar International Center) at Brandeis University. Mother, the film, breaks a 40-year taboo by bringing to light an issue that silently fuels our most pressing environmental, humanitarian and social crises - population growth. In 2011 the world population reached 7 billion, a startling seven-fold increase since the first billion occurred 200 years ago. Click here to read more about the event and link to a trailer.
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01.08.12
Crain's New York Business
"Much of Richard Buery's nighttime reading helps him delve deeper into the issues he deals with as chief executive of the Children's Aid Society. He just finished The Power of Positive Deviance, by Richard Pascale, Jerry Sternin and Monique Sternin, which highlights innovative ways communities around the world are solving their problems without the help of outside experts." Click to read more.
The Positive Deviance Initiative (PDI) is affiliated with Tufts University Friedman School of Nutrition Science and Policy.
Multimedia Center
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