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We all intuitively know that our strongest influencers are family and friends — our social networks — whether we are rich or poor. The people that surround us play a huge role in shaping and sustaining our future. When a society recognizes the best in any community and supports its growth from within, positive social change grows, sustains, and spreads naturally We all intuitively know that our strongest influencers are family and friends — our social networks — whether we are rich or poor. The people that surround us play a huge role in shaping and sustaining our future. When a society recognizes the best in any community and supports its growth from within, positive social change grows, sustains, and spreads naturally.
We all intuitively know that our strongest influencers are family and friends -- our social networks -- whether we are rich or poor. The people that surround us play a huge role in shaping and sustaining our future. When a society recognizes the best in any community and supports its growth from within, positive social change grows, sustains, and spreads naturally. PDC first finds positive efforts and mutuality that already exists. It then highlights those positive efforts and facilitates participants to spread those efforts and help peers follow similar paths. With the Center for Peer-driven Change, we are creating an environment where the expectation is for people to share and help one another. Everyone benefits and so the successful efforts, steps, or paths spread from friend to friend, peer to peer, and community to community, globally.
PDC is actually more focused on how individual positive deviant efforts can be role models for the larger community. It is the interaction of self-determination with mutuality that makes PDC so powerful. The positive efforts of friends or peers facing your same barriers shows that something can be done and so others become inspired and take more action or similar
PDC is actually more focused on how individual positive deviant efforts can be role models for the larger community. It is the interaction of self-determination with mutuality that makes PDC so powerful. The positive efforts of friends or peers facing your same barriers shows that something can be done and so others become inspired and take more action or similar paths. Those role modeled efforts, when they happen within a community that shares and helps one another, can spread very quickly. This is backed by studies about positive deviance and diffusion of innovation theory (tipping point).
The Center for PDC is creating just such a community where the expectation is that we are all in it together and that if we share and help one another, all across the globe, we can more naturally impact the more than 6 billion people that struggle in and around poverty.
The role of professionally run programs in PDC is to provide this option to its existing client base. Most programs bring about some change and can make living in poverty more tolerable, but they rarely have the continued funding needed to stay with a community to see the longer term change. It is therefore imperative that the residents targeted have an option to continue the change process itself, for themselves and their community. Many of our current social service organizations are role modeling this
The role of professionally run programs in PDC is to provide this option to its existing client base. Most programs bring about some change and can make living in poverty more tolerable, but they rarely have the continued funding needed to stay with a community to see the longer term change. It is therefore imperative that the residents targeted have an option to continue the change process itself, for themselves and their community. Many of our current social service organizations are role modeling this new role. Within this new option the sponsoring agency becomes more of a ‘fulfillment’ agent, catalyzing the shift of power and responsibility for change to the residents and then facilitating those self-determined efforts to connect with others and access the resources those efforts need.
PDC requires professionals to step back and transition the leadership to the clients their programs serve. Generally when this approach is introduced, a number of the staff are skeptical and curious as to the long term role they can play. While true that professional staff plays a much smaller role in PDC, what it does is free staff to engage many, many more of the residents. Since there are 6 billion people struggling with poverty there will always be a role, even if not in leading the change. Yet this change in roles can be
PDC requires professionals to step back and transition the leadership to the clients their programs serve. Generally when this approach is introduced, a number of the staff are skeptical and curious as to the long term role they can play. While true that professional staff plays a much smaller role in PDC, what it does is free staff to engage many, many more of the residents. Since there are 6 billion people struggling with poverty there will always be a role, even if not in leading the change. Yet this change in roles can be extremely satisfying. “I didn’t realize that people had so many ideas of their own and were willing to help each other so much. It is really exciting!”
In PDC, program staff transfer the responsibility for success or failure to the participant. You have to know and trust that they can find their own way. Most program staff feel an obligation to provide advice or answers to clients. In PDC that is not allowed by staff. The role of the staff person if a client asks for help is what is called ‘positive inquiry’.
In PDC, program staff transfer the responsibility for success or failure to the participant. You have to know and trust that they can find their own way. Most program staff feel an obligation to provide advice or answers to clients. In PDC that is not allowed by staff. The role of the staff person if a client asks for help is what is called ‘positive inquiry’.
“What do you think is the best thing to do?”. Or “We had you enroll with a bunch of friends and we have connected you to others like you. More than likely someone has faced a similar problem. See if they can help you or get together with your friends and see if together you can find a solution. They know you and your situation better than I do and so their advice and support is going to be stronger than my advice.” This almost always works and their personal relationships become stronger.
Additionally PDC wants that capacity to teach and learn from one another to be embedded and stay within the community itself so the next step is to ask.. “And if you do come up with a solution, can I refer others to you that might face something similar?” People love being the expert and never complain about this responsibility. The purpose of PDC is to transfer responsibility and power to the people, … and it works.
If you are a large agency already providing services – training, counseling, housing, etc. – then it is necessary to set up a separate ‘division’ where the expectations of staff are to step back from providing services. The role is to facilitate and help spread the efforts of the everyday people your enroll. In agencies where staff is trained to help, much of the work is to retrain the staff to not disrupt any of the natural leadership that may arise in the community.
If you are a large agency already providing services – training, counseling, housing, etc. – then it is necessary to set up a separate ‘division’ where the expectations of staff are to step back from providing services. The role is to facilitate and help spread the efforts of the everyday people your enroll. In agencies where staff is trained to help, much of the work is to retrain the staff to not disrupt any of the natural leadership that may arise in the community.
If you are very small, grassroots or just a village or self-organized group it will be easy. In either case all that will initially be necessary is to identify a ‘liaison’, usually a part-time position, who is responsible to facilitate the story/data gathering process, verify the data if needed, transfer funds to participants if they earn it or get a donation through this project, facilitate networking, and provide 0access to our online platform, the Mutuality Platform.
Costs vary depending on the size of the demonstration and length of time to catalyze the process, etc. Current demonstrations have budgets ranging from $3 million over 3 years to just $50,000 for fewer initial participants over 2 years in a low cost region. We are exploring a model that focuses less on economic growth and more on the peer or community building aspect that will require even less funding and can scale mutual support quickly. Your primary consultants will be staff and families from peer organizations or communities already involved. After you start you will be expected to then help others as well.
Costs vary depending on the size of the demonstration and length of time to catalyze the process, etc. Current demonstrations have budgets ranging from $3 million over 3 years to just $50,000 for fewer initial participants over 2 years in a low cost region. We are exploring a model that focuses less on economic growth and more on the peer or community building aspect that will require even less funding and can scale mutual support quickly. Your primary consultants will be staff and families from peer organizations or communities already involved. After you start you will be expected to then help others as well.
Those families show progress in just a few months, we recommend pilot projects to go for a minimum of 2 years. Staff is minimal, likely just some part-time staff since the participants do most of the work. In reducing the staffing needed, PDC seeks to have funds normally spent on staff to be made available to the participants as a match to the efforts and funds they provide in moving their agendas forward.
Lastly, those that get accepted to join this collaborative will get access to our online Mutuality Platform and the use costs will vary depending on the re-programing needed to incorporate them as a sister-site or the group’s ability to pay.
Workshops will be held for those who are interested and want to apply to become a sister-organization. More information is available on the DIY section of this site.
Most current legislation and policy that helps low-income families is based on families showing ‘need’. Those in more privileged social networks or that already have money are provided incentives, breaks and investments based on the potential merit of the projects or businesses they propose. We need as much recognition and funding to be directed at low-income families based on their efforts and proposed impact, much as grants vary for the ideas coming from programs and social innovators. Small cash transfers because people are poor, such as UBI will not work or level the playing field. The residents themselves have big ideas and investing in them as we invest in programs now will create even more self-help collective efforts and innovations that come from and are led by the people we think are charity cases.
Most current legislation and policy that helps low-income families is based on families showing ‘need’. Those in more privileged social networks or that already have money are provided incentives, breaks and investments based on the potential merit of the projects or businesses they propose. We need as much recognition and funding to be directed at low-income families based on their efforts and proposed impact, much as grants vary for the ideas coming from programs and social innovators. Small cash transfers because people are poor, such as UBI will not work or level the playing field. The residents themselves have big ideas and investing in them as we invest in programs now will create even more self-help collective efforts and innovations that come from and are led by the people we think are charity cases.
Most research and programs to date surface the weaknesses in low-income communities. We need research about the strengths and sense of mutuality that keeps 80% of the world’s population alive. People survive because of their own efforts. Programs, aid, government and corporations do not reach most of these 6 billion people. They survive selling on the street and helping one another, counter to the stereotype. They have ideas and they can lead their own change. We need the research and data about that resourcefulness and talent to flip the stereotype that these populations are ‘takers’ from society. Funders and policy makers should minimally want to explore this option, peer-driven change.
Most research and programs to date surface the weaknesses in low-income communities. We need research about the strengths and sense of mutuality that keeps 80% of the world’s population alive. People survive because of their own efforts. Programs, aid, government and corporations do not reach most of these 6 billion people. They survive selling on the street and helping one another, counter to the stereotype. They have ideas and they can lead their own change. We need the research and data about that resourcefulness and talent to flip the stereotype that these populations are ‘takers’ from society. Funders and policy makers should minimally want to explore this option, peer-driven change.
Most current legislation and policy that helps low-income families is based on families showing ‘need’. Those in more privileged social networks or that already have money are provided incentives, breaks and investments based on the potential merit of the projects or businesses they propose. We need as much recognition and funding to be directed at low-income families based on their efforts and proposed impact, much as grants vary for the ideas coming from programs and social innovators. subquestion5.1 ans is here
Most current legislation and policy that helps low-income families is based on families showing ‘need’. Those in more privileged social networks or that already have money are provided incentives, breaks and investments based on the potential merit of the projects or businesses they propose. We need as much recognition and funding to be directed at low-income families based on their efforts and proposed impact, much as grants vary for the ideas coming from programs and social innovators. subquestion5.1 ans is here
Most current legislation and policy that helps low-income families is based on families showing ‘need’. Those in more privileged social networks or that already have money are provided incentives, breaks and investments based on the potential merit of the projects or businesses they propose. We need as much recognition and funding to be directed at low-income families based on their efforts and proposed impact, much as grants vary for the ideas coming from programs and social innovators. subquestion5.2 ans is here
Most current legislation and policy that helps low-income families is based on families showing ‘need’. Those in more privileged social networks or that already have money are provided incentives, breaks and investments based on the potential merit of the projects or businesses they propose. We need as much recognition and funding to be directed at low-income families based on their efforts and proposed impact, much as grants vary for the ideas coming from programs and social innovators. subquestion5.2 ans is here