Peer-Driven

Change

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 and that we listen to, play a huge role in shaping our future. This is “Peer-driven Change,” or PDC. And unlike the stereotype, positive influencers exist in every community, even those economically poor. Those positive efforts act as role models of what can be accomplished by those facing obstacles. Recognizing and amplifying such embedded positive efforts by residents can “infect” entire communities, scaling change peer to peer.
PDC surfaces those positive influences in communities, then transfers the responsibility and resources to those participants to lead and help each other. Our demonstrations are leading to people self-organizing and to significant change that sustains because the residents share, grow, and own the solutions. PDC takes individual efforts and makes them community assets as people share and grow their collective strength. Impact thus becomes self-generating and sustaining.
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The Bridgespan Group has researched this area of work and coined this approach, this new field as ‘Peer-driven Change’. This naturally occurring system of social change is a blend of the following ingredients:

Mutual support/Mututality

Individuals/participants, informed by the experiences of pioneering peers who have succeeded at getting around barriers, help each other by sharing knowledge and resources

Self determination & initiative

Individuals/participants define & lead for themselves the improvements they seek in their lives & communities

Financial capital

Individuals/participants share funding from internal sources (such as savings groups), as well as from external sources, such as funders, nonprofits, and diaspora

A short Power Point presentation outlining the approach, its impact and plans:

Download Here

The role of nonprofits, NGOs, philanthropists, business, and government is to catalyze, promote, encourage, and directly resource such everyday efforts without disrupting the natural leadership in these communities.

A closer look reveals that the regulated handout of small cash awards being purported by “Trust Philanthropy” and “UBI” do not catalyze the scaling of change — just as giving the homeless person on the corner a dollar every Sunday will not likely change their life.  The greatest problem to getting PDC recognized are social stereotypes, not just financial exclusion.

Important links

Contact Us

  • [email protected]
  • Center for Peer Driven Change
    4096 Piedmont Avenue #215
    Oakland, California 94611

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