Risk-Informed Development: Barriers and enabling factors in development cooperation in Georgia

Abstract

Risk-informed development aims to include complex risks into all levels and phases of decision-making. Going beyond the integration of climate change adaptation and disaster risk management, risk-informed development emerged after the 2015 global agreements (Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, Paris Agreement and the Sustainable Development Goals) and represents a rationale to consider multiple disaster and climate risks simultaneously in societal development. The concept, however, has gained little attention academically and there are few scientific publications contributing to the discourse. The purpose of this degree project is to contribute towards filling this knowledge gap in terms of risk-informed development. Specifically, barriers and enabling factors to integrate risk-informed development into development cooperation projects are appraised using the example of the health sector in Georgia. For this objective, a qualitative case study approach including explorative, semi-structured interviews with relevant key informants was chosen. The interviews revealed that the term risk-informed development is not yet well known and applied in the context of Georgia. Moreover, several barriers and enabling factors emerged that were clustered into six main categories with several subcategories: Terminology, Knowledge and Capacities, Coordination and Communication, Governance and Policies, Finance as well as Perception and Prioritisation. The factors are interlinked and point towards systemic issues preventing more risk-informed development efforts in Georgia. Therefore, a holistic and transformative approach to integrating risk-informed development is required that stretches across all spheres and levels of society

Popular Abstract

The 21st century is characterised by extraordinary challenges. Risk-informed development is one potential approach to tackling these, but knowledge and application of the framework remains limited. Moreover, various types of barriers and enablers to integrating risk-informed development in the Georgian health sector were found.

One of the major global challenges is human-made climate change which is expected to affect human life and well-being in various ways. For example, so-called extreme weather events like heavy rains, droughts and flooding will become more frequent, intense and prolonged. This poses a threat to development progress. However, development itself can lead to social, political, economic and environmental conditions that increase the vulnerability of society to these impacts. One solution approach to address these issues is risk-informed development, aiming to include these complex risks into decision-making. Here, the term “complex” refers to different types of risks that may happen simultaneously, amplifying each other and thus, causing unpredictable domino-effects.

The concept of Risk-informed development came up mostly since 2015. Its central idea is to consider more than one risk at the same time. For example, prolonged rainfall may lead to landslides, which in turn, are a threat to important roads, hospitals, etc. Taking this information into account for development planning means taking risk-informed decisions. As of now, however, this concept has gained little attention academically.

This degree project shows that there is no broadly accepted definition of risk-informed development. The term is neither well known nor used in the context of Georgia. Different barriers and enabling factors were found that influence the integration of risk-informed development. These were sorted into six main categories: Terminology, Knowledge and Capacities, Coordination and Communication, Governance and Policies, Finance as well as Perception and Prioritisation.
These factors are all interconnected. For example, without political prioritisation, financial resources are difficult to obtain from the government. However, without financial funding and without political support, the improvement of skills and knowledge of healthcare workers and the adjustment of legislation becomes unlikely to occur. Then again, poor communication between different stakeholders and coordinators can worsen the situation, among others by preventing lasting outcomes from development projects. Therefore, this degree project concludes that an integrative approach is needed. Specifically, all levels of society (i.e. from the local level to the national level), and all spheres of society (i.e. including science, the economy, politics, etc.) have to be included.

The highlighted findings represent a starting point for future research. This theses project provides an overview of how risk-informed development is understood in scientific publications and how practitioners frame it. Future research should include perspectives of economic and financial experts. Furthermore, best practices for the implementation of risk-informed development have yet to be developed.

• author: Falta, Christine
• supervisor: Mo Hamza
• organization: Division of Risk Management and Societal Safety
• course: VBRM15 20221
• year: 2022
• type: H2 - Master's Degree (Two Years)
• subject: Social Sciences
• keywords: Risk-informed development, Georgia, health sector, integration, climate change adaptation, disaster risk management, sustainable development, Sendai Framework for Disaster Risk Reduction, Paris Agreement, Sustainable Development Goals, resilience, risk information, risk management, development cooperation
• language: English
• id: 9100743
• date added to LUP: 2022-09-23 13:27:55
• date last changed: 2022-09-23 13:27:55