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