Development Professional, Leader and Thinker
Sustainable Development, Climate & Innovation in Europe and Central Asia
Development Professional, Leader and Thinker
Sustainable Development, Climate & Innovation in Europe and Central Asia
Welcome to My Space
Dr Rastislav Vrbensky - experienced development executive, advisor and lecturer, who has been leading large teams in best international organisations, including UN and UNDP. Knowledge, expertise and hands-on experience in sustainability, climate and innovation. Research and teaching in leading academic institutions.
PUBLICATIONS
Scaling up the impact of development interventions: Lessons from a review of UNDP country programs
Scaling up the impact of development interventions: Lessons from a review of UNDP country programs
Scaling up the impact of development interventions: Lessons from a review of UNDP country programs
This paper co-authored by Dr. Rastislav Vrbensky reports on a review of whether and how the programs and projects supported by the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in four countries (Bosnia and Herzegovina, Egypt, Moldova, and Tajikistan) apply a systematic approach to scaling up in pursuit of sustainability and the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The paper applies an operational framework consisting of six basic questions: (i) Is there a pathway to scale? (ii) What is the problem to be solved, the vision and target of scale? (iii) What ideas, innovations or models are to be scaled up? (iv) How can the enabling conditions (drivers and spaces) be put in place? (v) How about the sequencing of key steps? (vi) Does monitoring and evaluation support learning for scaling up? The paper concludes that many of UNDP’s programs and projects pursue pathways to scale, but that overall a more systematic operational approach along the lines suggested in this paper would be desirable.
Can development prevent conflict? Integrated area-based development in the Western Balkans
Scaling up the impact of development interventions: Lessons from a review of UNDP country programs
Scaling up the impact of development interventions: Lessons from a review of UNDP country programs
The increasingly active role of international organisations in conflict prevention and post-conflict reconstruction in recent years has been complemented by a continuous shift from humanitarian assistance to a more holistic and sustainable response to complex emergencies. Concentrating on a sub-national level, Dr. Vrbensky's article analyses the potential and practical results of the area-based development approach (ABD) in contributing to conflict prevention and linking reconstruction and development. Firstly, it analyses the theoretical and methodological underpinnings of the approach in light of current academic discourse on conflict and reconstruction. Secondly, it assesses the practical contribution of two ABD programmes in South and Southwest Serbia to conflict prevention and development. Based on these findings it summarises and discusses key strengths and limitations of the approach. It argues that although ABD is often effective in responding to complex conflict characteristics on sub-national levels, under its current conceptualisation, it suffers from a limited ability to respond to the full complexity of issues related to conflict and development on multiple levels. The contradiction in the terms ‘integrated’ and ‘area-based’ needs to be addressed both conceptually and in practical applications, and the article formulates recommendations for the improvement of the approach in this respect.
Can development prevent conflict?Theory, Practice and Policy Recommendations
Cherp A, Vrbensky R. Sustainability and transition: synergies, opportunities, threats.
Cherp A, Vrbensky R. Sustainability and transition: synergies, opportunities, threats.
Cherp A, Vrbensky R. Sustainability and transition: synergies, opportunities, threats.
Cherp A, Vrbensky R. Sustainability and transition: synergies, opportunities, threats.
Cherp A, Vrbensky R. Sustainability and transition: synergies, opportunities, threats.
Cherp A, Vrbensky R. Sustainability and transition: synergies, opportunities, threats. Development Policy Journal. 2002;1:19-48.