The focus of Theory in Practice is to highlight important learning processes – our successes and our failures in putting good ideas into practice. Since our launch in January 2014, we’ve brought you a number of very important essays which highlight gaps in our planning and implementation processes – and constructive suggestions on how we can correct or amend these processes in the future to account for issues which have slipped our notice or fallen through the cracks in the past.

It would be remiss of us if we did not follow-up on some of the critical issues raised in our essays. Thus, we aim to supplement the ideas and suggestions put forward in our essays with knowledge and advocacy initiatives to help raise awareness about how we can do better as development practitioners, and provide a space where our readers can contribute ideas or resources to facilitate learning and idea generation.

Pacific Risk Management and Resilience

(Launched 20 July 2014)

‘Pacific Risk Management and Resilience’ is an advocacy initiative which aims to draw attention to the importance of Pacific networks and knowledge management in order to capitalize on the global development discussions on the Sustainable Development Goals, the conclusion of the Millennium Development Goals, and general development effectiveness initiatives.

A primary concern for the Pacific in the run up to the implementation of the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) beginning in 2016 is that the Pacific is by and large excluded from global discussions and analysis because its priorities and concerns are very often amalgamated through Asia-Pacific regional representation, or through Least Developed Country (LDC) representation. In both cases, Pacific concerns and priorities are marginalized due to its proportionately nominal population size, despite the fact that its concerns and priorities related to facing global risks and building community resilience are disproportionate and are at a critical stage.

We’ll be posting links to interesting articles and analyses on risks and resilience in the Pacific, with a focus on climate change, poverty reduction and urbanization. We will also work to advocate for the Pacific to be categorized as a stand-alone region in on-going development discussions, data collection and analysis, global partnership and aid effectiveness agendas.

Follow us on our Facebook page: www.facebook.com/PacificRiskMgmt

Crisis Recovery for a Resilient and Sustainable Future

(launched 1 June 2015)

Crisis Recovery for a Resilient and Sustainable Future aims to provide a real-time platform for crisis recovery practitioners – and affected communities – to document the lessons that are being learned as they are being learned – not through evaluation processes two to three years after a crisis has occurred. We need to ensure that recovery processes work for a sustainable and resilient future for the affected communities from Day 1. Given the increased frequency of disasters – and increasing prevalence of conflict – we need to learn more, learn faster and use that knowledge today.