UNDP’s new flagship report, 'Development at Risk: Protecting Gains and Unleashing Opportunities Amid Crisis' is anchored in a simple but urgent proposition: complex, interconnected risks are now a defining feature of our era, and development pathways that fail to account for these risks are unlikely to succeed. While the pace and pattern of development progress have diverged significantly across contexts, no country is immune to the disruptive impacts of these transitions. In fact, the engines of progress – rapid urbanization, technological innovation, economic globalization – have become, in many cases, sources of risk themselves.

Development at Risk is not just a warning. It is a conversation starter and a call to action for decision-makers. It urges a fundamental rethinking of how we define development success, how governance systems must adapt, and how international cooperation can become more flexible, inclusive and risk-informed. Rather than accept paralysis or fragmentation as inevitable, the report identifies three powerful levers for change:

1. Rethink development outcomes – move beyond GDP to a broader conception of human development, resilience, and security;
2. Reimagine governance – invest in adaptive, participatory, and risk-aware systems that strengthen trust and social capital;
3. Reboot international cooperation – forge coalitions of the willing, strengthen anticipatory financing, and support innovation, even in contexts of fragility.

UNDP’s report offers concrete recommendations and showcases promising practices from around the world – from community-led risk solutions to the integration of foresight tools in national planning. It draws on UNDP’s extensive work in crisis contexts and its commitment to prevention, peace, and sustainable development.