Anticipation & Risk Financing
Start Network supports agencies to analyse the risk of crises, and create a suite of timely, and reliable funding options, to disburse for different types of crises. This will enable NGOs to forecast crises, and access timely funding to reduce the impact of those disasters on communities.
Timely funding for predictable crises
Climate change, inequality, increased urban densities and the nature of today’s conflicts are generating humanitarian crises of increasing complexity and frequency. Despite improvements in our ability to predict the likelihood of disasters, the humanitarian system continues to react as though they are unexpected surprises, responding only after they occur, and then often slowly.
Anticipation & Risk Financing allows humanitarians to be better prepared in advance of humanitarian events by quantifying risks in advance of crises or disasters, pre-positioning funds, and releasing them according to pre-agreed protocols.
We are developing new funding instruments that enable humanitarians to mobilise collaboratively, predictably, to manage risks rather than react to crises. These mechanisms are based on:
- The use of science and data to model and quantify risks in advance in the areas in which we operate;
- Working together to pre-plan and pre-cost different crisis response activities needed to support communities;
- Pre-positioning funds according to pre-agreed protocols for release, so that when the conditions are met, funding is rapidly released.
Programmes
START FUND ANTICIPATION
Start Fund Anticipation enables NGOs to prepare when they see a crisis coming and respond early to mitigate the predicted impacts. It is the first NGO funding mechanism to be available for anticipatory interventions.
START READY
Start Ready is a new service that will provide pre-agreed funding at scale for predictable crises – using innovative risk analysis, collective planning and pre-positioned financing.
FORECAST BASED FINANCING: MADAGASCAR
Allowing Start Network members to model and predict drought, access funding, and act early in Madagascar.
FOREWARN
The Forecast-based, Warning, Analysis, and Response Network driving early action together.
ARC REPLICA PROGRAMME
African Risk Capacity (ARC) is an organisation mandated by the African Union to help African Union Member States proactively manage natural disaster risk.
DISASTER RISK FINANCING PAKISTAN
We are supporting civil society innovation in Pakistan by enabling frontline humanitarians to access early, predictable funds to protect communities from forecasted heatwaves, flood and drought.
How do we work
- Our anticipatory funding is disbursed through the Start Fund for small to medium crises, based on dynamic decision-making, meaning that NGOs can act early when they see crises coming.
- We are using financial tools such as insurance to leverage funding for NGOs, allowing them to protect against the risk of large-scale drought. This involves quantifying risks, planning humanitarian operations, and disbursing funding according to pre-agreed triggers, in a timely and predictable manner.
- We will be using the learning from these early action innovations to scale and layer a suite of disaster risk financing tools for different types of crises, to ensure that funding can quickly and efficiently be channelled to frontline humanitarian actors.
TRAINING AND DEVELOPMENT
The self-guided, self-paced course aims to build an understanding of crisis anticipation and the elements to consider when raising a crisis anticipation alert to the Start Fund.
DYNAMIC RISK MONITORS
Dynamic Risk Monitors are tools to monitor live hazard risk information from key local, national, and international data sources.
ADVOCACY AND PARTNERSHIPS
Start Network is part of the Risk-informed Early Action Partnership, has signed up to the Insuresilience Global Partnership, and also convenes FOREWARN.