THE NETWORK <br/>FOR CHANGE

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Localisation

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Start Fund

Our aim is to deliver effective aid, harnessing the power and knowledge of the network to make faster and better decisions to help people affected by crises.

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News and blog articles from across the Start Network.

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START NETWORK LAUNCHES NEW CHARITY TO TRANSFORM THE GLOBAL HUMANITARIAN SECTOR

It's time for a new era of humanitarian aid!

Start Network has launched a new charity, which is aiming to catalyse a new era of humanitarian aid because its members believe that the global humanitarian system needs urgent reform to meet the challenges posed by today’s crises. Until now Start Network has been a consortium hosted by Save the Children UK, since it first was established in 2010. In that time, it has developed impactful programmes with a sophisticated and proven approach, and a compelling vision for the future of humanitarian response.

A new era of humanitarian action

Start Network is made up of more than 40 aid agencies across five continents, ranging from large international organisations to national NGOs. Together, our aim is to transform humanitarian action through innovation, fast funding, early action, and localisation.
We're tackling what we believe are the biggest systemic problems that the sector faces - problems including slow and reactive funding, centralised decision-making, and an aversion to change, means that people affected by crises around the world, do not receive the best help fast enough, and needless suffering results.
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Localisation

We believe that a more balanced international aid system, which shifts power to those closest to the front-line, will generate more effective and appropriate responses for people affected by crises.

New forms of financing

Our pooled funds enable fast and early action to tackle the kind of crises that are often overlooked by other funding mechanisms. Our risk financing pilots are introducing new ways of working that can save even more lives.

Collective innovation

New ways of working are needed to tackle the challenges we face. By innovating collectively we can share expertise, insights and perspectives to shape a more effective humanitarian system.

Latest

Blog Post

What could you not have done without the Start Fund?

Every Start Network member that receives funds through the Start Fund answers this question in the reporting template. The feedback is used to gauge the impact of the Start Fund. In 2018, half of the responses to this question mentioned either the timeliness of the Start Fund or its ability to fill a gap in an ongoing response effort.

14Aug19

News Article

Start Network joins Comprehensive Risk Management Technical Expert Group

Aparna Shrivastava from Mercy Corps will represent Start Network in the UN Climate Change Technical Expert Group on Comprehensive Risk Management

14Aug19

Blog Post

Start Fund's role

Each year the European Civil Protection and Humanitarian Aid Operations office (ECHO) releases the Forgotten Crisis Assessment (FCA) index, which uses four indicators to highlight humanitarian crises where the affected populations either do not receive enough international aid, or no aid at all.

12Aug19

Blog Post

Lab sustainability models

As well as the innovations, the labs themselves needed to think about sustaining and/or scaling. Most grant funded programmes stop when the grant stops, but not those who have prepared for financial sustainability from the outset.

09Aug19

Our vision

The future of humanitarian action

Start Network is working to create a system in which; responses to crises will be defined by those closest to them and based on humanitarian need; early and predictable funding will reduce the impact of crises and the cost of responses; a diverse group of organisations work together to adapt to the needs of people affected by crises. We believe this is only possible through a collective effort to change the system.
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An international network

Today the Start Network extends to 42 members and their 7000 partner organisations, employing more than a quarter million people across 200 countries and territories.
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