Anticipation conference — Talking about anticipatory action © Start Network

FOREWARN

The Forecast-based, Warning, Analysis, and Response Network drives early action together. FOREWARN aims to quickly bring together the right people to predict disasters and support humanitarians closest to an anticipated crisis. FOREWARN also advocates for Early Action to become the norm.

ABOUT FOREWARN

The Forecast-based Warning, Analysis and Response Network

Predicting a disaster, and taking action to save lives before it happens is not easy. Quickly bringing together the right people, with the skills to make these decisions, makes it possible.

FOREWARN is a community that provides this support to humanitarians on the ground, and also advocates for early action to become the norm.

In 2016, the Start Fund officially began its anticipation work. This allows Start Network members and their partners to quickly access funding and run projects that save lives – before a disaster strikes.

Acting before a crisis happens can be uncertain. Robust forecasts and risk analysis are required to plan sound anticipatory projects and this requires the expertise and advice of actors who do not traditionally work with humanitarians.

FOREWARN brings together a multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder network of aid professionals, academics, scientists, and risk experts.

Start Network hosts two FOREWARN projects: Global FOREWARN and National FOREWARN.

National FOREWARN programmes have been established in Bangladesh, DRC, Madagascar, Pakistan and The Philippines. As part of Start Network’s localisation ambitions, these National Programmes bring together a FOREWARN network in each country, organised in the best way for each local context.

GLOBAL FOREWARN

Global FOREWARN is a network of humanitarians, aid professionals, academics and risk experts who support Early Action by:

Meeting quarterly to discuss challenges and solutions around Early Action work.
Connecting with others, sharing expertise and collaborating on Early Action projects.
Joining hazard-specific sub-groups to share expertise on a global or national level.

NATIONAL FOREWARN

The FOREWARN strategy is closely linked with Start Networks locally led action agenda. When the Start Fund’s anticipation work officially began in 2016, we knew that early action initiatives should be driven by those closest to the crisis and that the FOREWARN input into Start Fund decision-making should be as local as possible. For this reason, we began 3 pilot ‘National FOREWARN’ programmes in 2019, these are in Madagascar, the Philippines and Bangladesh; we plan to start at least two more this year.

The National FOREWARN projects, similarly to the global FOREWARN community, include a multi-disciplinary, multi-stakeholder network of aid professionals, humanitarians, academics and risk experts, but they are organised to support early action in the way that most makes sense in the local context.

FOREWARN meetings

Watch all FOREWARN meeting recordings here

HOW TO GET INVOLVED

Anyone with an interest in early action can join our FOREWARN community group.

If you are a technical expert, you can join one of our hazard-specific thematic groups and support anticipatory action on the ground.

If you have national or regional level expertise, you can connect with our national-level programmes.

If you would like to join FOREWARN contact us!

forewarn@startprogrammes.org