Start Fund Crisis Anticipation Window Annual Report 2017

The Start Fund opened its Crisis Anticipation Window in November 2016. In this report we set out the changes we have made so far, identify what we’ve learned during its first year and explain the plan to normalise and embed anticipation across the Start Network.

Through the Crisis Anticipation Window, the Start Fund is now the first global early action fund. The systems and processes we are building enable our members to act before a crisis turns into a disaster.

These improvements to the Start Fund have been made possible by the European Union, who are supporting us to develop our crisis anticipation capacity. Anticipation alerts continue to be funded through the pooled Start Fund mechanism, meaning that all Start Fund donors contribute to the implementation of early action through the Start Fund.

There is increasing evidence that acting early is more effective, in terms not only of costs saved but also of lives saved. Our aim is that the systematic use of forecasts and hazard modelling, along with a rules-based decision-making system, will trigger earlier action. We believe that this will help to reduce the overall cost of humanitarian assistance.

There will always be a need to respond to crises that are difficult or impossible to foresee, such as earthquakes or epidemic outbreaks. However, we intend to move towards triggering funds automatically whenever we are sufficiently confident in our predictions.