The Start Network is seeking the views of aid agencies on a new form of membership being launched in order to shift greater power and resources to those closest to humanitarian crises.
The new membership model will help the Start Network decentralise, diversify, and enable many more organisations to help shape the future of the network.
The Start Network is aiming to create national and regional hubs, which will be collectives of organisations in individual countries or regions. These hubs will function like local versions of the current international Start Network. When fully set up, each hub would manage its own finances, membership and governance, while being able to access services provided by the global Start Network.
In this first phase the Start Network is prioritising the formation of hubs in countries where humanitarian aid work is undertaken - as defined by the DAC list of countries eligible for Official Development Assistance (ODA), by bringing together existing and prospective Start Network members.
Please see more details on our plan, including the benefits of the proposed hub membership system and who may be eligible to join (also available in French, Spanish, Arabic and Urdu).
To make this happen the Start Network is asking for both current and prospective members to express their interest in being part of a Start Network hub, by completing a simple survey by 30 April. Although the survey itself can only be taken in English, the questions are also available in in French, Spanish, Arabic, Urdu and Bangla. This is not itself an application for membership, but a necessary first step to help inform the development of the network. Survey respondents will be contacted as plans evolve, no later than September 2018.
Kat Reichel, Start Network’s Engagement & Design Senior Manager, said:
“The Start Network has proven that faster, collective and more efficient ways to help people in need are not only necessary, but possible. We now want to take this to scale, shifting more power and resources to those closest to humanitarian crises.
“We believe that this new type of hub membership will enable many different types of organisations to truly benefit from Start Network’s growing knowledge and expertise; to access potential new local and international funding; to make better decisions together; and to make change in the aid system a reality.”
If you have any questions about the process, you can register to join one of our upcoming Q&A webinar sessions, scheduled for the second and third weeks of April.