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A High-level Humanitarian Event on Anticipatory Action, convened by OCHA and the Governments of Germany and the UK, took place on 9 September 2021. This brought together leaders from across governments, international financial institutions, the United Nations (UN) and civil society, who delivered powerful statements on their commitments to act to ahead of crises. Here, Sarah Klassen, Ben Webster, Jânio Dambo, and LA Dimailig offer their personal reflections on what this event achieved – and what should happen next.

The Anticipatory Action Task Force (AATF) brings together the key agencies implementing anticipatory action on the ground. The AATF draws on a wealth of experience from implementing anticipatory action initiatives in over 60 countries. The mission of the AATF is to promote the use of anticipatory humanitarian action to risks1 . The taskforce also supports evidence-based policies that make anticipatory action possible.

Acting prior to a predictable hazard in order to safeguard lives and livelihoods, to reduce human suffering and losses and damages, is a faster, more efficient and more dignified response.

This document includes a summary of key anticipatory action policy asks developed by Start Network. This can be used by the Start Network team, Start Network members and partners. Messages will be updated regularly as new evidence emerges from our programmes.

The new Emergency Relief Coordinator (ERC), Martin Griffiths, has officially started his role as the Under-Secretary-General for Humanitarian Affairs, the most senior humanitarian role at the United Nations. He will be leading the policies and strategic decisions of the Office for the Coordination of Humanitarian Affairs (OCHA) which will have an impact across the humanitarian sector and the way the sector responds to crises.

In 2020, Start Network undertook a number of consultations with communities that were supported by its funding. This included a large household survey in Senegal evaluating the quality and impact of assistance in anticipation of drought through ARC Replica, as well as the perceptions of people assited in Pakistan, India and DRC as part of our due diligence pilot. Central to the planning of these evaluations was an intention to be as inclusive as possible by amplifying marginalised voices, and to ensure that the people interviewed were able to express themselves in their local language by hiring local consultants to conduct interviews.

Start Network ha desarrollado un marco de diligencia debida por niveles para permitir que la red incorpore más organizaciones locales como miembros, sin dejar de cumplir con los donantes y garantizando la confianza en toda la red. En marzo de 2020, se estableció un proyecto piloto para evaluar el impacto de la financiación directa de los miembros que habían cumplido con un nivel particular en el marco de diligencia debida escalonada. A través del piloto, estos miembros tuvieron acceso a un máximo de 30.000 libras esterlinas a través del Start Fund.

Start Network a développé un cadre de diligence raisonnable à plusieurs niveaux pour permettre au réseau d'accueillir davantage d'organisations locales en tant que membres, tout en respectant la conformité des donateurs et en assurant la confiance au sein du réseau. En mars 2020, un projet pilote a été mis en place pour évaluer l'impact du financement direct des membres qui avaient atteint un niveau particulier dans le cadre de diligence raisonnable. Dans le cadre de ce projet pilote, ces membres ont eu accès à un montant maximal de 30 000 £ via le Start Fund.

Start Network has developed a tiered due diligence framework to enable the network to bring in more local organisations as members, while still meeting donor compliance and ensuring trust across the network. In March 2020, a pilot was established to evaluate the impact of directly funding members that had met a particular tier in the tiered due diligence framework. Through the pilot these members were given access to up to £30,000 via the Start Fund.

We wanted to understand the value that Start Network membership has brought to new members, including the value of our due diligence process. Based on interviews conducted between November and December 2020, here are the three main ways that due diligence has benefitted our new members from their perspectives.