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Humanitarian actors play an important role in disaster response in Bangladesh. As such, their decisions and actions can have a profound effect on the daily lives of disaster affected people. However, the accountability framework being used by different humanitarian agencies are different and to some extent inadequate to hold humanitarian agencies accountable to the affected people in rapid response. Affected people lack an effective voice in the decision-making process of the humanitarian agencies. Hence, new tools and mechanisms are needed at the local and national level to make the humanitarian actors more accountable to affected people and communities.

Humanitarian actors play an important role in disaster response in Bangladesh. As such, their decisions and actions can have a profound effect on the daily lives of disaster affected people. However, the accountability framework being used by different humanitarian agencies are different and to some extent inadequate to hold humanitarian agencies accountable to the affected people in rapid response. Affected people lack an effective voice in the decision-making process of the humanitarian agencies. Hence, new tools and mechanisms are needed at the local and national level to make the humanitarian actors more accountable to affected people and communities.

This handbook details the procedures which govern the use and allocation of the Start Fund.

This new quarterly one-page brief summarises some of Start Network’s key learning from January to March of 2021. The brief talks through the key learning takeaways and provides links to more detailed reports. It focuses on Ways of working: how can we improve our evidence and learning? Programmes: what to consider when implementing programmes and What we want to learn more about. The brief is provided in English, Spanish and French. 

In August 2020, Bright Star Development Society Balochistan (BSDSB) was awarded £30,000 to respond to COVID-19 in Pakistan. In addition to reaching 500 vulnerable families with food and hygiene packages, they also invested in a behaviour messaging campaign that involved displaying banners and distributing posters, leaflets, and stickers amongst the communities and in key public locations.

HELP Foundation became a member of Start Network in June, and was recently awarded funds to respond to the COVID-19 crisis in their local area of Pakistan through the support of Avaaz and a private donor. In addition to awareness raising, HELP Foundation distributed food and hygiene packages to vulnerable families.

Here we talk with Sana Zulfiqar who told us about the continuation of the work of the DEPP and how it has led to new initiatives in Pakistan and the wider region. Sana has been able to push forward many of the Start Networks initiatives in localisation and “shifting the power”.

Here Saeed Ullah Khan shares some of his reflections on the achievements and challenges of Start Network’s Disasters and Emergencies Preparedness Programme (DEPP) in Pakistan, his observations on its continuing legacy and his suggestions on how these efforts could be further improved.

At Start Network we always aim to learn from experience. So, we have endeavoured to analyse the data and information from past Start Fund responses in order to present a set of lessons for COVID-19 projects.

The Start Fund has an established practice of providing management response to its external, independent evaluations. Developed through a participatory process, the management response helps to ensure that the evaluations are used, contributing to the Start Funds’ effectiveness, learning, and accountability.   Start Fund constituted an Evaluation Management Response Drafting Committee, comprising of: Three representatives from the Start Fund Strategic Committee: John Birchenough from Catholic international development charity, CAFOD; Jonathan Brooker from Solidarites International UK; and Saba Mahmood from Islamic Relief Worldwide and Start Funds, Head of Funds, Lucile Brethes Start Fund Manager, Lucretia Puentes Start Funds MEAL Manager, Chaitali Chattopadhyay     The drafting committee members carried out a wide-range consultation with the broader Start Fund committee members, Start Network Leadership Team and the Board members to develop a comprehensive management response to the evaluation. The document can be accessed here.  The progress against the management response will be presented to the Start Fund Strategic Committee on a regular basis to ensure compliance and accountability towards the committed actions.