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2020 was an eventful year, it was also Start Network's 10 year anniversary. Here we look back at 10 things Start Network did in its 10th year.

In July 2019, Start Network and the Government of Senegal each purchased an insurance policy against drought through African Risk Capacity Ltd. When the pre-agreed triggers were met in November 2019, a payout of US $12.5m was made to the Government of Senegal and another US $10.6m was paid to Start Network for early humanitarian action. Six Start Network members then worked alongside the Government of Senegal to deliver assistance throughout 2020 to Senegalese families ahead of a severe large-scale drought.

After more than three years, the Start Network’s Migration Emergency Response Fund (MERF) has closed. The fund was set up to address the unpredictable nature of the mixed migration context across the Mediterranean and rapidly respond to new or emerging needs. It also aimed to improve the effectiveness and understanding of migration responses and trends.

Melina joined the Start Network in 2016. Before this she had been working with the International Rescue Committee in Mali as their grants manager, and this is where she had her first experience with the Start Network through two initiatives. The first was a Start Fund Alert (Alert 36) in response to internal displacement and the second was Start Response Ebola Preparedness Programme. Both these introduced Melina to very different ways of working with rapid and collaborative decision-making processes and implementation in just 45 days. Soon after, she joined the Start Network as a Start Fund Programme Officer establishing the Start Fund Regional Advisor roles as well as leading on a growing number of alerts, before moving to the Migration Emergency Response Fund (MERF) in 2018 first as the Regional Coordinator based out of Tunis and then as the Programme Manager. She joined MERF as it started its second phase and here reflects on some of the learnings along the way.  

Start Network is pleased to announce that four new members have joined the network. The new members have joined as part of Start Network’s plans to build a more diverse network made up of organisations around the world with more local and national actors.

Start Fund Bangladesh, since its inception in 2017, has been advocating to change the deep-rooted partnership practices that hinder localisation commitments, one of which is the equal sharing of ICR. Although changes were not reflected initially, in 2019 a few Start Fund Bangladesh INGO members started negotiating with their head offices and became successful in ensuring a share of ICR went to their local partners. 

The events we have experienced in 2020 may catalyse the types of changes that the world has been demanding for many years. From localisation and decolonisation to action on the global climate emergency, to maximising technology and advocating for accountability. We asked our local and national members and our Hubs what predictions and calls to action they have for the sector for 2021.

Start Fund COVID-19, a funding mechanism created by Start Network, aims to provide anticipatory and rapid funding for local-level responses to the COVID-19 pandemic before larger funding instruments are available. Anticipation and early action to localised COVID-19 emergencies is critical to minimise the occurrence and impact of outbreaks in communities who are living in vulnerable contexts. By taking pre-emptive action and reducing the response time for emerging needs, the spread of the pandemic can be slowed, and its impact reduced – particularly in the poorest and most vulnerable places.

Start Network is working to provide more effective and efficient financing models for humanitarian aid. Specifically, to enable a predictable continuum of funding for when risks of different scale and severity start to materialise. This report, commissioned from the UK Government Actuary Department, provides technical advice around the funding of the Start Financing Facility (SFF). In particular, by providing a theoretical illustration of the financial implications of pooling a number of risks into a central risk pool. The paper investigates how the number, frequency and size of the risks will affect the demands on the central risk pool, and highlights options for the financial management of the pool.

In 2016 the Start Network launched Crisis Anticipation within the Start Fund. This short brief documents the 10 key lessons learned and recommendation from the first 3 years of Crisis Anticipation at the Start Network.