A national Start Fund
Start Fund Bangladesh
Start Network is working towards a decentralised model of national and regional hubs. Hubs will manage their own funds and local and national NGOs will have direct access to funds. The first pilot of this way of working is the Start Fund Bangladesh, which over the course of four years aims to put more support and funding in the hands of national and local responders.
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About Start Fund Bangladesh
The Start Fund Bangladesh is a £10 million rapid emergency response fund created by the Start Network in 2017 with support from UK aid from the British people. Modelled on the successful Start Fund that activates funding within 72 hours of a crisis alert, filling a crucial gap in global aid funding. The fund is accessible to both national and international member NGOs operating in Bangladesh to respond early to under the radar emergencies.
The Start Fund Bangladesh mechanism aims to evolve and extend to bring it yet closer to a national context. While retaining the core principles informing the Fund’s ethos and design, the Start Network can transform how NGO emergency response in Bangladesh is reliably financed in the first hours and days of a crisis.
As of September 2018, Start Fund Bangladesh has been among the first responders to address seven small/medium emergencies, reaching around 0.2 million people with cash, hygiene materials, hygiene promotion and other supports through awarding more than £2.16 million to 14 of its member agencies and their partners.
See all the of the alerts raised to the Start Fund Bangladesh below.
THE PURPOSE OF START FUND BANGLADESH
- The Fund will establish a nationally managed pooled funding mechanism that supports local actors or agencies, best placed to deliver needs-based, timely and effective humanitarian response, adhering to humanitarian principles.
- The Fund will strive to install a collective ownership of local actors over the Fund management while expanding the number of local actors and agencies and their participation in strategic decisions about humanitarian programmes and their direct access to funds for humanitarian response.
- The Fund will facilitate a learning environment that understands and respects the respective strengths and weaknesses of its member agencies; and inspires their collaborative advantages. It will harness better systems for equitable communication among diverse actors and promote collective accountability through standardization of processes, indicators and reporting throughout the network.
- The Fund will strategically engage with the Government and other relevant stakeholders to mobilise diverse resources and leverage the Government’s efforts for timely and effective humanitarian response while maintaining its independence to act as the voice of civil society.
- The Fund, through its research, learning and advocacy, will strive to establish itself as an effective alternative for receiving humanitarian funding from diverse donors, while keeping in view the sustainability and scalability of the mechanism in a changing humanitarian landscape.
Start Fund Bangladesh is supported by the UK's Department for Internation Development.
What is the Start Fund Bangladesh?
Click for a short presentation that outlines what the Start Fund is and what its ambitions are.
Bangladesh Localisation Review
The Start Fund Bangladesh commissioned this external review to establish a baseline on the state of localisation in the Start Fund and humanitarian sector in Bangladesh.
Alerts to the Start Fund Bangladesh
Alerts will show here after an allocation decision has been made. Members, donors and partners must login above to see new alerts. Please note, alerts to the Global Start Fund alerts are available here or on the download button below.
Alert |
Alert date![]() |
Country | Crisis type | Alert type | Status of alert | Amount Awarded | Agencies Funded | |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
012 BANGLADESH (FLOODING) | 26 Aug 2014 - 12:42 | Bangladesh | Flooding | Rapid onset | Completed | £200,000 | Care International, Christian Aid, Islamic Relief, Oxfam | Read more |
090 BANGLADESH (CYCLONE) | 22 May 2016 - 20:07 | Bangladesh | Cyclone | Rapid onset | Completed | £496,512 | Action Against Hunger (ACF), Christian Aid, Save the Children | Read more |
100 BANGLADESH (FLOODING) | 1 Aug 2016 - 15:15 | Bangladesh | Flooding | Slow onset | Completed | £509,933 | Action Against Hunger (ACF), Care International, Caritas Bangladesh, Christian Aid, Muslim Aid, Save the Children | Read more |
138 BANGLADESH (REFUGEES) | 17 Jan 2017 - 17:52 | Bangladesh | Conflict/Civil Unrest | Slow onset | Completed | £300,000 | Solidarites International | Read more |
B001 Bangladesh (Cyclone) | 31 May 2017 - 10:50 | Bangladesh | Cyclone | Rapid onset | Completed | £395,107 | Action Against Hunger (ACF), Caritas Bangladesh, Concern Worldwide, Save the Children | Read more |
B002 Bangladesh (Landslides) | 20 Jun 2017 - 11:30 | Bangladesh | Landslide | Rapid onset | Completed | £194,476 | ActionAid, World Vision | Read more |
B003 Bangladesh (Flooding - North) | 16 Aug 2017 - 13:00 | Bangladesh | Flooding | Slow onset | Reporting | £660,000 | ActionAid, Care International, Concern Worldwide, Plan International, Relief International, Save the Children | Read more |
B004 Bangladesh (Influx of refugees) | 24 Sep 2017 - 10:00 | Bangladesh | Conflict/Civil Unrest | Rapid onset | Not allocated | Read more | ||
B005 Bangladesh (Fire incident ) | 16 Mar 2018 - 19:30 | Bangladesh | Other | Rapid onset | Reporting | £161,760 | Caritas Bangladesh, Christian Aid, Muslim Aid | Read more |
B006 Bangladesh (Floods) | 19 Jun 2018 - 16:30 | Bangladesh | Flooding | Slow onset | Reporting | £386,847 | Caritas Bangladesh, Muslim Aid, Save the Children | Read more |
B007 Bangladesh (Waterlogging) | 8 Jul 2018 - 14:00 | Bangladesh | Other | Rapid onset | Reporting | £60,000 | ActionAid | Read more |
B008 Bangladesh (River Bank Erosion) | 16 Sep 2018 - 15:30 | Bangladesh | Other | Slow onset | Reporting | £297,197 | Christian Aid | Read more |
B009 Bangladesh (Fire incident) | 2 Mar 2019 - 16:00 | Bangladesh | Other | Rapid onset | Reporting | £55,710 | Concern Worldwide | Read more |
B010 Bangladesh (Nor'wester) | 3 Mar 2019 - 16:30 | Bangladesh | Storm | Rapid onset | Reporting | £72,026 | Plan International | Read more |
B011 Bangladesh (Cyclone Fani) | 7 May 2019 - 13:00 | Bangladesh | Cyclone | Rapid onset | Not allocated | Read more | ||
B012 Bangladesh (Anticipation of livelihood insecurity due to fishing ban) | 25 Jun 2019 - 17:00 | Bangladesh | Other | Anticipatory | Reporting | £50,000 | Action Against Hunger (ACF) | Read more |
B013 Bangladesh (Flooding North) | 16 Jul 2019 - 18:30 | Bangladesh | Flooding | Slow onset | Reporting | £599,991 | Care International, Christian Aid, Concern Worldwide, Islamic Relief | Read more |
B014 Bangladesh (Flooding Bandarbans) | 16 Jul 2019 - 19:30 | Bangladesh | Flooding | Slow onset | Reporting | £250,000 | Caritas Bangladesh, World Vision | Read more |
B015 Bangladesh (Flooding - Sirajganj and Bogura) | 23 Jul 2019 - 18:00 | Bangladesh | Flooding | Slow onset | Reporting | £150,000 | Action Against Hunger (ACF) | Read more |
B016 Bangladesh (Fire Incident) | 19 Aug 2019 - 19:00 | Bangladesh | Fire | Rapid onset | Reporting | £102,625 | Caritas Bangladesh | Read more |
B017 Bangladesh (Flooding and River Erosion) | 13 Oct 2019 - 18:00 | Bangladesh | Flooding | Slow onset | Not allocated | Read more | ||
B018 Bangladesh (Riverbank Erosion-Chandpur) | 27 Oct 2019 - 16:30 | Bangladesh | Other | Rapid onset | Reporting | £39,495 | ActionAid | Read more |
B019 Bangladesh (Cyclone Bulbul) | 11 Nov 2019 - 15:00 | Bangladesh | Cyclone | Rapid onset | Reporting | £248,624 | Caritas Bangladesh | Read more |
B020 Bangladesh(Fire Response -Mirpur) | 28 Jan 2020 - 19:00 | Bangladesh | Fire | Rapid onset | Reporting | Read more | ||
B021 Bangladesh (Fire Incidents in Chattogram Slums) | 5 Feb 2020 - 18:00 | Bangladesh | Fire | Rapid onset | Reporting | Caritas Bangladesh | Read more | |
B022 Bangladesh (Fire Incident-Banani T and T Slum) | 9 Feb 2020 - 19:00 | Bangladesh | Fire | Rapid onset | Implementation | Read more | ||
B023 Bangladesh (Fire incident at Rupnagar-Shialbari Slum, Dhaka) | 13 Mar 2020 - 19:30 | Bangladesh | Fire | Rapid onset | Not allocated | Read more | ||
B024 Bangladesh (COVID19 Response) | 27 Mar 2020 - 02:00 | Bangladesh | Disease Outbreak | Rapid onset | Implementation | Read more | ||
B025 Bangladesh (COVID19 Response and Sajek Miseal Outbreak) | 30 Mar 2020 - 19:00 | Bangladesh | Disease Outbreak | Slow onset | Implementation | Read more | ||
B026 Bangladesh(COVID-19 Response) | 30 Mar 2020 - 20:00 | Bangladesh | Disease Outbreak | Rapid onset | Implementation | Read more | ||
B027 Bangladesh (Anticipation of Dengue ) | 26 Apr 2020 - 21:00 | Bangladesh | Other | Anticipatory | Implementation | Read more | ||
B028 Bangladesh( COVID 19 Response in Bhola and Cox's Bazar) | 10 May 2020 - 14:00 | Bangladesh | Disease Outbreak | Rapid onset | Not allocated | Read more | ||
B030 Bangladesh(Measles outbreak in Rangamati) | 22 May 2020 - 14:00 | Bangladesh | Disease Outbreak | Slow onset | Implementation | Read more | ||
B029 Bangladesh(Cyclone Amphan) | 22 May 2020 - 15:00 | Bangladesh | Cyclone | Rapid onset | Implementation | Concern Worldwide, Islamic Relief, Solidarites International | Read more | |
B031 Bangladesh (River Bank Erosion- Kurigram Rowmari and Char Rajibpur) | 20 Jun 2020 - 15:30 | Bangladesh | Flooding | Anticipatory | Implementation | Care International | Read more | |
B032 Bangladesh (Flooding in north) | 8 Jul 2020 - 17:30 | Bangladesh | Flooding | Slow onset | Implementation | Islamic Relief, World Vision | Read more | |
B033 Bangladesh (Flooding in Sylhet and Sunamganj) | 13 Jul 2020 - 11:00 | Bangladesh | Flooding | Rapid onset | Implementation | Save the Children | Read more | |
B034 Bangladesh ( Second Wave Flooding) | 5 Aug 2020 - 17:00 | Bangladesh | Flooding | Slow onset | Implementation | Caritas Bangladesh | Read more | |
B035 Bangladesh (Waterlogging) | 19 Sep 2020 - 22:00 | Bangladesh | Other | Implementation | Read more |
Latest news and resources
Blog Post
Sharing of Indirect Cost Recovery as a commitment to localisation
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.
15Dec20
Resource
LEARN about Start Fund Bangladesh
Start Network’s first virtual Assembly meeting took take place from Monday 12 to Thursday 15 October 2020, alongside our 10-year anniversary celebrations. Watch the recording of the session on Start Fund Bangladesh and access all the learning materials below.
03Nov20
Blog Post
Start Fund Bangladesh: COVID-19 Chapter
Using local membership strength of a pooled funding mechanism to extend humanitarian support during a pandemic.
23Jul20
Blog Post
COVID-19 Resilient Village in Bangladesh
Shonnasgacha is a small village of Keshobpur Upazila of Jashore district where 210 families live in a 1.5 sq. km area. While the country was waking up to the COVID-19 threat in the early stages of the lockdown, the locals of Shonnasgacha village took measures to protect themselves.
08Jun20
Blog Post
How FOREWARN's prediction on dengue fever enabled Start Fund Bangladesh members to act early
On 28th March 2020, Start Fund Bangladesh, the national fund for the Start Network, activated its first alert in response to predictions made by the national Forecast-based Warning, Analysis and Response Network (FOREWARN).
03Jun20
Resource
Using Standing Operating Procedures (SOP) for Humanitarian Responses During a Pandemic
Start Fund Bangladesh developed standing operating procedures (SOP) after taking stock of current happenings and in-depth discussion with donors and humanitarian leaders. The SOP targeted safety measures at multiple levels to ensure the ultimate prevention of transmission at the community level. Some of these included: Tracking physical health of staff and volunteers throughout the project period; In addition, all personnel involved in the project needed access to personal protective gear (masks and sanitizers) Adopting new practices at the organisational level: providing accommodation facilities to staff and volunteers if needed; giving compensatory allowances to those working in direct response; increasing organisational cleanliness as per WHO standards Following strict guidelines during response and: distributing relief items through door-to-door delivery and drawing distant circles.
27May20
Blog Post
How indirect cost recovery is supporting the development of local and national organisations
One of the ways that Start Fund Bangladesh is shifting more power to local organisations is by ensuring they have more access to funding for operations costs, otherwise known as the Indirect Cost Recovery (ICR) method, this enables them to improve and develop.
22Apr20
Blog Post
How aid agencies are using Start Network’s funding mechanisms to address the COVID-19 pandemic
Start Network members began to raise alerts to COVID-19 in Official Development Assistance (ODA) countries on 20 March, through the Start Network’s existing fund portfolio - Start Fund, Migration Emergency Response Fund (MERF) and Start Fund Bangladesh. Two weeks later, on 2 April Start Network launched Start Fund COVID-19 with a generous €1.5 million donation from the IKEA Foundation.
07Apr20
Blog Post
Essential support to under-the-radar crises in Bangladesh
We share some stories on the unique space that this Start Fund Bangladesh holds in providing essential support to under-the-radar crises.
31Jan20
Blog Post
Shifting the power: Start Fund Bangladesh in action
“It's a great example of localisation, the local NGOs have access to funds, mutual learning opportunity and ensured collective efforts for national and international organisations”
24Jan20
Blog Post
The Start Fund Bangladesh makes progress in localisation
Start Fund Bangladesh is demonstrating how localisation makes aid more effective and efficient. People in need are receiving help 10 days faster and operational costs have been halved.
14Jan20
Blog Post
Start Fund Bangladesh makes a direct award to a local NGO
In June 2019, Start Fund Bangladesh made its first national disbursement to a local NGO. This signifies a major step forward in the Start Networks localisation commitments, allowing funds to go directly to the organisation best placed to provide assistance, with major cost and time savings.
31Jul19
Blog Post
Learn at the 2018 Assembly: DEPP Innovation Labs
WNow that we have fostered innovations in our four Innovation labs, what are the next steps to take these inventions up into global scales?
04Dec18
Blog Post
Learn at the 2018 Assembly: Start Fund Bangladesh
Since May 2017, there have been 8 activated alerts in Bangladesh, with disbursements totalling £2.1 million.
26Nov18
News Article
Islamic Relief helps survivors of Bangladesh floods
Islamic relief has been working in consortium with Start Network Members Save the Children and Concern Worldwide, to implement a rapid response to floods which hit Bangladesh in early June.
15Aug18
News Article
Local leadership and collaboration, helping people when there is no other support
When a fire ripped through Ellias Mollah, a ‘slum’ in Dhaka, the Start Fund Bangladesh provided help when there was no other support, meaning the people in Ellias Mollah who lost their homes, could quickly access cash to rebuild, and did not have to move away from their job and livelihoods.
24Apr18
Blog Post
How do we help the world's poorest populations become sustainably resilient? Cash
Michaela Larson says the answer to how we can help the world’s poorest populations become more resilient following a crisis, is an obvious one – we give them cash.
04Dec17
Blog Post
How the Start Fund is responding to deadly flooding across South Asia
Last week, while many were focused on the devastating landslides in Sierra Leone, elsewhere more than 16 million people were affected by deadly flooding in India, Bangladesh, and Nepal. Start Network’s Melina Koutsis discusses.
24Aug17
Resource
Going the extra mile: Bangladesh Localisation Review
In order to establish a baseline on the state of localisation in the Start Fund and humanitarian sector in Bangladesh more generally, the Start Fund Bangladesh commissioned this external review.
19Aug17
Resource
The Start Fund, Start Network and Localisation
Localisation is a foundational and non-negotiable principle within the Start Network. This report presents a ‘baseline assessment’ of where the Start Fund and three DEPP projects currently sits with the‘localisation agenda’.
02Aug17
News Article
Start Network launches new framework for localisation
The Start Network has published a new framework for localisation which aims to provide a practical structure to improve the position of local organisations within international aid. The framework is part of an independent review into localisation of the Start Fund and other Start Network initiatives. Responding to the review, the Start Network has committed to “drive a holistic and transformative approach to localisation”.
02Aug17
Resource
Start Evolves Video: Emily Montier on the Family of Financing Facilities
The Start Network’s vision is a humanitarian system in which funding will be dependable and predictable, responses are based on humanitarian need and context-appropriate. For this to become reality, the Start Network needs to evolve into a global, decentralised 'network of networks'.
20Jul17
News Article
Start Fund Bangladesh: first use of new country fund
Thousands of families left homeless when Cyclone Mora hit Bangladesh are to be helped in the first crisis response by the new country-based Start Fund. Most of those to be assisted are Rohingya refugees, who had previously fled persecution in neighbouring Myanmar.
05Jun17
News Article
Start Fund Bangladesh ready to respond to an in-country crisis
Start Network’s new Bangladesh national fund, Start Fund Bangladesh, is ready for its first crisis alert in a significant development for the humanitarian system
21Apr17
News Article
Bangladesh emergency response fund set up by Start Network
The Start Network is setting up a £10 million rapid response fund, which will respond early and fast to under the radar emergencies in Bangladesh.
22Feb17
Blog Post
Creating a Start Fund in Bangladesh
Start Network's Annemarie Poorterman tells us more about her work to set up a national version of the Start Fund in Bangladesh.
13Feb17
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