Following the introduction of the Start Network, Sarah Barr presented the findings and main lessons of the evaluation done for anticipatory actions of the fund.

The findings cover a wide range of aspects. A shift in culture took place between 2016 and 2020 towards more anticipatory action awareness in the humanitarian system. Networks are important to connect forecasters with humanitarians implementing activities to share technical input and advice. They also provide members with the opportunity to learn and make anticipation as a topic become more present in humanitarian organizations.

This also made it clear, that in order to fully understand anticipatory action and ‘spread the word’, the concept needs to be explained continuously and precisely: “Consistency is key”.

Learning about forecasting crises is an ongoing process with some hazards being easier to forecast (such as droughts and floods) and some being more challenging (such as disease outbreaks). Funding should, at best, match the level of uncertainty to be able to take risk-based decisions. Gender is a critical element and needs to be taken into consideration for anticipation because based on gender, people make different decisions and have different information available to them to anticipate a crisis. It is also vital to reach communities in time before the crisis hits and invest in forecasting abilities for the window of opportunity. It is also key to focus on capacity building at the country level. Start has trained Forewarn officers to strengthen engagement in country contexts.

Linking stakeholders is very important to effectively measure impact and analyze risk, especially for practitioners and forecasters to be able to have a deeper conversation on anticipation.