Start Ready Manual (updated March 2024) – Worldwide

Start Ready is a financing mechanism that provides communities with protection against climate risks that can be modeled. It is implemented by civil society – members of the Start Network. This is helping to change the way humanitarians work, moving from responding to crises to protecting communities before they erupt. Start Ready prepositions funds for crises that occur with regular, predictable recurrence patterns, such as floods, cyclones, droughts and heatwaves. Once a pre-agreed threshold is reached, NGOs implement contingency plans prepared in advance so that they can anticipate and respond quickly to climate risks.

Start Ready pools risks and funds, allowing Start Network to expand its funding and provide greater protection to communities at a lower cost. The concept of Start Ready was launched in 2021 at COP26, and the first Start Ready risk pool went live in May 2022. Start Ready complements Start Network’s existing Start funds, providing more diversified funding to organizations humanitarian measures to face recurring climate risks. This is one of the ways humanitarians can address the loss and damage caused by climate change.

This handbook is intended for Start Network members (and their partners), the Start Ready committee, and Start Network staff (including Start program staff hosted by the grant custodian(s). Other stakeholders such as donors and partners may also access it for information purposes. The handbook is regularly reviewed by the Start Ready team who work with various Start Network teams to update the handbook as necessary.