Strategic push: Anticipatory action

Anticipatory action increasingly becomes a DRC signature approach that reduces harm to displaced communities.

People living in fragile environments deserve more than a reactive humanitarian system when the conflict and environmental shocks that trigger their displacement can be forecast with increasing accuracy.

Acting earlier can preserve dignity, reduce the scale, and lower human and financial costs of displacement crises if data is effectively turned into anticipatory action.

We will push:

Through our entire organisation: DRC will anticipate forced displacement and predictable shocks and act before crises escalate. In all relevant contexts, we will embed anticipatory action within our
emergency, solutions, and technical expertise to act in a timely way.

This includes expanding the use of predictive modelling of displacement crises to all relevant DRC country operations.

Through our programme offering: DRC will save lives, and protect livelihoods and assets by ensuring early warning, operational triggers, and accessible financing translate into timely action before crises
peak.

This may include pre-positioned assistance, resilient shelter and water systems, and cash support ahead of crises. We will scale up anticipatory action program models and increase the use of data models, consolidate learning and cross-sector adoption of good practice

Through our data, collaborations, and influence: DRC’s predictive modelling of displacement crises will be used to mobilize local communities, governments, humanitarian actors, and donors to act in
advance of predictable crises. With local actors at the center of anticipatory action, they become key data and early warning sources and response leads.

DRC will also support with capacity building focused on displacement data and forecasts at national and sub-national levels, so anticipatory action is integrated into institutionalised planning and disaster risk management frameworks.

Without knowledge, I wouldn’t have done anything. I would have been in shock. Now I do know where to go, when to go, and help people here in our community” – Venezuelan woman on how anticipatory action and preparedness transformed her flood prone community. DRC accompanies the process; communities decide and lead.

DRC Venezuela

We will track how often we can act to avert harm before crises peak; whether our anticipatory action is cost effective, and to what extent displacement forecasting is integrated into national and peer-agency planning.

DRC must act on the evidence base we contribute to growing together with our partners, ensuring the full potential of Anticipatory Action is harnessed for communities at risk and the humanitarian community.