Anticipatory finance: An introductory guide

The guide aims to help the reader understand what Anticipatory Action (AA) is and what benefits it offers; explain the different potential sources of AA finance available in a country; present real-world examples; and identify risks and challenges. It builds on the work of many other organizations and provides links to relevant resources. It will be updated as anticipatory finance mechanisms and the use of AA evolve.

The recommendations from the study include:

• To make the most of the sector’s rapid evolution, governments should embark on a systematic and coordinated process of identifying opportunities for AA and anticipatory finance in their countries.
• In systematically considering AA, governments should link their anticipatory activities to other stages of the DRM cycle: the prevention, mitigation and preparedness phases that precede them, and the subsequent disaster response phase
• AA design processes should include cost-benefit analyses and comparisons with alternative approaches.
• Actors and government ministries should expand their collaboration.
• Monitoring and evaluation of AA and anticipatory finance instruments should be shared to guide learning