A framework for systems change
Published today, the Strategic Roadmap – which is part of our Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office funded project, Localising Early Warning Systems and Anticipatory Action through CSOs, with support from the British Red Cross and the Risk-informed Early Action partnership (REAP) – draws on the knowledge and experience of civil society organisations and frontline communities across GNDR’s network of 2,000+ member organisations in 130+ countries. It makes the case for a fundamental shift in how early warning systems are designed, funded, and governed – structured around six strategic priorities: governance and policy integration; community engagement and ownership; technology, innovation, and data; capacity strengthening; financing and sustainability; and knowledge, learning, and evidence.
At its core, the roadmap argues that communities must be treated as co-creators and custodians of early warning systems – not as passive recipients of information. Indigenous and traditional knowledge must be recognised as a core input to risk understanding. And the financing models that currently undermine local ownership must be replaced with flexible, direct, long-term funding that allows systems to outlast the projects that built them.
What needs to change: recommendations by stakeholder
The roadmap sets out targeted recommendations for four groups.
Local communities and civil society organisations are called on to strengthen community-based disaster management structures, promote inclusive participation of women, youth, persons with disabilities, and indigenous peoples, and invest in community-led monitoring and learning. Integrating indigenous and traditional knowledge with scientific data – to co-create culturally relevant warning systems – is central to this agenda.
Local and national governments must institutionalise localised EWS within national DRR, climate adaptation, and development frameworks, with clear mandates and accountability mechanisms. The roadmap calls for sustained budget allocations for maintenance, training, and community engagement – moving decisively away from short-term project cycles – and for multi-stakeholder coordination platforms that connect national agencies with subnational authorities and local communities.
Regional and global stakeholders are asked to facilitate South–South learning, support policy alignment and technical harmonisation across countries, and champion the localisation agenda in post-2030 DRR and climate resilience frameworks. Regional bodies have a specific role to play in promoting cross-border coordination and multi-hazard early warning networks.
Donors and financing institutions face perhaps the most direct call for change. The roadmap asks them to shift from project-based to programmatic and flexible funding, invest in anticipatory and risk-informed financing mechanisms – including forecast-based financing and parametric insurance – and prioritise equity in funding decisions, ensuring that women-led and community-based organisations have direct access to resources. Results-based investment linked to measurable improvements in inclusivity and resilience, rather than outputs, is the standard the roadmap sets.
