A proposed global consultancy to institutionalise anticipatory action in Islamic Relief Worldwide through frameworks, toolkits, and operational integration.

Institutionalising Anticipatory Action in Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW)

Framework and Toolkit Development
Proposed Project | Trend Nova World (Private) Limited

Project Overview

This proposed consultancy supports Islamic Relief Worldwide (IRW) in institutionalising Anticipatory Action (AA) across its global humanitarian and development operations. Submitted by Trend Nova World (Private) Limited, the assignment focuses on developing practical frameworks, toolkits, and implementation guidance that embed AA as a core organizational approach—enabling IRW to act ahead of predicted hazards and reduce humanitarian impacts before crises fully unfold.

The project responds to the growing scale and intensity of climate-related and compound risks affecting vulnerable communities, and aligns with IRW’s vision of a caring world grounded in faith-based values, community empowerment, and proactive responsibility. It builds on IRW’s long-standing experience in preparedness and response, its engagement with the Anticipation Hub, and its commitment to localization, inclusion, transparency, and accountability.

Strategic Context and Rationale

Humanitarian needs linked to climate-related shocks have increased dramatically over the past two decades, placing unprecedented pressure on response-oriented systems. Anticipatory Action defined by the Inter-Agency Standing Committee as acting ahead of predicted hazards to prevent or reduce acute humanitarian impacts has emerged as a critical approach to shift from reaction to prevention.

For a global, faith-based organization such as IRW, institutionalising AA requires more than technical tools. It demands:

Alignment with organizational values and mandates
Integration within existing preparedness, response, and compliance systems
Clear decision-making pathways and accountability
Practical guidance that can be applied consistently across diverse country contexts

This consultancy is designed to meet those needs by translating global AA standards into faith-sensitive, operationally realistic, and scalable guidance tailored specifically to IRW.

Purpose and Objectives

The overall purpose of the assignment is to enable IRW to systematically embed Anticipatory Action across its operations, strengthening its ability to protect lives, livelihoods, and dignity through early, risk-informed interventions.

Key objectives include:

Defining Anticipatory Action in a manner tailored to IRW’s mandate and values
Developing practical tools and frameworks covering five core AA areas
Supporting integration of AA into IRW’s preparedness and response systems
Strengthening organizational learning, review, and continuous improvement
Providing a clear roadmap for phased institutionalisation and scaling

Scope of Work and Core Components

The proposed work focuses on five interlinked pillars of Anticipatory Action:

1. Contextualising Anticipatory Action for IRW

A tailored definition of AA will be developed, positioning it as an extension of IRW’s commitment to compassion, stewardship, and collective responsibility. This definition will align with IRW’s Global Strategy 2023–2033 and reinforce the humanitarian–development nexus rather than creating parallel systems.

Outputs include:

An IRW-specific AA definition and guiding principles
Clear articulation of how AA complements existing preparedness and response mechanisms

2. Risk Analysis

The consultancy will review and strengthen IRW’s risk analysis approaches, ensuring they are multi-hazard, context-specific, and decision-oriented.

Key elements include:

Mapping existing forecasting, early warning, and risk assessment tools
Developing practical risk matrices and decision-trees
Integrating scientific forecasting with community knowledge
Ensuring ethical data use and protection standards

These tools will support timely, transparent decision-making across diverse operational contexts.

3. Early Action Protocols (EAPs)

Early Action Protocols are central to operationalising AA. The project will support the development of clear, actionable EAP templates that define:

Triggers and thresholds
Pre-agreed early actions
Roles, responsibilities, and timelines
Safeguarding and accountability measures

The emphasis will be on practicality, ensuring that EAPs can be activated confidently by IRW teams without disrupting ongoing response systems.

4. Pre-Financing

Timely action requires timely financing. The consultancy will develop a pre-financing framework that enables early release of funds once triggers are met, while maintaining financial integrity and donor confidence.

This includes:

Mapping existing funding mechanisms
Defining trigger-based financing workflows
Developing budget templates and accountability processes
Exploring pathways to link AA financing with longer-term resilience investments

5. Integration, Learning, and Review

To ensure sustainability, the project places strong emphasis on integration and learning.

Key outputs include:

An organizational gap analysis and capacity assessment
A phased integration roadmap aligned with IRW’s planning cycles
Learning and review tools, including after-action reviews and feedback mechanisms
Indicators to track effectiveness and institutional uptake of AA

This ensures that AA becomes embedded in organizational culture, systems, and decision-making over time.

Methodological Approach

Trend Nova World proposes a consultative, iterative, and practice-oriented methodology, informed by global best practices from IFRC, the Anticipation Hub, and AA work in fragile and conflict-affected settings.

The approach combines:

Desk reviews of IRW strategies, policies, and systems
Key informant interviews with global, regional, and country teams
Virtual workshops and validation sessions
Scenario testing and stress-testing of tools
Continuous feedback and refinement

The consultancy is designed for efficient remote delivery, with flexibility for hybrid engagement where strategic discussions require deeper interaction.

Cross-Cutting Principles

Throughout all components, the project integrates key cross-cutting priorities central to IRW’s mandate:

Localization: Empowering country offices and local partners through capacity transfer and co-creation of tools
Inclusion: Ensuring gender, age, disability, and protection considerations are embedded in risk analysis and early actions
Safeguarding: Aligning with Prevention of Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) and ethical standards
Accountability and Transparency: Clear decision-making pathways and documentation
Faith Sensitivity: Framing AA in ways that resonate with IRW’s values and community relationships

Institutional Capacity and Added Value

Trend Nova World brings specialized expertise in:

Anticipatory Action and Early Warning Systems
Disaster Risk Reduction and Climate Change Adaptation
Institutional frameworks, toolkits, and operational integration
Localization-focused and community-led approaches

The team’s experience supporting multilateral agencies, UN entities, and international NGOs ensures that deliverables are credible, practical, and aligned with global standards, while remaining adaptable to IRW’s unique organizational identity.

Expected Outcomes

Upon completion, the consultancy is expected to deliver:

A clear, IRW-specific Anticipatory Action framework
Practical, user-friendly toolkits for AA implementation
Strengthened organizational readiness to act early and decisively
Improved alignment between preparedness, response, and resilience
A scalable model for embedding AA across IRW’s global operations

Project Status

This assignment has been formally submitted as a proposed consultancy and is currently positioned within Trend Nova World’s Project Pipeline as a strategic anticipatory action, disaster risk reduction, and institutional strengthening initiative.