Pre-positioned funding as an approach to advance localisation and locally-led humanitarian action

In 2020, Trócaire developed a range of tailored capacity strengthening packages and approaches for their local partners to improve their organisational and technical preparedness for emergency response. In Sierra Leone, Trócaire used unrestricted funding to complement this approach by pre-positioning flexible funds with two local partners, which they could access to respond to emergencies when needed. In 2021, Trócaire’s pre-positioned funding initiative was extended as a pilot to four countries: Malawi, Myanmar, Nicaragua, and Rwanda. This report is aimed at documenting the learning and experience from these five countries by looking at (i) the model itself – the rationale and background and its development and roll-out across countries, (ii) its associated strengths and challenges, and finally (iii) its impact on advancing localisation. 

The research used a mixed-methods approach and included the following data collection instruments: 1) Desk review 2) Semi-structured key informant interviews with both internal and external key informants. A total of 11 internal and 15 external key informants (partners, local authorities, other local and national actors  (L/NAs), donors) were consulted. 

In most responses, pre-positioning funding to local partners boosted the timeliness of service delivery to affected populations; however, the full potential for timely response remains to be harnessed. Due to the limited nature of the funding, partners struggled to cover all needs, particularly for localised crises that failed to attract external funding or even governmental support. Despite its relatively small scale, the prepositioned funding had significant knock-on effects on Trócaire’s four core areas of Partnership and Localisation. Having access to predictable, timely, and flexible funding meant that local partners were able to engage with, and in some cases, have a prominent role in local or regional coordination structures, which meant they could take part in and influence decision-making.