The CREWS initiative facilitates access to financing through 3 modalities to support all ODA-eligible LDCs and SIDS countries on early warning systems and services.
Multi-year projects
- For countries and regions to establish or strengthen early warning systems and services
- Country projects: budget approximately USD 3 – 5 million for 3 – 5 years.
- Regional project: budget approximately USD 5 – 7 million for 5 – 7 years.
- Submission by Implementing Partners with country or regional intergovernmental organizations endorsement.
- Steering Committee Members make final decision
Criteria – Access Funds
- Exposure to risk and institutional capacity for early warning – need
i. Capacity of NMHSs and disaster management institutions
ii. Projected average annual loss to disaster (projected cost of disasters for the country’s economy per year)
iii. Casualty loss risk (where available)
iv. Access and penetration of information and communication technology - Level of priority given to early warning systems by countries – demand
i. Requests for support by country
ii. Identification of early warning systems as a priority in Nationally Determined Contributions (NDCs) and national development and poverty reduction plans - Potential for leveraging additional resources and aligning programmes – leveraging
i. Potential to leverage investments from other mechanisms such as the Green Climate Fund (GCF), the World Bank Group’s International Development Association (IDA), the Global Environment Fund (GEF) and other financing mechanism
ii. Ongoing or planned national and regional programmes related to the objectives of CREWS
Accelerated Support Window – ASW
The Accelerated Support Window (ASW) is a highly responsive, demand driven, small-grant mechanism designed to address urgent needs and strategic gaps in early warning systems.
ASW provides targeted, output-based support of up to USD 150,000 per action, helping countries respond quickly to time-sensitive needs, with implementation able to start within four to six weeks upon receiving a request.
This funding modality is intended to support the foundations of national early warning systems, demonstrate new ideas through innovative approaches and emerging technologies, and maintain momentum between larger projects where continued assistance is needed to sustain essential functions while also helping leverage additional investments.
ASW is delivered in line with the CREWS Operational Procedures, which sets out the eligibility requirements and funding prioritization criteria.
ASW is structured around three strategic aspects that enable countries to respond quickly to needs that are often too urgent or too operationally specific for larger funding mechanisms.
Three Strategic Aspects:
| Strategic Aspects | Actions | Examples |
|---|---|---|
| Innovation | Help demonstrate new ideas, technologies, and operational approaches that may later be scaled up through larger investments. In this way, ASW serves as a testing ground for innovation and effectiveness. | Smart weather application in Tonga, AI forecast-in-a-box tool in Malawi, feasibility of cell-broadcast in Eastern Caribbean and other emerging technologies and approaches that address emerging hazards and evolving operational needs. |
| Foundation Building ……………………………. | Help identify, address, or fill critical gaps in national early warning systems. This includes assessments, technical advice, and targeted support that strengthens the building blocks needed for more effective and sustainable systems. | Support Belize, Benin, Vanuatu and the Maldives to assess national early warning gaps, develop roadmaps and investment priorities, and strengthen institutional and technical capacities. |
| Leveraging | Help sustain and maintain critical operations between larger projects, preserve momentum after shocks or disasters, and help unlock and link to future early warning system investments. | Help sustain meteorological operations after the December 2023 explosion damaged the national service’s premises, ensuring continuity of operations while longer-term solutions were put in place. It also bridged the gap between earlier support and AFD’s CLIMAGUI investment, helping enable the inception of a larger investment. |
Please access to the ASW templates below:
Green Climate Fund/Simplified Approval Process/CREWS Scaling Up Framework for Early Warning
- Provides fast-track access to GCF finance through its Simplified Approval Process (SAP)
- Maximum budget USD 25 million per project
- GCF procedure applies
Criteria
- Countries with successful CREWS programmes
- Proposed action to have major potential to amplify and reinforce CREWS-supported achievements
- Greater scope geographically and in number of people reached
- Strengthen institutions to provide more effective early warning services