Strengthening Locally Led Humanitarian Action in Bangladesh

The Opportunity

Bangladesh sits at the frontline of climate-driven humanitarian risks. Cyclones, floods, monsoon surges, and displacement events recur with growing frequency. As a result, the households most exposed to these shocks are often the least equipped to withstand them. When crisis strikes, the speed and equity of humanitarian response depend on how quickly funding reaches organisations that already understand the terrain, the communities, and the practical realities of delivery.

This is the operating logic of locally led humanitarian action. It is exactly the model that Start Network utilizes to advance in Bangladesh. Through its network of member NGOs, Start Network channels emergency funding to organisations positioned to respond quickly, responsibly, and at community scale. The mechanism that makes this possible, and that keeps it credible to donors and communities alike, is a rigorous, tiered due diligence process. It assesses member NGOs by their organisational capacity, governance strength, and readiness to deploy funds under pressure.

For the 2025-26 assessment cycle, Start Network commissioned LightCastle Partners to conduct the tiered due diligence assessment of 22 member NGOs across Bangladesh. The assignment aimed to inform Start Network's capacity-building initiatives. At the same time, it sought to enable member NGOs to secure timely emergency funding.

The Approach

Due diligence in the humanitarian sector must be simultaneously rigorous, efficient, and grounded in the operational realities of grassroots organisations. The 2025-26 assessment cycle set out to meet these three requirements through a co-developed, digitally enabled, and locally contextualised approach.

Co-Developing a Locally Contextualised Framework

LightCastle worked with Start Network's global and Bangladesh teams to review and enhance the existing due diligence framework. In doing so, the team incorporated evolving compliance standards and the operational realities of NGO practice in Bangladesh. The refined framework covered nine assessment streams. Together, these streams cover the full spectrum of organisational capacity. They determine whether an NGO can absorb, deploy, and account for humanitarian funding.

The framework was operationalised through a four-pillar methodology:

• Structured assessor onboarding process to ensure consistency in scoring and evidence evaluation
• Digital questionnaire calibrated to tier-based documentary requirements
• In-depth meetings with each NGO's leadership and relevant unit heads
• Multi-layered tier assessment process leading to draft reports, feedback loops with Start Network and the NGOs, and final sign-off

The Conclusion

Due diligence in the humanitarian sector must be simultaneously rigorous, efficient, and grounded in the operational realities of grassroots organisations. The 2025-26 assessment cycle set out to meet these three requirements through a co-developed, digitally enabled, and locally contextualised approach.