Construction workers in hard hats

The Opportunity

Bangladesh sits at the frontline of climate-driven humanitarian risks. Cyclones, floods, monsoon surges, and displacement events recur with growing intensity, and the households most exposed are often the least equipped to respond. Local and national organisations are usually first on the ground, yet they receive a small share of direct humanitarian funding.

Start Network's locally led response model aims to change that by moving decisions and money closer to the people affected. Doing so at scale needs a due diligence process that partners can trust and that small organisations can pass.

The Approach

Due diligence in the humanitarian sector must be simultaneously rigorous, efficient, and grounded in the operational realities of grassroots organisations. We started from the questions funders actually ask:

  • Can the organisation account for the money it receives?
  • Does it have safeguarding policies that staff know and use?
  • Can it scale delivery within days of an early warning?

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, we replaced checks that assumed head-office capacity with evidence that a district-level organisation can realistically provide.

The framework connects assessors, partners and funders on one scoring standard.
The framework connects assessors, partners and funders on one scoring standard.

A four-pillar methodology

The framework was operationalised through a four-pillar methodology:

  1. Structured assessor onboarding to keep scoring consistent.
  2. Document review backed by short field verification visits.
  3. Calibration sessions where assessors compare borderline cases.
  4. A capacity plan for every organisation that falls short.

Local organisations do not lack capability. They lack a process that recognises the capability they already have.

Key Findings

Assessment results by organisation size (2026 cycle)
Organisation sizeAssessedPassedPass rate
National NGOs9889%
District-level NGOs141071%
Community-based organisations11655%

For the 2026 assessment cycle, 24 of 34 organisations met the standard. Those that did not received a capacity plan and a date for reassessment.