ObjectivesFund scope
Using data and analytics to boost engagement around complex risks in crisis-affected or fragile situations—be they climate, social, political, economic, and demographically induced—has been sub-optimal with collection gaps widening, stakeholders without technical expertise to analyze data, and analytical processes that take place in silos. These oversights affect the most vulnerable around the world, resulting in lost potential where insights do not get translated into effective action. This means over $30 billion US dollars in annual international financing for fragile and crisis-affected situations is a massive loss that reverberates in terms if lives and across livelihoods. The layers and intersectional nature of complex risks is something no organization can alone unravel and hope to unlock the full potential of data to better anticipate, prevent, and respond to crises.
The way forward is changing the way we collaborate—fostering ecosystems that connect policymakers, implementers, funders, researchers, data providers, communities, and other stakeholders. Stakeholders established CRAF’d to foster change by building and shaping a scalable, sustainable, and well-governed ecosystem that unlocks the full value of data for improving resilience and support to people and planet, when and where it matters most. Fund stakeholders expand the shared capacities of partners in using data for improved risk prevention, management, and resolution in fragile and crisis-affected settings. The Complex Risk Analytics Fund invests in closing data gaps, supporting heightened knowledge and capacity building, and authenticated data standards that strengthen the quality of insights and action frameworks—including those anticipatory and forecast-based action, or other pre-arranged financing for crisis programmes.
Initial CRAF’d investments focus on bolstering data and analytics capabilities to help stakeholders better anticipate, prevent, and respond to complex risks relating to peace, climate, women, youth, migration, or displacement. Gradually, the focus of CRAF’d will expand to issue areas across the entire humanitarian-development-peace nexus. Fund initiatives are closely aligned with global and regional agendas—2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, Decade of Action, OECD DAC Recommendations on the Humanitarian-Development-Peace Nexus, common agenda for inclusive, networked & effective multilateralism, UN Secretary-General’s Data Strategy, Sendai Framework, Paris Agreement, Glasgow Accord—to alter multilateral action in the face of crises and fragility.
Designed as a financing instrument to support a diverse system, CRAF’d finances data and analytics projects and does not act as a data distributor. To promote the better distribution of data, CRAF’d-funded outputs are clustered around (existing and new) data hubs in ways that unlock connections within and across ecosystems.
Theory of change
The CRAF’d theory of change centres on investing in outputs like data and analytics to create a scalable, sustainable, and well-governed ecosystem where transformation can take place. The ecosystem approach allows for better insights into complex risks in crisis-affected and fragile settings and these are leveraged for better decision making. Data and analytics inform evidence-based policymaking and guide operational planning and programming processes, which includes resource allocation through major financing instruments. These outcomes drive greater human resilience and stronger support to people and planet in pursuit of the 2030 Agenda, where it matters most.
Behind CRAF’d investments is the assumption that humanitarian, development, and peace operations are currently less effective than they should be, in part, because:
- Data gaps and poor data literacy impair a new generation of earlier, faster, and more precise insights into complex risks.
- Even when available, data-driven insights rarely translate into action.
- Work on data and analytics often takes place in silos or is not shared and built from scratch.
To foster a sustainable, scalable, and well-governed ecosystem, CRAF’d changemakers collaborate based on the principles underpinning how data capabilities are used and shared. Efforts prioritize the interests of populations in vulnerable situations to leave no-one behind and share the conviction that this is only possible with a strong emphasis on broad stakeholder engagement, local capacity building, data/model validation, and expert analyses in the field. Fund action also calls for partners to unite behind the notion that the ecosystem is only sustainable as long as partners share risks, burdens, and benefits, and all parties commit to the responsible use of data, including principles of fairness, transparency, and privacy.
Financing windows
CRAF’d has two funding windows with allocation targets calibrated to ensure long-term sustainability of outputs with a special emphasis on essential results under Window A. The minimum funding threshold per transfer is $100,000 US dollars, save certain exceptions.
Window A: Essential risk data represents the financing priority for CRAF’d and is explicitly designed to ensure sustainable provision of essential risk datasets (as a common good) for partners across the humanitarian-development-peace nexus.
Window B: Shared capabilities and use cases is designed to support the continuous expansion of ecosystem capabilities for using data and analytics to better anticipate, prevent, and respond to complex risks. This window is used to finance analytics products (models, methods, indices, etc.), action frameworks, and innovative use cases, knowledge and capacity building (conferences, trainings, hackathons, secondments/institutional exchange, etc.), and includes developing and promoting data use standards and guidelines.
> $55M 
$55M - $25M
$25M - $5M
< $5M
