Coastal regions in Bangladesh are severely impacted by cyclones and related hazards due to their frequency, intensity, and impact scale. Among these areas, the poorest individuals who rely on small-scale agriculture and wage labor are the most vulnerable to cyclones, often losing their livelihoods entirely in the aftermath. The STEP consortium seeks to address this issue by strengthening the Disaster Risk Management (DRM) governance of institutions and communities in these regions. Specifically, the consortium aims to enhance local DRM governance by empowering institutions and communities to identify and manage risks through forecast-based anticipatory actions.

Since its inception, the STEP consortium has been working in close collaboration with relevant technical departments, national and local actors, and other stakeholders to develop a common cyclone-early action protocol (cyclone EAP). This protocol is designed to contextualize existing guidelines and modules, develop policy briefs, and advocate for localized triggers while piloting FbA/F, encouraging private sector participation in local DRM governance, and piloting impact-based forecasting.