Author Archives: notathinktank

Diversity in Security Risk Management: Creating Change from the Inside Out

After submitting an application and going through an interview early this year, I was accepted as a member of the new Diversity and Social Inclusion Sub Committee of OSAC’s (Overseas Security Advisory Council) Women in Security Committee. Wonderful news, but also quite scary. I don’t feel myself to be particularly diverse. I’m a woman, yes,Continue reading “Diversity in Security Risk Management: Creating Change from the Inside Out”

INGO safety and security collaboration and networks | Today’s challenges and opportunities for tomorrow

Over the past twenty years there has been a progressive and positive professionalization of the safety and security function of aid organizations, partly as the contexts and operational environment we program in have changed and demanded it, though also as a result of our experiences and peer learning through our engagement in networks and collaborativeContinue reading “INGO safety and security collaboration and networks | Today’s challenges and opportunities for tomorrow”

A Good Mechanic Never Blames his Tools

Chris Williams’s thought-provoking posting No Convenient Answer | When is there too much risk? got me thinking about the difficulties of using security risk management (SRM) in the humanitarian sector and how management approaches are often thought to be biased toward suspension or withdrawal. I agree with the central theme that an organisation that knowsContinue reading “A Good Mechanic Never Blames his Tools”

No Convenient Answer | When is there too much risk?

In security risk management a central issue is often: ‘How much risk is too much risk’? This remains a conversation humanitarian Security Directors grapple with on a near daily basis, and one without a convenient answer.  Risk Acceptance Fabrice Weissman (Researcher at the Centre de Réflexion sur l’Action et les Savoirs Humanitaires – CRASH) publishedContinue reading “No Convenient Answer | When is there too much risk?”

Five Tips for Security Professionals

When we envision what a good security professional looks like, we think about: The ability to assess risk, to write a decent report, to create minimum operating standards. Are they a must have in this job? Definitely. Are they the key to success? Honestly: No. Sometimes by being mentored, sometimes by learning the hard way,Continue reading “Five Tips for Security Professionals”

Is Security Risk Management Worth the Risk?

I feel a little uncomfortable writing about this subject since I am a big advocate for security risk management (SRM) approaches in the humanitarian security sector. You might say I’ve been part of the wave of security professionalisation that has helped spread SRM among large and small NGOs over the past 10-15 years as theContinue reading “Is Security Risk Management Worth the Risk?”

Collaborative Security Risk Management | A Case for Localized Development

Changing roles The role of safety and security in most international aid agencies has evolved as approaches to security and operational contexts have changed. Security collaboration -including networking, and maintaining key connections with other agencies and official bodies- has always been a key, enabling facet of good security management practice and is cited as aContinue reading “Collaborative Security Risk Management | A Case for Localized Development”