A well-planned and transparent approach to opening an office will mitigate many of the risks involved. The process is not linear and every situation will have different requirements. However, by applying a logical and organised process, setting up an office and finding accommodation is possible in most locations across the globe.

This guide (2015) provides an easy-to-follow process detailing the recommended steps when opening an office where the property market may be complex and/or ambiguous. While the guide refers to an ‘office’, the process is equally relevant to any building e.g. accommodation, hospital, warehouse, etc. It is recognised that in different situations organisations may have more time (e.g. setting up a regional office) or less time (e.g. rapid response programme office) to plan and implement the full suite of options identified in this guide. Regardless, this guide can be applied to all office openings, as the actions generally remain the same. Only the timeframe and the details of the preparation process may change depending on the urgency.

Office Opening follows our previous guide, Office Closure, which considers the processes required to close an office or programme while minimising risks to staff, the organisation, and programmes.

The associated tools can be downloaded in editable format following the links below:

Tool 1 Agency needs form

Tool 2 Longlist template

Tool 3 Longlist map

Tool 4 Property analysis template

Tool 5 Building lease terms

Tool 6 Key lease terms

Tool 7 Letter of intent template

Tool 8 Building risk assessment checklist

Tool 9 Utilities checklist

This guide was developed jointly with Source8 and with the advice of Lisa Reilly, Executive Coordinator of the European Interagency Security Forum (EISF). The project manager was Raquel Vazquez Llorente, Researcher at GISF.

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