During the first nine months of 2016, open sources reported 487 aid staff killed, kidnapped, injured or assaulted. That is 60% more than the same period in 2015 according to information gathered by Insecurity Insight. NGOs with sufficient resources and senior management investment have steadily improved their security risk management over the years. GISF, however, recognises the challenges that smaller NGOs face when trying to improve their security risk management, particularly due to the fact that they must operate with limited resources, both financially and in terms of personnel, which make it more challenging to improve organisational security knowledge and to implement plans and measures to mitigate the risks staff face.

In an effort to support NGOs with limited resources, GISF is developing a guide (2016), authored by Shaun Bickley, that aims to demystify security risk management. The guide provides a framework which breaks down what this entails: from governance and travel management to capacity building and crisis management.

In this article for PEAR Insights Magazine, GISF unpacks two elements of the security risk management framework, which will be discussed in more depth in GISF’s upcoming guide: Security Risk Management: A basic guide for smaller NGOs.