This guide is intended as a non-technical introduction to the NGO security ecosystem. It outlines the main actors that contribute to security risk management (SRM), providing a high-level picture of how different roles and systems interact in practice.

The guide focuses on how different roles and functions interact, structured around four interrelated components:

• Implementers: NGOs responsible for managing security risks as part of delivering their work
• Enabling functions: organisations and mechanisms that support coordination, shared services, and security-related analysis
• External support providers: specialist services NGOs may use to complement internal capacity
• Funders and the policy space: the financial, regulatory, and policy environment that shapes SRM expectations and resourcing

This document is intended as a descriptive overview, rather than a comprehensive technical guide. It focuses on roles and functions rather than specific tools or models, and reflects how the security ecosystem broadly operates across the NGO sector.