Conflict Sensitivity Integration in Risk Assessments

Local and international NGOs, USAID implementing partners, civil society, and other development and humanitarian organizations face inherent risks through their work, including financial management, fraud, compliance, safeguarding, security, environmental impact, and more. These risks can relate to the organization's own security and wellbeing, as well as the potential to do harm to others. Risk assessment can be defined as the process of evaluating risks to an organization, its activities, and its staff in a specific location. Adequate risk assessment, including conflict sensitivity, aims to ensure the security and wellbeing of staff, volunteers, and program participants, reduce reputational or financial risks to the organization, and ensure that the organization does no harm during program implementation. This also enables the organization to maximize its chances of promoting positive outcomes and reducing negative ones, contributing to peaceful communities and society. Security Risk Assessments (SRAs) form part of a security management approach, which often includes Context Analysis, Acceptance Analysis, and the SRA itself. SRAs focus on threats to an organization, including personnel, assets, reputation, and partners. In contrast, conflict sensitivity analyses generally focus on identifying and mitigating the risk of harm to program participants or wider communities caused by program interventions, as well as identifying opportunities to promote positive outcomes and support a deeper peace. Integrating conflict sensitivity into risk assessments can help identify organizational risks arising from specific external dynamics and/or project activities that may be missed in traditional risk assessments. A conflict-sensitive risk assessment should move beyond direct threats to the organization and consider risks to partners and program participants. This includes provisions for capacity strengthening through training and/or mentoring to ensure that partners and participants can understand, mitigate, and manage risk in an appropriate manner. Key considerations for conflict sensitivity integration in security risk assessment processes include ensuring the safety of staff and participants when conducting research, considering local dynamics in areas where the organization will work, and including the perspectives and experiences of different community members, especially those most impacted by conflict and violence. Additionally, Gender Equality and Social Inclusion (GESI) considerations should be included in assessments, and the results should be communicated and updated regularly. In terms of Acceptance Analysis, the organization should link its stakeholder analysis to specific program activities and consider how these actions may have a positive or negative impact on project stakeholders, paying particular attention to power dynamics. The organization should also consider how to reinforce positive impacts and mitigate negative ones, as well as the potential impact on broader stakeholder engagement with peace and conflict dynamics. Security Risk Assessment should extend beyond direct threats to the organization and consider risks to partners and program participants. The organization should consider whether a partner is implementing high-risk activities or in a high-risk area and how to support partners to identify and mitigate these risks. Additionally, the organization should consider the specific or heightened safeguarding risk associated with different activities and adapt activities to participant profiles. Compliance and audit risk assessments typically address processes such as finance, procurement, human resources, and information systems. Compliance and audit risk assessments may consider specific risks for a country office, a particular program, type of activities, or implementation method. Financial or compliance audits can support conflict sensitivity by reducing the likelihood of negative interactions with the conflict context, such as through theft, aid diversion, fraud, and other financial malpractice. When assessing risk for compliance and audit, two key conflict sensitivity considerations are whether the assessment is adapted to the local context and whether proposed mitigation measures are conflict-sensitive. The organization should consider adapting requirements for supporting documentation for sensitive subjects, complying with local laws, and taking measures to mitigate risk in the face of a repressive legal environment. Safeguarding and Protection from Sexual Exploitation and Abuse (PSEA) are central to conflict sensitivity, as safeguarding incidents carry a high risk of direct and severe harm to staff, partners, or program participants. A safeguarding assessment should consider the specific or heightened safeguarding risk associated with different activities and adapt activities to participant profiles.