Orgsec.community: feedback activity

What is this?

  • We (The Engine Room) are building on findings from community research (see below!) to update and improve two online community spaces – the orgsec.community listserv and wiki/community hub.
  • This is a 10 minute exercise that will help us ensure the orgsec.community spaces are inclusive and useful for a wider group of orgsec practitioners. 

Our process

We carried out community research with a diverse group of orgsec practitioners, supported by Internews. We did desk research; attended and participated in key community spaces/events, and conducted interviews and focus groups with 15 practitioners from different regions and communities, with different perspectives and backgrounds.

Our findings

Organisational security (orgsec) is…

A diverse security practice, with some common characteristics. It’s about proving:

  • Long-term support and/or accompaniment
  • Aiming to build capacity amongst staff
  • Whilst taking a holistic view of security

Community spaces allow practitioners to…

  • Form and strengthen connections, becoming more resilient as individuals and as a community 
  • Learn and grow, through collaborating, and sharing knowledge and skills 

Two major barriers to participating in community spaces include…

  • Regional power disparities – funding is concentrated in the “global north”, and the dominant language of many spaces and resources is English
  • An absence of trust – the members and leaders of a community affect the levels of trust

  • Opportunities

    We want to know whether you would feel comfortable and excited to be a part of the community that the following statements describe, and think of ways to make these opportunities a reality.
    • Orgsec.community spaces are community-owned and led
    • Orgsec.community spaces are facilitated by a rotating group of individuals who are supported to play this role
    • Orgsec.community resources are translated
    • Orgsec.community spaces have a code of conduct that includes the community’s shared values, boundaries and practices
    • Orgsec.community spaces prioritise the needs of practitioners who are currently under-served by current systems of support

  • What next?

    We’ll be gathering feedback from orgsec practitioners, to co-design the next iteration of the orgsec.community spaces. Thank you so much for your input.