NGOs

Consultation

Austere has a wealth of experience in the developing world and in support of NGOs undertaking vital work. Austere understands the complex challenges of working in disaster zones and humanitarian crisis situations and has proven experience in these areas. We are passionate about supporting teams to achieve safe and successful mission outcomes. We deliver a range of services to support NGOs:

• Remotely via consultation, desktop planning, risk assessments, and emergency and evacuation planning using the latest and best-available information from published sources and local intelligence.
• In-country ahead of your team gathering real-time intelligence if required, and embedded to provide support to managers and team members for mission success.

Risk Assessments

Risk assessments can be developed remotely, or in-country, depending on the levels of complexity and the NGOs’ budget and requirements. All risk assessments include security and safety risk mitigation strategies in areas such as:

• Disease
• Injury
• Crime
• Legal Issues
• Detainment
• Kidnap
• Disruption
• Geopolitical
• Environmental
• CBRN threats
• Explosive ordnance threats

Desktop Planning

Austere consultants will work with your NGO during periods of both high and low operational tempo to help set you up for safe and successful mission outcomes. Austere has experiencing developing and implementing documentation such as:

• Policies and procedures
• Risk assessments and risk-mitigation strategies
• Software for effective communication, record keeping and reporting

In-country (pre-deployed)

Austere consultants will gain an intimate understanding of the team's mission and feed vital information back to managers and planners to ensure the team is in the best possible position for success on arrival. In-country, Austere Risk consultants can deploy ahead of your NGO team to:

• Develop risk assessments and risk mitigation strategies
• Develop maps of poorly mapped areas
• Develop and test communications plans
• Develop and test secure journey management plans
• Conduct site visits and inspections for vehicles, accommodation and program worksites
• Meet with officials from the local government, police, military and other key actors
• Attend safety and security focal-point meetings on your team's behalf, and report back critical information
• Arrange documentation and approvals
• Develop contingency plans and medical emergency evacuation plans

In-country (embedded)

When the team arrives, Austere consultants can embed themselves in the team to support the safety and welfare of your team while supporting managers to achieve the mission with safe and successful outcomes. Embedded Austere consultants and medics can support your team with:

• Safety and security briefings
• Medical support and remote telehealth support
• Safety and welfare support
• Journey management
• Accommodation inspections
• Crisis management
• Evacuation
• CBRN awareness training
• Explosive ordnance awareness training