Harmattan Risk Training Services
2014
Harmattan Risk
Contents
2
Introduction to Harmattan and training approach
Political Risk Awareness – 1 day seminar
Political Risk Management – 4 day course
Stakeholder Engagement – 2 day course
Conflict Sensitivity – 3 day course
National Threat Assessment – 3 day course
Fulfilling the Brief: Tools and Approaches for Analytical Risk Projects – 3 day course
Summary and contact details
General introduction to Harmattan Risk*
3
Focus
• The resilience of organisational initiatives in complex emerging markets / developing countries – our clients usually have varying degrees of direct presence on the ground
• Coherent, realistic and responsible approaches to risk management
• Global focus in terms of the issues facing organisational initiatives in complex environments, more familiar with ME, N Africa and W Asia in regional terms
Intervention approach
• An approach that combines strategy consulting (issue definition-hypotheses-research-analysis-recommendations), with light touch guidance that augments and builds on the client’s capabilities, rather than acting as a purely external input
• Training is a natural fit with this focus – in concise and tailored solutions we aspire to augment a client’s own internal capability to assess and plan for risk in complex environments
Capacity
• Core team with a focus on the intersection of organisational initiatives and strategy, and the socio-political operating environment, along with project management and training skills to design and lead actionable engagements
• Augmented by network of specialist associates with expertise in specific tactical risk management approaches and regional intelligence
* See website, www.harmattan-risk.com, for more information
Outline of Harmattan’s training approach
• Training is “in-company” only, and is treated as a discrete consulting engagement, with a needs assessment, customisation of existing material, and co-development of relevant cases – this allows clients to combine general learning with a focus on their own specific capacity gaps and the unique types of issues that they encounter
• Degree of client adaptation can vary from “off the shelf” (as outlined in subsequent slides) to a unique solution drawing on relevant elements of several courses and a case tailored around an existing or common client issue
• All courses apply a combination of theory / concept development, examples, analytical / decision tools, and application exercises, and except the Political Risk Awareness Seminar in most cases a single extensive case study makes a useful basis for team-based exercises (individual exercises focus on more general questions); all courses also involve a considerable degree of joint discussion and mutual learning among participants
• Teamwork is important at several points in a course, and so is enabling free discussion and a temporary cessation of the management structure during a course – free interaction, switching of team roles (especially leadership) and listening, as well as time management are integral to the team exercise components
• Results of a training engagement are captured in a concise report which provides general feedback and an indication of how best to build on new learning in the client’s unique context; we also provide clients with a handbook composed of course slides at commencement, and the case study and any necessary briefing paper in advance
• Harmattan assumes that the client handles necessary logistics, enabling us to focus on the deliverables
• Being client-specific, training engagements are treated with the same discretion as a consulting engagement
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Snapshot of training engagement process
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Client initial interest or brief
Needs verification / needs assessment
Core material andcase development
Preparation of existing material
Pre-course briefingmaterial / case
Training execution
Feedback fromconsultant to client (summary report)
Individual participant feedback
to consultantLogistical preparation (client-side with
Harmattan input)
Customised
General
How to interpret the forthcoming course descriptions
• First slide for a given course (or seminar in one case) introduces the concept, usually with a diagram or model that attempts to capture the underlying rationale for the course – this might appear in the course, but it was designed to illustrate the potential requirement for this brochure
• This is followed by an illustrative example drawn from the course material – these are based on pre-existing material and might well change in the design of a real course, but hopefully they provide a useful indication of the character of the conceptual content (and they are drawn from conceptual elements, not from exercises or case work; the number of slides per course varies from approximately 30 to 150)
• Finally there is a course outline, in a similar format for each entry – this is again indicative and based on the “off the shelf” course, but ideally it serves to demonstrate when a given course applies, for whom, and how the learning would be of benefit, as well as some of the key analytical tools involved
• For more details on specific courses, you can contact Harmattan to discuss the requirement – contact details are on the final page
6
Illustrative daily schedule for Day 1 of a course (in practice this varies)
7
In practice, the schedule varies with the course (e.g. in the Political Risk Awareness Seminar there is less on cases, and shorter intervals between concept and thought exercises), and with the outcome of the needs assessment. The following is only indicative, although the broad routine applies in most cases (Subsequent course descriptions do not explain detailed schedules because ofthe possibility of customisation, although tailored schedules would be developed for any client-adapted course)
• 09:00 – 09:15 Introduction to instructor and course focus, participation rules
• 09:15 – 09:30 Participant introductions: function, reason for the course
• 09:30 – 11:00 Concept and theory, examples
• 11:11 – 11:15 Coffee break
• 11:15 – 11:45 Thought exercises
• 11:45 – 12:00 Group discussion of results
• 12:00 – 13:00 Relevant analytical / management tools and approaches
• 13:00 – 14:00 Lunch
• 13:00 – 13:15 Review, present case team eexercise
• 13:15 – 14:00 Team exercise execution
• 14:00 – 14:30 Mutual presentation of results, group-wide discussion of implications
• 14:30 – 15:15 Next phase concept, theory and tools
• 15:15 – 15:30 Coffee break
• 15:30 – 16:15 Team exercise execution
• 16:15 – 17:15 Mutual presentation of results, group-wide discussion of implications
• 17:15 – 17:30 Intro to Day 2, Q&A / discussion
Day Half 1 Day Half 2
Contents
8
Introduction to Harmattan and training approach
Political Risk Awareness – 1 day seminar
Political Risk Management – 4 day course
Stakeholder Engagement – 2 day course
Conflict Sensitivity – 3 day course
National Threat Assessment – 3 day course
Fulfilling the Brief: Tools and Approaches for Analytical Risk Projects – 3 day course
Summary and contact details
The political risk awareness seminar is aimed at broadening perspectives on the issues and options in complex emerging markets
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Strategy – push the geographic boundaries for
competitive edge
Opportunity in complex emerging market
Sustain strong investmentto ensure early-mover
advantages
“Business as usual” onpremise that all sides see similar merits to project
Not as planned – instability, weak governance derail
expectations, incur scrutiny
Leave – take on liability and reputational damage in exchange for clear exit
When in doubt, double the effort /
sink in even deeper
Stronger presence / more exposure with
same high risk
Endure with little control, high risk control costs,
routine disruption
Reduced risk appetite, limited future options
A one-day seminar to raise awareness of potential socio-political pitfalls in complex emerging markets
- What is socio-political risk and what are its implications?
- Is this geography something we can / are willing to handle?
- Is socio-political risk an uncertainty, or is it estimable and manageable?
- How can we avoid negative consequences through good intelligence, planning and preparation?
- How do we get the right information / advice and how do we act on it?
Illustrative political risk trap
Where socio-political risk awareness can usefully intervene
Example from course: Early introductory depiction of potential issues for a complex emerging market operation
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Political risk
Socio-political environment’s
risk contribution
Our own risk contribution
Instability
Weak governance
Conflict...
Optimistic / under-informed assumptions
Cultural / conflictinsensitivity
Lack of situational Intelligence...
Organisation’s exposed assets (people, reputation, performance...)
• Illustrative cases
• Potential effects
• Some recurring dynamics of political risk manifesting – causes from environment and organisational behaviour, types of effects
The squeeze
Basic course details
11
The seminar is a brief introduction to political risk, focusing on its conceptual boundaries, its potential causes and effects, and the options to manage it. The course is designed for managers who need to be aware of this unique type of risk in order to factor it into their decisions and planning, but who will not necessarily be directly engaged in risk assessment and mitigation. It is an efficient introduction for managers facing increasingly complex operating environments, or preparing for international assignments.
• International managers facing an increased strategic emphasis on emerging markets
• Country and project managers dealing with increasing complexity in their current operating environment
• Managers whose career direction will likely expose them to complex operating environments or international issues
• Strategic planners and analysts who support decisions relating to international expansion or specific overseas operations
• Awareness of the concept of political risk – what it means and how it is different from other challenges
• Awareness of how political risk manifests, and how it could affect the organisation
• Insights into how the issue has been dealt with before, for better or worse
• Knowledge of the principal approaches in assessing and managing political risk
• Options and caveats in using external experts to help manage political risk
Tools are not the emphasis of this course, but participants will understand some of the mainstream approaches to political risk assessment, in order to enable them to make informed choices when commissioning assessments or guidance projects either internally or from external suppliers. The course will also examine the interpretation of political risk assessments and risk management projects.
Duration: 1 day, with an option for a half-day version focusing on top-level issues and options
Audience Benefits Illustrative tools
Contents
12
Introduction to Harmattan and training approach
Political Risk Awareness – 1 day seminar
Political Risk Management – 4 day course
Stakeholder Engagement – 2 day course
Conflict Sensitivity – 3 day course
National Threat Assessment – 3 day course
Fulfilling the Brief: Tools and Approaches for Analytical Risk Projects – 3 day course
Summary and contact details
The comprehensive 4-day political risk management course is premised on the opportunity for an integrated and coherent approach to the issue
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Corporate / BU Head / Strategy Team
Project / country leadership Risk management Security External Affairs /
CSR...
“Pace and efficiency first, worry later”
“A useful element of the global portfolio...now let the
team get on with it”
“Compliance and insurance above all”
“It’s a war out there –we need distance and
deterrence”
“We can sustain ourselves when others
accept us”
Business continuity focus
Liability and loss avoidance focus
Threat management focus
Stakeholder acceptance focus...
Holistic, rigorous risk intelligence and analysis, shared priorities,integrated risk management planning and responses
Corporate / BU Head / Strategy
Project leadership Risk management SecurityExternal
Affairs / CSR...
= Functional element of coordinated socio-political risk management initiative
• Fragmented risk awareness
• Silos of risk management activity –gaps, overlaps and contradictions
• Ad hoc approach – few synergies, no organisational weight to risk management initiatives
• Coherent process that draws on all relevant departments for shared priorities and synergies
• Organisational structure integrated within management and functional architecture
• Clear socio-political risk management strategy
The tacit approach
The explicit approach
The course covers political risk assessment...
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About us
- What we expose
- How we could affect / be seen within the host environment
Terrain
- What is going on there
- Conditions exogenous to our presence that could drive risk
Stakeholders
- Who has a stake in us
- Responses that could create risk (and potential allies)
Risks
- Situations and events that could harm people, reputation and performance
Scenarios
- Potential future states (higher overall risk and / or higher opportunity)
Risk control / mgt
- Avoid- Prevent- Mitigate...
Stakeholder engagement
- Dialogue- Deterrence- Distance...
Contingency plans
- Shape strategic responses to potential future shifts
Socio-political risk assessment – focus, process and approaches... ...directly informing risk management planning
...and management
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Review options Design Implement Monitor and evaluate
• How can we group risks into manageable issue sets?
• What are possible measures and what makes sense for our priority issues?
• What fits with our strategy and image?
• What specific initiatives would manage priority risks, relationships and scenarios?
• How are these organised? Who leads, who supports, who reviews?
• What are these initiatives trying to achieve in tangible terms?
• How does each one proceed?
• How do we keep them aligned?
• How do we know if we are on track?
• How do we identify room for improvement?
• Have we met ethnical expectations in our approach?
Risk assessment
Feedback andimprovement
Refine and shape for coherent socio-political risk management strategy aligned with strategic aspirations and preferred reputation
Example from course: The political risk equation
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• Conditions on the ground –exogenous to who we are or our specific relationships
Political terrain
• Interest in our initiative, and capability to affect it – for better or worse
Political stakeholders
• The “assets” that we expose on the ground
Exposure
• Our own impact, and how political stakeholders perceive our significance to them
Political “footprint”
Potentially harmful if we are directly exposed to them
Negative reactions could harm our exposed assets
Conditions political behaviour
The opportunities and threats that we represent to host environment actors
Environment Organisation
Shapes our footprint
Basic course details
17
This is the most comprehensive Harmattan course, addressing most elements of socio-political risk awareness and management. It covers a conceptual introduction, then examines an accessible process to political risk assessment using several key tools. The management element focuses on how organisations can manage this risk efficiently using relevant expertise drawn in from across the organisation, within a common “task force” management structure. The issue of a political risk strategy, policy, and integration within wider ERM or corporate risk management is also addressed.
• International managers and planners / analysts at corporate, country or project level who seek a more detailed awareness of political risk
• Risk management functional experts, including External Relations, CSR / Community Relations, HR, Security and the conventional Risk Management function
• Specialists, such as analysts and internal consultants, who seek either an integrated approach to the issue, or new perspectives to augment their existing knowledge
• Clear conceptual boundaries to the issue of socio-political risk
• Nuanced understanding of the linkage between overseas operations and the socio-political environment
• A workable and intuitive process to assess political risk, and to link assessment outputs to risk management planning
• A risk management planning process that results in a coherent plan and which makes the most of current internal expertise
• How to best handle external experts
• Issue mapping and issue trees
• Risk environment system mapping
• Risk articulation and prioritisation process
• Stakeholder mapping and prioritisation matrix
• Scenario analysis
• Risk programme definition process
• Risk initiative grid and KPIs
• Monitoring and evaluation tools
Duration: 4 days, with an option for a less in-depth 3-day version which omits some application exercises and nuance
Audience Benefits Illustrative tools
Contents
18
Introduction to Harmattan and training approach
Political Risk Awareness – 1 day seminar
Political Risk Management – 4 day course
Stakeholder Engagement – 2 day course
Conflict Sensitivity – 3 day course
National Threat Assessment – 3 day course
Fulfilling the Brief: Tools and Approaches for Analytical Risk Projects – 3 day course
Summary and contact details
The stakeholder engagement course is aimed at helping organisations to focus on the priority actors, and develop appropriate engagement approaches
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Labour interests
Security interests
Illegal / violent interests
Civil society / media interests
Our organisation
Official (state, local, regulatory) interests
Local business interests
Foreign regulatory interests
Politically connected competitor interests
Distance is best bet
Disfavours Favours
Influence
Neutral
Attitude
Potentially hostile, Increase favour, deter, or mitigate influence / increase distance from
Potentially favourable, keep on board and seek support
Easy wins, how to leverage?
??
Based on our effects on the operating environment, who has an interest in us?
What is their attitude towards us, and how much could they affect us?
A two-day course aimed at enabling the identification and assessment of relevant stakeholders, and design of engagement approaches
• Ties into risk management –stakeholders can create or help to mitigate risk
• Examines both favourable and hostile interests
• Coordinated cross-functional engagement making the most of relevant internal experts where they interface with commensurate actors in the socio-political environment
• Coherent stakeholder management sub-strategy integrated with wider socio-political management strategy
Example from course: Mapping the initial eco-system of a situation
2020
E.g. Security team within utilities company A operating in Caucasian country X
Problem: Criminal kidnapping rampant, and A’s people are exposed to it – we need to understand the wider dynamics of the problem as a first step in knowing how to address it
We combine our knowledge of how it has usually worked in comparable cases, with top-level research on the situation at hand, for a preliminary model, e.g.
Perpetrators
• Mafia• Street gangs• Opportunists
Victims
• Society / business• Foreign business (us
too)• International insurers
Private securityindustry – ex-police /
intell
• Bodyguards• Access control
Government
• National leadership • Min Interior
• Security forces
Interested observers
• Victim rights NGOs• Independent media
Collusion / cooperation
$$
Blind eye /tacitcollusion
Repression$$$
$$Services / racketeering
$
Victim support / moral support
Information
Intimidation
• Preliminary indication of actors involved
• And how they fit together to create and sustain the problem
* Ecosystem is revisited after more information on relevant stakeholders and linkages
Basic course details
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This course drills down into one significant element of political risk analysis and management planning: Stakeholder engagement. The emphasis is on how to identify socio-political stakeholders relevant to the operation or initiative, understand the full network of interests relevant to the situation, and to develop engagement approaches that contribute to risk mitigation and acceptance in the operating environment. Some of this course is replicated in the comprehensive political risk management course, but there is additional nuance and detail.
• Relevant to international managers, planners, and country / project managers with an interest in learning more about this element of risk management
• Ideal for people dealing directly with government, civil society and media relations – External Relations, CSR / Community Relations, and HR
• Overall, knowing how to make sense of an often complex set of socio-political interests
• A coherent process for stakeholder analysis, defining and structuring the necessary intelligence to make informed planning decisions
• The principal options in stakeholder engagement, and how to structure specific initiatives towards the increasing acceptance and reducing risk
• How to link stakeholder management to the wider risk initiative
• Stakeholder identification process, form general to specific
• Eco-system mapping
• Network and linkage mapping
• Stakeholder prioritisation matrix
• Stakeholder engagement generic options
• Engagement planning process, with definition of relevant cross-linked initiatives
Duration: 2 days, with an option for a less in-depth 1-day version which omits some application exercises and nuance
Audience Benefits Illustrative tools
Contents
22
Introduction to Harmattan and training approach
Political Risk Awareness – 1 day seminar
Political Risk Management – 4 day course
Stakeholder Engagement – 2 day course
Conflict Sensitivity – 3 day course
National Threat Assessment – 3 day course
Fulfilling the Brief: Tools and Approaches for Analytical Risk Projects – 3 day course
Summary and contact details
The conflict sensitivity course provides concepts, insights, and analytical tools to help an organisation to minimise risk in conflict-prone settings
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Conflict non-awareness Conflict sensitivity
Project ProjectPositive local impact
(jobs, meaningful investment, fostering
cooperation)
Socio-economic alternatives to
conflict, trust-building
Local stabilisation (in area of operation, or in
country operations)
Inadvertently exacerbate tensions and fund repression
We are regarded as political actor with
own agenda
Local rivalryintensifies and we also
become target
Risk increases
Risk decreases
Erosion of social licence, threat, tenuous presence
More secure presence, better reputation, project more sustainable
• Knowing how to map conflict (tensions, rivalries) and our potential effect on it• Options for staying clear of rivalries and contributing to inter-rival cooperation within our business or CSR initiatives, and contributing to / sponsoring local peace-building and dialogue (without exaggerating our profile)
A three-day course outlining the issues that arise in conflict-prone environments, and how a foreign organisation can contribute to a more stable operating environment, or at least avoid making things worse and becoming a target themselves
• Assumes political neutrality (unless for an NGO with legitimate social justice agenda – a unique case which we adapt to)
• Options range from non-interference to peace-building impact
• Again linked to wider risk management initiative
Country / project launch / new phase / expansion
Example from course: From initial introduction to conflict situation mapping (subsequent to this is how the foreign operation affects the environment)
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Economic decline, unemployment
Military self-justification for
political role
Civilian-military leadership tensions
National policy paralysis
Regional political unrest
Renewed leftist / democratic dissent
Sustained recruitbase for Islamist
groups
Military takes over oil sector to control
revenues
Nationalist crack-down on imports
and FDI
Foreign investors wary
Protests, strikes, riots over living
standards
Rampant corruption, black market mafia
Foreign organisation operation / presence
??
Basic course details
25
Conflict sensitivity means knowing how to avoid making things worse in environments where socio-political rivalries are acute and a hindrance to development and human security. This course defines the concept and issues, then examines how a foreign player can assess the situation to understand the drivers and pressure points of conflict. It then moves into conflict-sensitive management, with a look at the generic options for conflict sensitivity and how these can be tailored and adapted for relevant conflict sensitivity initiatives, linking into the wider political risk management imperative.
• Relevant to international managers, planners, and country / project managers with an interest in learning more about this element of risk management
• CSR / Community relations functions would benefit from knowing how to tailor CSR programming for conflict sensitivity
• HR with respect to local hiring practices
• Other risk functions would benefit from the general understanding of “how not to make things worse”
• Understanding the dynamics of rivalry and conflict, and its potential effect on foreign organisations
• Knowing how to assess a specific local or country-level conflict, to enable an understanding of principal drivers and conditions
• Awareness of the principal ethical standards and emerging international norms and expectations
• A process for the design of conflict sensitive initiatives which link into the wider political risk management agenda
• Conflict mapping – triggers, conditions, actors, drivers
• Mapping the foreign operation’s own presence and impact, to foresee potential pitfalls, deriving key risks
• Stakeholder mapping – conflict actors with an interest in the foreign operation’s presence
• Conflict sensitivity initiative design, linking relevant functions and other concurrent political risk management activities
• Monitoring and evaluation tools
Duration: 3 days, with an option for a less in-depth 2-day version which omits some application exercises and nuance
Audience Benefits Illustrative tools
Contents
26
Introduction to Harmattan and training approach
Political Risk Awareness – 1 day seminar
Political Risk Management – 4 day course
Stakeholder Engagement – 2 day course
Conflict Sensitivity – 3 day course
National Threat Assessment – 3 day course
Fulfilling the Brief: Tools and Approaches for Analytical Risk Projects – 3 day course
Summary and contact details
The national threat assessment course is aimed at enhancing skills and knowledge of strategic policy analysts in post-conflict and fragile states
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National assets
• People (human security, welfare / social mobility, fairness)
•Sovereignty (territory, autonomy, resource control)
• Legitimate political institutions (levers of good governance)...
Direct threats
Actors with capability and intent to harm national assets – foreign and domestic
Indirect threats
Socio-economic and political conditions which make nation weaker, or direct threats stronger
Priority threats to national assets (actors and issues)
Scenarios and contingencies
Strategic options
Recommendations based on balance of
long-term development and threat containment
A three-day course for strategic policy analysts in post-conflict and fragile states, or states at risk of conflict (sometimes partof new donor-funded organisations)
• Contextualised definition of the underlying assets that comprise the nation-state, at grass-roots and institutional levels
• Consideration of classic direct threats (actors with capability and intent to harm)
• Also attention to indirect threats - often weaknesses in social fabric or governance that give rise to tensions and open the door for foreign manipulation
• Emphasis on sustainable security based on inclusion and legitimacy, and legitimate containment of direct threats
Revise, refine, leave some room for decision-maker interpretation
Example from course: (generic example, indicative only, part of original hypotheses generation)
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Sustainable, secure national
development
Human security
Sovereignty (and asset control)
Legitimate institutions
Direct threats
Domestic absolutist / extremist interests
Organised criminal interests
Indirect threats
Poverty / inequity
Hostile foreign govt interests
Low education
Corruption / “clique-ism”
Ethnic / communal rivalry
Gender exclusion
Inept security bureaucracy
Over-reliance on external support...
Linkages
Linkages
Linkages, wider threat eco-
system, intervention
options
...
Allied government / donor– understanding gaps
Threatmapping
Basic course details
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This course provides strategic and policy analysts with a coherent process and analytical tools to identify and assess threats to national security, and to translate this into actionable policy options. It focuses on post-conflict and fragile states which have recognised that a combination of domestic conditions and threat actors lead to national security weaknesses, and places the emphasis between the two, rather than only on the conventional focus of specific foreign and illegal actors. As such, it is tailor-made for analysts working in situations where the country is pulling itself out of often self-imposed turmoil, and where there is a close linkage between socio-economic and political conditions and national security.
• The principal audience is high-level threat assessment and national security policy analysts – note that the emphasis is not on tactical intelligence analysis nor intelligence operationalmethods , although tactical intelligence professionals might benefit from understanding the broader picture
• Principally, the course is offered via legitimate international donors with a strong track record of impartial support for fragile and post-conflict states, but the end user is indeed the national analyst and his / her managers working within state organisations in the affected country
• Understanding how to identify critical national assets which form the principal exposures to threats and threat conditions
• Awareness of how “direct” threats (actors) and “indirect threats” (conditions) can work together to undermine national security
• A coherent analytical and options-formulation process with a range of relevant tools and approaches
• The course hi-lights the often missed weaknesses that derive from governance under-capacity and social exclusion / rivalry
• National asset identification process
• Threat definition and identification
• Threat eco-system and situation mapping
• Threat prioritisation matrices
• Generic threat control options
• Process to translate threat intelligence into specific recommendations
• Strategy formulation process for top-level recommendations
Duration: Depends on the circumstances, but 3 days is a benchmark; 4 days allows more discussion and practice, as well as a degree of individual mentoring (course timeframe can extend to more in-depth subsequent mentoring)
Audience Benefits Illustrative tools
Contents
30
Introduction to Harmattan and training approach
Political Risk Awareness – 1 day seminar
Political Risk Management – 4 day course
Stakeholder Engagement – 2 day course
Conflict Sensitivity – 3 day course
National Threat Assessment – 3 day course
Fulfilling the Brief: Tools and Approaches for Analytical Risk Projects – 3 day course
Summary and contact details
Fulfilling the (right) Brief – a 3-day course on structuring and managing analysis to address a political risk management / national security question
31
Organisational / decision-maker requirement:
• clarify risk issues • suggest management options
Logic and critical thinking
Strategic / risk assessment and intelligence tools
Project design, project leadership
Adjusting to audience culture and constraints
Clear outputs with qualified insights and recommendations, delivered in digestible, high-impact format
Fulfilment of brief, solid intelligence, relevant
options
A course on “thinking about thinking” in political / national security risk context, notspecific risk issues and topics
• How do we define an analytical question?
• How do we structure a project around this, and what methods and resources are required?
• How do we lead manage the project for good results on time?
• What is the best format forcredible and digestible delivery?
Example from course: Initial explanation for course premise
32
The initial challenge and ambiguity –
“client” question
No training in thinking
Accept the client and question at face value; Define the subject
Gather all information about the subject, compile mass of research materials
Read it all and think about it(“sleep on it”)
Put together ideas and write themup in a report about the subject
Give the (big) report to the personwho asked for help
After training in thinking
Define the real users, question the need to help define the relevant question
Think about how you will addressthe need (resources, methods,
information, activities)
Gather the specific information requiredto address the requirement
Apply analytical process; sift through defined filters; cross-check through devil’s
advocacy
Provide best possible answer and clear qualifications, designed for relevant
audience
Answers might be in here somewhere, but unclear and not user-friendly, hope they like
reading
Concise, relevant answer provided based on understandable process, backed up if
anyone wants to check data
Basic course details
33
One critical bridge between an awareness of socio-political risk and knowing the priorities that require attention is effective project management. This means knowing how to design an effective project to get the relevant answers, fluidity and self-awareness in thinking, and project leadership. These skills underlie the assessment of risk and the outcome’s translation into effective summaries and recommendations for decision-makers. This course can be summarised in two ways: it is about thinking about thinking, to provide solid logic and analytical tools to guide sound assessment, and it is about how to structure and lead a project to define and address a specific political risk or national threat related question.
• The course is primarily aimed at corporate analysts, internal consultants, and national security policy analysts in fragile states
• Much of the course is relevant to general strategic risk assessment skills and project leadership, and it is likely that strategic planners and risk management functions would derive some benefit from the course
• A concise and baseline introduction to logic and critical thinking that we have probably long since forgotten, in a real-world context
• Knowing how to apply the right tools in the right context
• Understanding to structure an analytical problem and to ensure that we define the most relevant brief
• Knowing how to structure a project, keep in on track, keep people motivated, and lead from the front
• Forming high-impact deliverables aligned to audience constraints
• Basic analytical logic – deductive / inductive and what each one looks like in practice
• Logic trees, mind-mapping, and system diagrams
• Tools for dealing with uncertainty and ambiguity – competing hypotheses, scenario analysis, the different forms available
• Project planning – matching sub-questions to resources, defining linkages and timelines
• Project leadership – keeping people motivated and on track
Duration: 3 days, with options for a focus on specific sub-elements (e.g. logic and analysis, project management...)
Audience Benefits Illustrative tools
Contents
34
Introduction to Harmattan and training approach
Political Risk Awareness – 1 day seminar
Political Risk Management – 4 day course
Stakeholder Engagement – 2 day course
Conflict Sensitivity – 3 day course
National Threat Assessment – 3 day course
Fulfilling the Brief: Tools and Approaches for Analytical Risk Projects – 3 day course
Summary and contact details
Summary
35
• Training is often a cost-effective way to build capacity in socio-political risk management: It can combine specific skills gaps and issues with new approaches and insights
• Building these skills can translate to an internalisation of socio-political risk awareness among international functions, providing a strong background for more objective analysis and planning of resilient international initiatives – having these skills internally also reduces costs on external expertise, and when external experts are necessary, staff are better prepared to select, guide and critically interpret relevant external inputs
• Harmattan can offer more “off the shelf” training solutions, or highly customised courses, but in every case the training need is treated as a consulting engagement, with a specific solution for a unique client – even when “off the shelf” would suffice, we still adapt to the client’s culture and current level of awareness
• We can also work with partners to incorporate specific regional and functional insights into our training – if it does not appear in this document or on the website, it is still worth asking to see what we can do (and we would not over-state our capacity nor rely on anyone other than trusted associates to fulfil a client brief – that is an element our own internal risk management)
• Our focus is as much on training participants in thinking and teamwork as it is on the subject matter – we avoid talking at people, get them beyond the strictures of management structure, and engage them as much as possible in the mutual cross-learning process
• Finally, Harmattan would welcome the occasion to address questions or discuss ideas on how our training services might be applicable or what the alternatives are – if there might be some utility for your organisation, we would be happy to discuss the options, including alternatives beyond Harmattan if your needs do not align with our capabilities
Contact
36
Robert McKellar, Engagement Manager
Tel: +44 77 89 86 67 43
Email: [email protected]
For more information: www.harmattan-risk.com
London, United Kingdom