Acceptance is one of the three pillars of an organisation’s security risk management strategies to ensure both access to affected populations and the safety of their staff and programmes. Acceptance is not ‘one size fits all’ approach and is implemented very differently across the sector, however given the dynamic nature of the contexts in which many organisations operate, acceptance is not something that can be passively assumed. Levels of acceptance must be fully assessed, constantly monitored, and actively strengthened and maintained over time. 

[toolbox-standout-box]Acceptance of an organisation and its activities is not something that can be assumed, it must be assessed and constantly monitored.[/toolbox-standout-box]

An acceptance analysis provides a framework assess the relative levels of acceptance of your organisations and its activities in different locations among different stakeholders. The analysis should include a wide range of stakeholders and actors, especially those with the capacity and/or motive to obstruct programme implementation or threaten staff, including beneficiary groups, host communities, community leaders, local authorities, security forces, armed groups, criminal groups, and local media. 

The acceptance analysis should assess the different stakeholders in terms of their influence on the security situation, their perception/acceptance of your organisation, its staff and programmes, and the current level of engagement with these stakeholders, in order to determine potential risks and challenges, and identify measures and actions to maintain or strengthen acceptance.