Phil at itinerant and indigent has an interesting personal security assessment form that some may find useful. It is intended for ex-pat staff but I don’t see why it could be used, with some slight modifications, for national staff.

However, I recommend it with a caveat. It is important that the user of the form and the compiler of the data recognize that there is a difference (sometimes a very large difference) between feeling (un)secure and being (un)secure. People tend to underestimate threats to which they have become familiar and overestimate new threats especially if those threats are vivid and easy to recall.

I especially like question 5:

Describe a few things that could happen over the next two months,  that would cause you to review your posting here. Try to be very specific as you describe a threshold that, once  crossed, would make you radically reassess  being here in Afghanistan 

Having people assess their risk cut off level proactively might just help counter some of the cognitive bias that skews risk perception.

You can find the form here. Just scroll down to the bottom of the post.

Tags: Tips, Tools