Conceptualizing acceptance as a viable approach to security management

By Larissa Fast, Faith Freeman, Michael O’Neill, and Elizabeth Rowley

This article is forthcoming in the journal Disasters, published by the Overseas Development Institute and Blackwell Publishing. 

Abstract: This article documents current understandings of acceptance as a security management approach and explores issues and challenges non-­‐governmental organizations confront when implementing an acceptance approach to security management. The authors argue that the failure of organizations to systematize and clearly articulate acceptance as a distinct security management approach and a lack of organizational policies and procedures on acceptance hinder its efficacy as a security management approach. The authors identify key and cross-­‐cutting components of acceptance that are critical to its effective implementation in order to advance a comprehensive and systematic concept of acceptance. The key components of acceptance illustrate how organizational and staff functions positively or negatively impact an organization’s acceptance, and include: an organization’s principles and mission, stakeholder and context analysis, relationships and networks, programming, negotiation, communications, staffing and image. The authors argue that acceptance is linked not only to good programming, but to overall organizational management and structures.