It s a dangerous business going out your front door. J.R.R. Tolkien (1892-1973) SIMSON Security Incident Management System Purpose: Method: Participants: Location: Language: A web based platform to record, manage, analyse and share security incidents & information internally and among other NGOs. Web based platform to be used inside your organisation with the possibility to share with other organisations. NGOs Worldwide English Costs: Account per month: 25,- (excl. 21% VAT). Want to join? For more information about Simson, please contact Ebe Brons: +31 33 463 0293, ebe@centreforsafety.org) Benefits: Easy & time saving; fill in the incident reporting form and the right persons will automatically be informed. Creates a database and institutional memory; even with high staff turnover, you will know what happened even if this was years ago. Monitoring your organisational security; Simson enables you to store and share your security documents and monitor globally if your security documents are updated on time. Stay informed; Simson allows you to see what happens almost in real-time. This gives you more grip on security in a rapidly changing environment. Automated alerts keep you updated of recent security incidents. Sharing; You can connect with other Simson users and start sharing information, this gives you more information to analyse and enables better decision-making.
Easy & time saving Simson saves you time. It is quick and easy. Just fill in the reporting form and let Simson take care of the rest. You can use the saved time to manage the incident. Database & institutional memory By collecting your incidents electronically, an institutional memory is created. This limits the knowledge drain that rises from (possible) staff turnover. A new security focal point can easily check the database to know what happened in the past. Monitoring your organisational security Simson enables you to carry out basic analysis of security incidents and trends. Using the filters to examine different incident categories, contacts, timeframe and the locations of incidents on the map. You can also use Simson to monitor if your security documents (crisis plans, security protocols etc.) are regularly updated. The system keeps track of outdated documents via email alerts. 2
Stay informed Sharing incidents internally and between other NGOs increases your knowledge. This increased knowledge makes effective security management possible within all the participating NGOs. By adding this knowledge to the understanding of the local context, the quality of security decisions will improve. Email alerts keep you informed of recent incidents. You can use Simson to filter the alerts. That way you only receive the alerts you want to receive. Do I have to share everything? You control your own information. There are three levels of sharing: Do not share; the information is only visible in your account. Basic sharing; the information you share with other NGOs consists only of basic information and no details. Full sharing; the whole incident form including details is shared. How can I use Simson as an internal system? Simson enables you to share security information within your organisation. HQ, field offices and local NGO partners can be involved. Every office receives an account. With this account the office can report their security incidents and other security information. The accounts can connect to each other and start sharing their information automatically. The offices can also share security documents. These documents have to be updated after a certain period of time. Simson keeps track of this deadline and alerts you when the document is outdated. The Simson incident reporting system is a great way to share incident information with my NGO colleagues. It s easy to use and the map feature is a great way to visualize the data. It s also helpful to view the incidents that my NGO colleagues have reported. Michael O'Neill Director Global Safety & Security, Save the Children International 3
What are the principles of Simson? Trust and security Trust between Simson users is the basis to share sensitive information. Internet security is based on secure server databases and (https) data encryption to safety wire the information over the internet. HQ Security SIMSON Security Manager NGO B Incident form is filled in by the security manager. Simson informs other security managers and staff using the website and e-mail. Reciprocity Simson makes sure people share information and not only use the system to get information. You can only receive information from another user if you also share your information with this user. Security Manager NGO A Security Manager NGO B The Security Manager of NGO A shares his/her incidents with NGO B. The sharing works two ways, never one way. 4
Control You can choose to share your security incidents with a contact in two ways, full and basic. Basic information is the minimal amount of information a contact needs in order to use it. Full contacts get access to all the details of the incident report. You choose with what level of information you would like to share. HQ Security Field NGO shares full incidents with this contact and vice versa. Incident form is filled in by. Manager NGO B Field NGO shares basic incidents with this contact and vice versa. Let see some how to movies about Simson How to report an incident How to use the filters Want to join Simson? You can join Simson by contacting Ebe Brons (ebe@centreforsafety.org, phone: +31 33 463 0293). He will inform you about the possibilities. About Centre for Safety and Development CSD is a non-profit foundation specialised in safety and security for humanitarian organisations worldwide. We believe that sharing security knowledge and skills enables other humanitarian organisations to work in unsafe areas in order to reduce human suffering and bring about a better world. Read more about CSD on: www.centreforsafety.org. 5