Brainstorming New Capacities

Strategise detail 03

Purpose & Outputs

In this exercise, you can consider each of the threats you identified and prioritised in Section II, your capacities and your vulnerabilities in order to identify the new capacities you need to build in order to maintain your well-being in action.

Input & Materials

To carry out this exercise, you need to have identified and prioritised threats in Exercise 2.5b, and the outputs from Exercises 3.5a and 3.5b above.

Format & Steps

Reflect on the threats you face and your existing capacities and vulnerabilities identified in the previous exercises. You may want to write down your answers on a format such as the one in Appendix A.

Here, you will attempt to 'brainstorm' the new capacities you want to build. Consider the following questions which may help you identify them:

 

Whom/What is under threat? What new capacities should the person or people under threat build in order to reduce the likelihood or impact of the threat identified?

Who is behind the threat? How might you try to influence the cost-benefit analysis of the people or institution who might be behind the threat identified? Is there any way you can improve their tolerance or acceptance of our work, or deter them from acting against you?

How: What information is necessary for them to carry out the attack? How can you further protect the sensitive information about your work and prevent it from falling into the wrong hands?

Where: How can you increase the security capacities of the physical spaces around us (e.g. buildings, vehicles, private property) in order to make this threat less likely or damaging?

Psychological, emotional and health considerations: In the context of this threat, what practices can you build to reduce stress and tiredness in order to be more aware and react more creatively to the threat?