It may appear from the outside that things have been a little quiet at Open Briefing over the summer.

In fact, the opposite is true. We have been working flat out developing our work plan and budgets for the next three years as well as hugely expanding our fundraising efforts. At the same time, we have been working on two key projects:

• A travel risk assessment, threat briefing and security package for a member of staff of a major international funder.
• An intelligence briefing on the hostile use of drones by non-state actors against British targets.

We have also been developing some exciting new initiatives for the next 12 months, which include:

• A unique new Open Briefing security division to provide risk assessments, training and security for aid workers and human rights defenders working in conflict zones or under repressive regimes.
• Monthly intelligence briefings on UK actions against Islamic State in Iraq and Syria, which will inform the parliamentary and public debates over the expansion of UK military operations in the region.
• An innovative project examining the NGO use of private military and security companies and developing guidelines for best practice and a code of conduct.

In addition, we will be restarting our popular monthly briefings on transnational organised crime, remote-control warfare and political and security risk updates over the next few months.

And during all this, our executive director, Chris Abbott, and his wife, Lou, had a baby boy in August!

Big things are happening at Open Briefing. We are working tirelessly behind the scenes to make a difference. If you would like to support our work, please consider making a donation. We are your intelligence agency.