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Why working with the FCDO matters so much to CYB

CYB has partnered with the FCDO since 2019. Together we have thrived working on a range of projects that have progressed our core aim - to use digital as a force for good.

The relationship between Caution Your Blast and the Foreign, Commonwealth and Development Office is a special one. We’ve been partners since 2019, and have thrived working together on a range of projects that have progressed our core aim - to use digital as a force for good. From COVID-19 emergency loans and understanding how to get emergency alerts to British Nationals overseas to making it easier to get married abroad, the services we have built together have made the lives of British citizens abroad much easier. 

Here are three reasons why we love working alongside the FCDO: 

1. Together, we help citizens

The FCDO does incredible work to help British citizens abroad, and we’re so excited that we get to play a part in shaping exactly what that help looks like. Think about it: if you go abroad, anything might happen to you! You can lose your passport or get arrested; you might decide to get married, or you might get into a serious accident. Partnering with the FCDO means they let us help citizens in dealing with all sorts of scenarios. From using digital to repatriate citizens to legalising marriage or travel documents while abroad, our work with the FCDO allows us to have a wider reach and broader positive impact. 

2. Together, we are growing a brilliant digital culture

The FCDO has allowed us to help them grow and change for the better. It’s difficult to change ways of working when part of such a large and established organisation - there are processes in place and things that have been done a certain way for years. But the FCDO Consular Leadership and CYB have shaken things up and made the FCDO realise that there is so much value in new cultures and ways of working. We recognise they are doing hard work to grow and change their patterns of thinking, and we highly respect them for that. This isn't a one-way street, CYB have also learnt infinite amounts about policy, crisis and collaboration under the most intense pressure, so together we are creating something unique. 

3. Together, we help others

By working with the FCDO, not only are we helping the teams within the FCDO and citizens abroad, we also get the opportunity to help the wider community, especially in government, by making our knowledge available and assets open source. At CYB, we are not focused on keeping everything for ourselves - we want to share our findings and create solutions that can be used and reused for others to benefit from. Take our form builder, created for the FCDO, which is not simply open source but is a fully managed open source project with an active community of contributors - the first we know of in government. Other governments and even our competitors are currently benefiting from us providing this - and they're openly collaborating with us on new features to improve it further.

As a company whose mission is to use digital as a force for good, we can’t think of a better partner than the FCDO to help us live out and achieve our purpose and objectives.


Looking to make a difference? CYB is actively looking for passionate individuals seeking to use digital for good to join our team. Email info@cautionyourblast.com to find out more.