Oxfam Novib and SOMO Strategic Partnership Oxfam Novib and SOMO share the vision of a just world without poverty. The change we want to achieve through our partnership with the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs is that more people, especially marginalized groups, play an active role in building an equitable world where they can realize their basic rights: their right to food; the right to live in a democratic society with a fair distribution of public resources; and the right to live in peace and security. To realize this ambition Oxfam Novib and SOMO will work in the upcoming years on two key areas of change. The first area of change is the empowerment of people. We will do this by strengthening a diverse civil society - a collective space where people organize themselves and further common interests. The second area of change is about influencing governments and companies so their policies and practices will reduce inequalities, insecurity and injustice (violence, corruption, discrimination) and foster the realization of rights and prosperity of citizens. By working on these two areas Oxfam Novib and SOMO want to contribute to systemic change: a redistribution of power and a structural change in the behavior of governments and companies in favor of social and economic justice. The program will cover three thematic areas that reflect the key challenges for the coming decades in the fight against poverty: the right to food; a greater responsibility in finance for development and conflict and fragility. Within the theme Right to food, SOMO will focus its work on capacity building of civil society in research and advocacy, specifically in relation to food prices and improving conditions for agricultural workers and small-scale food producers. SOMO will conduct research to support national and global influencing. Its primary thematic focus areas include food prices, the impact of trading policies, the needs and problems of agricultural workers and the role of certification schemes. Within the theme Greater responsibility in finance for development, SOMO will provide research trainings on tax avoidance by companies to interested partner organizations and carry out joint research projects. SOMO’s research outputs will lead to specific (policy) recommendations to be shared with relevant actors (such as governments, institutions, private sector). SOMO feeds the public debate with reports and briefings. Its specialized research puts new areas, such as the links between tax issues and human rights, on the political agenda. Together with local partners, SOMO conducts research within the theme Conflict and Fragility into the role of companies in conflict-affected areas and how existing accountability mechanisms can be more effective. SOMO and its partner organizations develop company case studies based on (field) research conducted, aimed to address corporate misconduct in conflict settings. SOMO empowers local partners to follow up on corporate misconduct (including non-judicial grievance mechanisms, dialogue, campaigning) in conflict-affected areas; SOMO advocates with governments and international institutions to strengthen and implement the regulatory framework for companies operating in conflict-affected areas.