This document provides information for a four-day learning workshop on economic justice being held from March 17-20, 2014. The workshop objectives are to promote peer learning, develop an economic justice community of practice, and enhance partners' abilities to create impact through systems approaches. The agenda includes sessions on themes like influence, gender, enterprise development and resilience building, as well as field visits. Ground rules for presentations and discussions are established. Systems thinking approaches, like considering underlying causes and wider impacts, are encouraged.

1. MECIS ECONOMIC JUSTICE
COMMUNITY OF PRACTICE
LEARNING WORKSHOP
WELCOME
MARCH 17-20, 2014

2. Page 2
PLEASE SIT AT TABLES AS SHOWN
U. Alik – ESDC: _________– Fatima Irshaid –
Mohamad S - Peter L –– Saida
V. Agapi – Chogi – Matteo – Mustafa Ismael – Nickie –
PARC: _________ - Shekhar
W. Ahmed Sourani - Benoit – Dilorom –
PalTrade: _________ - Rita – Roxanne
X. Alaa – BWF: Dua - Levan – Maxime –
Safarmo – Thomas
Y. FTDC: _________ - Ibrahim Shaat – Jonathan –
Mahinakhon – Nino – QUODEV: __________
Z. ARIJ: __________ - Beesyna – Ghazi – Ramila –
Wael - Wassem

3. Page 3
WORKSHOP OBJECTIVES
1. To promote peer to peer learning across the
region
2. To develop a strong Economic Justice
Community of Practice and support
structure in the region
3. To enhance the ability of Oxfam and partner
organisations to gain greater impact
through a systems approach

4. Page 4
AGENDA
MONDAY TUESDAY WEDNESDAY THURSDAY
SHARING EXPERIENCE
WITHIN THEMES
FIELD VISITS INTEGRATION
& NEXT STEPS
Introduction 2 themes Field visits Integration
2 themes 2 themes Field visits Next steps

5. Page 5
TUESDAY AGENDA: MORNING
9.00 Review Monday
9.20 Influence
• Introduction
• Georgia case study and clarifications
• Gaza Strip case study and clarifications
• Groups: systems questions
• Plenary
10.40 Coffee/Tea
10.55 Gender
12.00 Minister(s): official speaker(s)
12.30 Lunch

6. Page 6
TUESDAY AGENDA: AFTERNOON
13.30Enterprise Development
Case studies: West Bank and Azerbaijan
14.50 Coffee/Tea
15.05 Resilience Building
Case studies: Armenia (2) and Oxfam Italy
16.45 Market Place: help sought and offered
16.50 Review day
16.55 Plans for field visits
17.00 Close
19.00 Dinner

7. Page 7
TUESDAY GROUP WORK
Thinking of the case studies you have just heard,
please agree a key question to ask of the presenters of
any one or all case studies.
Please seek a deep question guided by the 4 systems
questions ABCD. Your question does not have to be
ABCD.
Please also agree a back-up question – in case another
group asks your main question first!

8. Page 8
GROUPS FOR TUESDAY
BISCUITS: Alaa – Alik – Beesyna – BWF: Dua –
Ibrahim Shaat – Roxanne – Safarmo – Saida – Wael
COFFEE: ARIJ: __________ – Benoit – Chogi –
Jonathan – Levan – Mohamad S -–Mustafa Ismael –
Nickie – Ramila – Wassem
SIDEROOM: Ahmed Sourani – Dilorom – Fatima Irshaid
– FTDC: _________ – Ghazi – Matteo –
PalTrade: _________ – Peter L – Rita – Thomas
LIFTS: Agapi – ESDC: _________ – Mahinakhon –
Maxime – Nino – PARC: _________ –
QUODEV: __________ –Shekhar

9. Page 9

10. Page 10
EXPECTATIONS: GENERAL
• To learn what others have done
• To learn from colleagues about what worked
and what did not work, especially in oPt
• To exchange ideas, learning from each other
• To reflect on our own initiatives from
different perspectives
• To understand systems thinking and
leveraging – and how they affect theories of
change

11. Page 11
EXPECTATIONS: SPECIFIC TOPICS
• Challenges faced by others launching
Gendered Enterprise & Markets (GEM)
projects
• Innovative agricultural service delivery
models
• Programme implementation by partners
• Monitoring & finance management, donor
requirements
• Motivation for farmers’ cooperation
• Implementing gender mainstreaming

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DESIGN OF WORKSHOP
Balance between sharing on specific details…

13. Page 13
DESIGN OF WORKSHOP
… and digging into depth through systems thinking

14. Page 14
DESIGN OF WORKSHOP
Specific details AND conceptual thinking
breadth AND depth
– especially in field visits

15. Page 15
SYSTEMS THINKING:
WHAT IS A SYSTEM?
• Multiple actors and relationships
between them
• Both formal and informal structures
and behaviours
• Unpredictable chains of events
• System adapts itself and changes
It is real life!

16. Page 16
Transport
Business Development - minimal
services due to vertical integration
MARKET
SERVICES
(DIS)ENABLING
ENVIRONMENT
MARKET
CHAIN
Smallholders (80%)
growing Olive Oil
(100,000 HHs)
Consumer:
•International
Farm intensification – limited
complimentary livelihoods:
Herbs, Honey, Almond, Cous Cous
Informal Gulf
Gift market
(30%)
Bottlers
(9)
Domestic
retailers (20%)
Commercial
presses
(280-
presses)
US, Far east and
European Retailers
and Supermarkets
(10%?)Differentiated Markets by
quality and certification
-virgin/extra virgin
-- FT/Organic/non FT
-- Solidarity/mainstream
Israeli’s define trade policy,
logistics and access to assets
Lack of trust between
actors in the sector
Export logistics in current
security situation
Liberalisation: disruption in
input supplies, quality control
problems
Lack of power/influence of
Olive oil council and other
farmers’ representative org.
Limited access to
water sources
Producer
organisation
(40)
Limited research
- drought /pest
resistant crops
Extension
All delivered
through
NGO’s
Finance
Working
capital and
export Credit
Insurance Savings
Pests and disease
Rainfed ag. – limited and
unpredictable rainfall
OPT Agriculture viewed
as an investment
Non-commercial
actors with limited
business and
financial skills
By-product –
Olive paste
Access/maintenance of
farms near settlements/
behind the
wall/mountains
Supply
Stability
Sector management
and Trade policy
Land claiming by
Israeli’s, declining
soil fertility and
fragmentation
Assets
Farmer’s and
Coops/groups lack
of a business
mentality/passivity
Women lack time
and ??
attitudes
and beliefs
Consumers solidarity
with Palestinian cause
Education levels and skill
transfer from Israeli Ag.
Quality image being
eroded by ‘Gift’ trade
Wholesalers
(120)
Domestic
Manufacturers
(5%)
Export
Manufacturers
(?%)
Home
consumption
Irrigation – limited
technologies
Donor interest
High labour cost
Coop
Presses
FLO/IMO/Or
ganic
certification
FLO pricing
Donor
money
Low overall
quantity
Storing changes
specification
First mover advantage on
FT
100%
Women
95%
Men
90%
Men
100%
men
100%
men
Men and
women
15%
women
Men and
women
100%
men
100%
men

17. Page 17
SYSTEMS THINKING:
SOME KEY QUESTIONS
A. What underlying causes were being addressed? How
did they link to the interventions used?
B. What were the wider impacts beyond immediate
beneficiaries? What lessons can be drawn from these
wider impacts?
C. What were the main factors causing inequality between
men and women? How did you tackle these factors?
D. What relationships with others were important? What
did you do to build and benefit from them?

18. Page 18
SYSTEMS THINKING
• Popular definition
• Examples from non-MECIS projects:
• Colombia dairy – influencing through stakeholder forums
• Ethiopia Coffee – new business model
• Tanzania Sisal – private sector linkage

19. Page 19
Enterprise Development
Resilience Building
Innovative
Services
Gender
Influence &
Investment
New Business
Models

20. Page 20
GROUND RULES
• Tight timing on presentations: 12 minutes plus
3 minutes for handover and points of clarification…
What else?
• Punctuality?
• Mobiles?
• Use of laptops?
• Confidentiality?
• How to talk about the work of other people?
• ANK?

21. Page 21
Acronyms Nobody Knows

22. Page 22
CONTEXT: BY LOCATION
Armenia – Azerbaijan – Georgia
– oPt (2 groups) – Tajikistan
Please summarise on matching coloured Post-its the
context in your location: briefly in marker pens:
• What is positive for Oxfam’s work
• What is negative for Oxfam’s work
- within each of the 5 sectors:
Positive Negative
Public sector
Private sector
Civil society
Smallholder agriculture
Household/domestic culture

23. Page 23
CONTEXT: BY SECTOR
Please study Post-its in 1 of the 5 sectors:
how much is the same and how much is different
between locations?
Table U + ARIJ: Public sector
Table V + Ramila + Wassem: Private sector
Table W + Beesyna: Civil society
Table X + Ghazi: Smallholder agriculture
Table Y + Wael: Household/domestic culture
After every 4 minutes we shall move round.
PS
CS
SHA
HH/DC
PS

24. Page 24
INNOVATIVE SERVICES: GROUP WORK
In Tajikistan and each location represented in the
group that has supported innovation in services to
women and men smallholders:
1. In relation to innovative services:
a) what worked well?
b) what did not work?
2. Systems questions: group 1 answers A / group 2: D
/ group 3: C / group 4: B – see paper
Please choose someone to record key points on the
flipchart and report back a summary in plenary.

25. Page 25
NEW BUSINESS MODELS: GROUP WORK
In Azerbaijan, West Bank and each location
represented in the group that has supported links to
commercial buyers and wholesale markets through
new business models:
1. In relation to new business models:
a) what worked well?
b) what did not work?
2. Systems questions: group 1 answers B / group 2: A
/ group 3: D / group 4: C – see paper
Please summarise your answers in pictures and
choose someone to explain the pictures in plenary.