COC
 
Home

Strategic Partners Initiative

Now in its third year, the Strategic Partners Initiative (Initiative) builds toward long-term systemic change that strikes at the roots of poverty, serves the economically disadvantaged and addresses the need for deeper understanding, movement building and collaboration between local and national efforts. Local issues become an entry point for generating a new understanding of trade and economic liberalization in the U.S.; introducing a perspective of global solidarity and gender equality into a local-global issue; and developing alternative economic policies and models that support gender equality, sustainable livelihoods, and environmental constraints.

The Initiative was launched in October 2006, with a partnership with the Delmarva Community Alliance (DCA), a community-based group on the Eastern Shore of the Chesapeake which advocates for the rights and interests of poultry growers, chicken catchers, processing plant workers, and the communities in which the chicken industry operates. In July 2007, the Center of Concern, represented by the Global Women's Project and Rethinking Bretton Woods, joined with Cordaid (a Dutch development agency), and partners in 6 African countries in a collaborative advocacy initiative to improve the conditions of Africa's small agricultural producers, particularly women and indigenous. The partnership is proving to be a useful counterbalance to our collaboration on poultry production and work within the Agribusiness Accountability Initiative, a key network for engagement. In December 2007, a second strategic partnership was initiated with the Center for Heirs' Property Preservation (CHPP) that will explore tourism and leisure expansion on the Sea Islands, a chain of islands off the southeast coast of the U.S., most recently deeded to the descendents of slaves brought over from West Africa "“ the Gullah people.

The creation of systemic change is well-served by this initiative, particularly in how it incorporates the interests of marginalized groups (notably women and people living in poverty) and seeks the establishment of a just society by being rooted in effecting change in local areas "“ as precursors to broader social change. Not only will the Strategic Partners Initiative seek change within Delmarva, six African countries, and the coastal counties of South Carolina, but the insights and analysis will inform a wider agenda of change. In each case, the focused research and analysis will contribute to a new understanding of economic relations and the development of policy proposals and advocacy agendas that place human well-being, gender equality and environmental sustainability at the heart of economic relations.

 

Goals

 

  • To transform patterns of collaboration between local and national organizations, so that it is equitable, synergetic, and meaningful to all parties.
  • To enhance the work of our partners and promote greater social and economic justice and the transformation of inequitable structures and systems by using the full array of the Center's analytic, advocacy, educational and networking skills and resources.
  • To advance and make concrete our research and analysis through the development of case studies which illustrate the problems and failures of current international and domestic policies.
  • To use the collaborations as the basis for developing and/or adapting alternative economic and social policies and initiatives rooted in ethical values, human rights and global solidarity.
  • To develop new forms of education, advocacy and constituent outreach so that local and national constituencies better understand the realities of economic, gender and environmental injustice within the context of domestic and global integration brought about through trade, financial and economic liberalization.

 

Our Three Strategic Partnerships

 

Eastern Shore Poultry Production

Poultry production in the U.S. is dominated by the industrial model and is highly concentrated. The power of the firms has translated into downward pressure on wages, violations of worker rights, exploitative contracts, and environmental degradation. The model is quickly expanding across the globe through trade and investment liberalization, with devastating consequences on livelihoods, food security and the environment in developing countries "“ particularly for women and families living in poverty.

Small Agricultural Producers in Africa

This joint initiative, Global and Regional Advocacy on Small Producers (GRASP), linking the Center with Cordaid (Netherlands) and more than a dozen African partners utilizes evidence-based advocacy and has a focus on changing power relations vis-Ã -vis the state and the market. The work adopts a value chain perspective and consequently gives more attention to "“ besides governments - the influence of consumers, retailers, the food industry, agribusiness, traders and other actors in shaping the way markets may work for or against poverty reduction, human rights and environmental sustainability.

Tourism and Development in the Gullah Region

Economic gains from growth in tourism and leisure development have not been broadly shared. Rather, the local populations-for example the Gullah people in South Carolina-have experienced the loss of land and land rights, loss of livelihood particularly in the agricultural sector, and the increased dependence on the corporate entities for economic survival. The rapid population growth and commercial development threatens the environment. Similar trends are seen in many developing countries as tourism is advanced as a major sector for development. This first year in partnership with the Center for Heir's Property Preservation is focused on developing an internationally-centered analysis and understanding of the Gullah and identifying policies and strategies that have been successful elsewhere in terms of land and cultural preservation and could inform an advocacy or legal strategy in the Gullah context.

 

Additional Resources

 

Overview of the Strategic Partners Initiative and its emphasis on collaboration in research and analysis of key problems at the local level in order to identify their linkages to policy decisions at the national and global levels, and situate them within the context of similar experiences in the U.S. and abroad - thereby developing a more comprehensive view of the dynamics currently at work in our world.

This briefing paper was prepared by Kristin Sampson, Center of Concern and Carole Morrison, Delmarva Community Alliance and is based on preliminary findings of an ongoing collaborative project in researching, monitoring and documenting the domestic and international impact of the U.S. poultry industry within the context of trade liberalization.

Tourism development has been hailed by the International Financial Institutions (IFIs--World Bank, International Monetary Fund) and the World Trade Organization as a means for economic gain by creating jobs and enabling states to earn foreign exchange to invest in development. It has also been a strategy used in economically disadvantaged regions of the U.S. This article explores the often overlooked negative impacts of the strategy.

Brief report on our work with partners in Africa and the EU which calls for African governments and the EU to respect human dignity, heed the calls of the poor and marginalized, and craft an Economic Partnership Agreement that gives priority to authentic human development over corporate profits.