Training on corporate research and grievance mechanisms

Training by SOMO provides hands-on knowledge and the skills needed to promote sustainable change and provide a counterweight to unsustainable strategies and practices of multinational corporations. Over the last year, SOMO experts gave trainings on corporate research and non-judicial grievance mechanism in eg. Benin, Bulgaria, Colombia, Ghana, Philippines and Pakistan.

Our corporate research trainings provide skills and knowledge to research and analyze companies. Our trainings on non-judicial grievance mechanisms guide organizations how to file a complaint in order to prevent, stop and remedy corporate misconduct.

From 11-14 May 2015, SOMO trained staff of Al-Haq on corporate research and non-judicial grievance mechanisms. Al-Haq(opens in new window) is an independent Palestinian non-governmental human rights organization, that is an affiliate of the International Commission of Jurists. Al-Haq combines field investigations with legal research and advocacy. The training discussed the relevance and the various elements of corporate research, gave insight in the various sources of company information and how these should be used, and discussed the most relevant Business & Human Rights standards and available non-judicial grievance mechanisms. The training enabled Al-Haq to combine their legal expertise with basic skills to investigate companies and apply the non-legal mechanisms to hold companies to account.

“ We are grateful to SOMO for delivering a rich two-day training session Having interactive sessions throughout the training was particularly useful as they allowed us to dig deeper into cases we are currently working on in Palestine. The depth of knowledge and approachability of the SOMO trainers provides a vital and welcome resource for our work in the future”- Mona Sabella – Al-Haq

SOMO provides these trainings on corporate research and non-judicial grievance mechanisms for a wide range of groups varying from civil society groups to academic scholars. From 1-5 June SOMO researchers Tim Steinweg and Julian Müller (PhD) led several training sessions at the Summer School for Young Researchers on Methods in Economic Geography, Political Economy and Urban Studies, organized and hosted by the KU Leuven. In their engaging and action-oriented training programs Tim and Julian focused on improving the skills of participants to research business models, corporate structures, corporate financial flows, and financial accounting with the use of innovative research methods.