A third of the world's poorest, most vulnerable and marginalized people are thought to live in fragile and conflict-affected countries. Oxfam's work in these countries aims to address their needs, but we recognize the importance of finding different ways to do this in these challenging contexts. In these environments, conflict is often violent, protracted and mirrored across society. These contexts are also among the most challenging for development agencies to work in. There is limited civil society space and capacity, direct threats to staff and partners, and in many cases few opportunities to engage or work with the state.

In February 2016, Oxfam hosted its first learning event on working in fragile and conflict-affected contexts in order to bring together a range of Oxfam and partner staff to exchange programmatic and operational learning. The event was organized by Oxfam's Within and Without the State programme (WWS), which aims to improve the quality and effectiveness of civil society programming in fragile and conflict-affected settings. This report documents the outcomes and discussions of the event.