The process followed in arriving at recommendations on the medium-term resource allocations has been presented in Chapter 2 of this report. After the consideration of TAC's recommendations on CGIAR priorities and strategies at the CGIAR MTM'92, centres were invited to submit MTP proposals for the period 1994-1998 based on the tentative resource envelope assigned by TAC. These proposals were assessed by TAC in the context of its recommendations on CGIAR priorities and strategies and the centres' strategic plans. An interim commentary was issued on each centre MTP proposal. Subsequently, the MTP proposals, together with TAC's interim commentary, were presented and discussed by the CGIAR. Seven MTP proposals were reviewed at TAC 59 and ICW'92, and ten at TAC 60 and MTM'93, while the CIFOR MTP was first discussed by the Group at MTM'93 and then by TAC at TAC 61. In June 1993 at TAC 61, the Committee considered all MTP proposals comprehensively, and the supplementary information provided by the centres in response to the interim commentaries and issues raised by the Group. It also took into account new developments, both within and outside the System which had occurred since March 1992, when TAC's recommendations on CGIAR priorities and strategies had been finalized.
In finalizing recommendations on resource allocation across the System for the period 1994-1998, TAC proceeded in several stages. First, TAC considered whether on priority grounds only, a change in the level of resources tentatively assigned to each centre was warranted; institutional issues were omitted from the discussion at this stage. Second, TAC evaluated the MTP of each centre in accordance with a set of five equally-weighted criteria: the strategic character of the centre's research programme, potential for breakthroughs, past performance and likelihood of continuance (or improvement), external environment, institutional health and quality of management, and collaboration with NARS, other IARCs and advanced institutions. Third, TAC reconciled the outcome of the first stage which was largely priority and demand driven, and the second stage which was largely supply/institution driven. This led TAC to assign core resources to individual centres and to a number of CGIAR Systemwide initiatives at an aggregate level of System core resources of US$ 270 million in 1998. In that process, TAC took into account the implications of its allocation proposals for the implementation of the overall System priorities. TAC also made recommendations on the level of core resources to be assigned to centres and CGIAR Systemwide initiatives if, in 1998, an additional US$ 10 million were available to the System.
The background to, and outcome of, TAC's deliberations for each centre is presented in Sections 4.3 to 4.20 below. First, a summary is given of the primary MTP proposal as it was presented by the centre to TAC and to the Group. This is followed by TAC's interim commentary and some of the major programmatic issues raised by the Group, and the centre's response. The subsequent section on 'Evaluation' summarizes the outcome of TAC's discussions. The last section presents TAC's recommendations for each individual centre.
