1. Background
The Ecoregional Programmes Review will assess the progress made towards the implementation of those Systemwide programmes employing an ecoregional approach launched by the CGIAR centres in collaboration with their partners since 1995. These programmes are new efforts in the CGIAR and this review is timed to evaluate at System level the experiences which have been gained to this point. The review will also be a part of TAC's consideration of the value added by Systemwide Programmes more generally.
The ecoregional programmes to be reviewed are:
(i) The desert margins programme for sub-Saharan Africa.
(ii) The programme for the warm humid and sub-humid tropics of sub-Saharan Africa.
(iii) The programme for the humid and sub-humid tropics of Asia.
(iv) The on-farm water husbandry programme for West Asia and North Africa.
(v) The programme for rice/wheat based cropping systems in the Indo-Gangetic plain.
(vi) The programme for enhancing agricultural research effectiveness in Tropical America.
(vii) The alternatives to slash and bum agriculture programme.
(viii) The sustainable mountain agricultural development programme.
The Systemwide initiative on coastal environments is excluded as it has not yet progressed to a point where review would be useful.
2. Terms of Reference of the Review
The terms of reference of the Review are as follows:
1. Analyze how the programmes performed in addressing the objective of sustainable improvement of productivity, especially how well the ecoregional approach had performed in linking strategic and applied research on natural resource conservation and management with that on production systems, including location-specific aspects of global commodity/subject matter research activities.2. Evaluate, using the following seven criteria, how the value added by making the activities Systemwide, rather than leaving them as a series of centre-based components, outweighed the additional transaction and management costs.
· The degree of effectiveness of collaboration among Centres and between them and other partners (linking, openness, involvement with NARS and other research partners).· Cost-effectiveness/value added of the implementation options.
· The participation of potential beneficiaries and other stakeholders in the definition of the research problems and priorities.
· Clarity in communicating the importance of the research to the CGIAR Members and other actors.
· Continuity of funding/support.
· Ease of accountability.
· The standards of planning, monitoring and evaluation.
The Panel will also conduct selective visits to field sites of some programmes, if necessary, to verify the findings of a desk study outlined below. Preferably, the visits will be focused on the oldest programmes.
3. The Desk Study
The Review will be supported by a desk study which will gather and analyze the following information on each of the eight ecoregional programmes:
· Programme proposals and plans, progress reports, any journal or conference papers reporting research results, and any documented adoption or impact studies.· The responses of stakeholders to a formal set of questions about how well they thought the programmes had performed in conducting research on the technical and human dimensions of problems in the sustainable improvement of productivity for their ecoregions, and any suggestions they wished to offer to improve the efficiency and effectiveness of the ecoregional approach. These questions should address specifically also the adequacy of existing accountability (review) processes.
The stakeholders to be interviewed would include: (a) the CGIAR Centres, especially the Lead/Convening Centre; (b) the participating national organizations, in developing countries (and going beyond the NARS to the national agencies responsible for rural land and environmental administration); (c) the CGIAR Members and other agencies that have provided funds for the programmes; and (d) NGOs and ARIs.
· Any information about such programmes that has emerged in the course of recent EPMRs, and other CGIAR Reviews such as the one on the Systemwide Genetic Resources Programme.
4. Timing of the Ecoregional Review
The preparatory desk study phase will be carried out by the TAC Secretariat, and the report will be considered by the Committee at TAC 76 meeting in March 1999.
The main phase of the Review will commence in April 1999, and the Panel report will be considered by TAC 77 in September 1999.
25 September, 1998
Approved by TAC (75)
