This is the Report of an External Review Panel appointed to evaluate the programme and management of the International Crops Research Institute for the Semi-Arid Tropics (ICRISAT). The membership of the Panel and their backgrounds are given in Appendix I.
The Terms of Reference for this Fourth External Programme and Management Review of ICRISAT are shown in Appendix II. In conducting the Review, the Panel was requested to interpret the Terms of Reference and the general guidelines for the CGIAR review process in the light of the new approach to External Programme and Management Reviews. The new approach comprises a single integrated system with three components: (1) a set of Centre Commissioned External Reviews (CCERs); (2) a mechanism for linking the CCERs with the CIGAR external review; and (3) the CGIAR external Centre review itself. The CCERs are expected to generate information which would serve as inputs to the CGIAR reviews, thus allowing the panel to concentrate on the most important strategic issues facing the Centre, after examining thoroughly information pertaining to all the principal areas of the review (i.e., recent evolution of the Center; research accomplishments, outputs and impact; institutional strategy, including research priorities and strategies, quality and relevance of science; and management efficiency).
ICRISAT is the first Centre to be reviewed under the new CGIAR review model. Given the fact that CCERs are still in early stages of implementation, the review process followed must be considered as experimental.
The Panel's approach to the Review has been open, participatory and forward-looking. The Panel worked hard to identify the major transcending issues for the Review. The information on which the Panel based its decision regarding the issues, and its assessments and conclusions were gathered in a number of ways. These included visiting the Institute and interacting with the Board, management and staff; meeting and discussing with national programme representatives and government officials; undertaking in-depth examination of specific aspects of the Institute through Panel consultants; interviewing Board members; and obtaining information through a survey letter sent to all CGIAR and non-CGIAR institutions collaborating with ICRISAT, and to all CGIAR members and regional representatives. The itinerary of the Panel is shown in Appendix III.
Finally, the Panel had access to a large array of documents and data made available by ICRISAT. Additional documents were provided by the TAC and CGIAR Secretariats. A complete list of documents furnished to the Panel is shown in Appendix IV. One of the documents provided by the Centre was the response of the Institute to the recommendation of the 1990 External Review, which is reproduced together with the Panel's comments, in Appendix V.
We hope that this Report will be useful to TAC, to the CGIAR, and most of all to ICRISAT itself.
