Background
The Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) aims, through its support to international agricultural research, to contribute to promoting sustainable agriculture for food security in developing countries. The CGIAR has charged its Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) with the responsibility of ensuring that the programmes supported by the Group are of high quality and relevance. TAC discharges this responsibility, in part, by organizing External Programme Reviews of the Centres. The CGIAR has assigned a responsibility to its Secretariat for conducting External Management Reviews of the Centres to complement the External Programme Reviews. TAC and the CGIAR Secretariat normally discharge these responsibilities by commissioning a joint panel to conduct an External Program and Management Review (EPMR). Such reviews are conducted for each Centre approximately every five years.
EPMRs are a cornerstone of mechanisms of accountability within the CGIAR System. As each Centre is autonomous, reviews provide a measure of central oversight. They inform the donors that their investment is sound, or recommend means to make it so. EPMRs are both retrospective and prospective, and thus serve as an essential component in the CGIAR's integrated planning and review system. They help ensure the Centres' excellence, relevance and continued viability, and the System's coherence.
Purpose
The broad objectives of an EPMR are to:
· provide members of the CGIAR, in particular the donors, with an independent and rigorous assessment of the health and contribution of a Centre that they are supporting; CGIAR members need to know whether the Centre is doing the right work, and doing it efficiently;· provide the Centre and its collaborators with assessment information that complements their own evaluation efforts;
· provide principal clients, beneficiaries, and other stakeholders of the CGIAR with information about the health and contribution of the Centre.
With these general objectives in mind, the panel is specifically charged to:
1. assess the continuing appropriateness of the Centre's mission and evaluate its strategy and priorities in the context of CGIAR strategies and priorities, and comment on needs for change;2. assess the recent accomplishments and impact of the Centre, and comment on the effectiveness and potential impact of the Centre's work-in-progress;
3. assess whether the Centre is managed efficiently and suggest ways of enhancing the Centre's overall performance; in particular, comment on the systems in place for ensuring quality.
While the panel is free to address any topic relevant to the purposes of the review, it may wish to use the list of broad topics (Attachment I) as a guide in organizing its effort. The panel is expected to make a thorough and independent appraisal of the Centre and its activities, in accordance with the Guidelines to Panels Conducting External Reviews of CGIAR Centres.
The Report and Recommendations
The panel is required to prepare a succinct report in plain language, in which descriptive material is the minimum necessary to set the analysis and the conclusions in context. The report should focus on noteworthy features, including recognition of the Centre's accomplishments where appropriate, and issues of major concern, with recommendations and suggestions for change. Recommendations should be justified by analysis and reflect the consensus view of the panel; any recommendations for increases in staff or activities should include a discussion of resource implications.
The report should be as brief as possible. It should include a summary. Upon completion, the Panel Chair should formally transmit the document to the TAC Chair and CGIAR Executive Secretary.
The Response and Follow-up
The Board and management of the Centre under review should submit a response to the review, addressed to TAC and the CGIAR Secretariat. TAC then will discuss the report in the presence of the Panel Chair and representatives from the Centre, and prepare a commentary, in collaboration with the CGIAR Secretariat, including recommendations for follow-up action. The CGIAR will discuss the report in light of the Centre's response and the commentary or commentaries from TAC and the CGIAR Secretariat, and agree on follow-up action.
Attachment I
TOPICS TO BE COVERED
IN EXTERNAL REVIEWS OF CGIAR CENTRES
A. Recent Evolution of the Centre
Important changes in the Centre since the previous external review, including developments in the external environment and the Centre's response.
B. Mission, Strategy and Priorities
The continuing appropriateness of the Centre's mandate.
The policies, strategies, and priorities of the Centre, their coherence with those of the CGIAR, relevance to beneficiaries, and the mechanisms used for planning, monitoring and revising them.
The appropriateness of the roles of relevant partners in establishing and collaborating in the implementation of the Centre's strategy and priorities.
C. Programme Accomplishments and Impact
Recent achievements of the Centre in research and other activities.
The quality of current programmes and activities; the rationale for any proposed changes by the Centre and the implications of these.
The Centre's impact, its contribution to the achievement of the mission and goals of the CGIAR, and the methods used for making such assessments.
The potential of the Centre's current and planned activities for future impact.
D. Organization and Management
The performance of the Centre's Board of Trustees in governing the Centre, the effectiveness of leadership throughout the Centre, and the suitability of the organization's culture to its mission.
The adequacy of the Centre's organizational structure and the mechanisms in place to manage, coordinate and ensure the excellence of the research programmes and related activities.
The sufficiency of resources (financial, human, physical, information) available and the effectiveness and efficiency of their management.
The Centre's relationships with relevant research partners, clients and stakeholders in national, regional, international, non-governmental and other relevant entities.
