Consultative Group On International Agricultural Research - CGIAR
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From: The Secretariat
July 1995
CGIAR Mid-Term Meeting
May 22-26, 1995
Nairobi, Kenya
CIP External Program and Management Review 1/
1/ Extract from "Summary of Proceedings and Decisions - Report from the Ad Hoc Evaluation Committee I", CGIAR Mid-Term Meeting 1995, Nairobi, Kenya.
Mr. David MacKenzie chaired the Panel for CIP's Fourth External Review. The Panel and the TAC commentary commended the Center for reorganized and improved Board oversight, increased documentation of program impact, transparency and efficiency in research program management, and a new collegiality in its culture. These changes had been made despite the pressures on staff from the shortage of funds and the unrest in Peru until 1994.
The Panel made twenty recommendations, and raised the following issues:
· There is a need to reconcile ecoregional activities in the Andes with the existing mandate of the Center. The Panel requested the Board and management to formalize a revision of CIP's operational mandate to reflect the new de facto balance in CIP's programming.· The Panel recommended that CIP disengage from technical assistance activities in support of NARS. It was also critical of the quality of genetic enhancement at the Center and called for a 1997 CGIAR Mid-Term Review of the breeding programs. In response, CIP welcomed the proposed review and linked these aspects to the funding crisis. TAC suggests that CIP, not TAC, commission the review and share its results with TAC.
· The Panel recommended that CIP focus its efforts in pest and disease management on strategic research of global relevance for a limited number of key activities, and consolidate this work in a central location.
· The Panel and TAC urged a speeding up of the cleaning of CIP germplasm collections in both potato and sweet potato.
Members of Ad Hoc Committee I joined the Review Panel in commending CIP for significant achievements, despite both declining funding and considerable unrest in Peru.
The Committee agreed that CIP should revisit its mandate statement in light of the Center's response to the widening importance of environmental issues. Members endorsed the recommendations by the Panel, both to review germplasm enhancement at the Center and to speed up the cleaning of its germplasm collections. Members also endorsed the need to focus CIP's strategic research. After discussion there was consensus that, as one focus, CIP could effectively coordinate a global effort to combat late blight disease.
The Committee agreed that diversity among NARS demanded a balance of effort between strategic research and support for capacity building. CIP highlighted its efforts to be responsive and relevant to NARS. It was noted by members that strong NARS also provide widening opportunities to contract strategic research. The TAC Chair pointed to TAC's role in monitoring the strategic research/capacity building balance to ensure the effective use of public funds in international research.
There was a strong consensus among members, particularly regional representatives, that True Potato Seed (TPS) work exemplified this diversity. Strategic work on TPS needs to be continued, but also NARS need help in adapting TPS to the circumstances of their farmers.
The report of the Review Panel was, as an experiment, presented, in an 'issues' format, focusing on a limited number of issues identified by the Panel. Several members commented favorably on the experiment with this format.
The Committee proposed that the Group endorse the Panel's recommendation, as modified by the TAC commentary, that in 1997 CIP mount an internally managed external review on the Center's genetic enhancement and breeding strategy for potato and sweet potato; and endorse the other recommendations of the review. This was done.
