This is the Report of the External Review Panel appointed to review the programme and management of the International Potato Centre (CIP). The Panel members and their backgrounds are listed in Appendix I.
The detailed Terms of Reference for this Fourth External Programme and Management Review of CIP (main phase in January/February 1995) are shown in Appendix II. The Panel's approach to the Review has been open, participatory, and forward-looking. In conducting the Review, the Panel has followed the general guidelines for the CGIAR review process. However, instead of reviewing every aspect of the Centre in detail, the Panel focused on CIP's achievements and on a limited set of issues considered to be the most important for CIP's future performance and integrity. This issues-driven approach has allowed the Panel to produce a short focused report.
The information on which the Panel based its assessments and conclusions was gathered in a number of ways. The Panel spent a week at CIP in September 1994 to familiarize itself with the Centre, and returned for the main phase from 21 January to 10 February 1995. In each case, it received presentations from management and staff, and met with them in groups and individually. During the main phase, the Panel held briefing sessions with management every three days or so. The Management Consultant and Secretariat staff visited CIP during the time of its Board meeting which was held in April 1994. At that time, all the Trustees were interviewed individually. During the initial visit, the Panel interacted with the Executive Committee of the Board.
In groups or individually, the Panel members visited agricultural scientists, government officials, and others knowledgeable about potato and sweetpotato in Argentina, Bolivia, Brazil, China, Dominican Republic, Ecuador, India, Indonesia, Kenya, Mexico, Nicaragua, Peru and Uganda. A list of institutions and persons visited is shown in Appendix III.
In addition to country field visits, the Panel gathered information through several ways: a questionnaire sent to a wide cross-section of agricultural scientists, administrators and policy makers in developing countries (the results are summarized in Appendix IV); responses to a letter sent to all CGIAR members and regional representatives; and discussions with agricultural scientists familiar with CIP in some industrialized countries. Finally, the Panel had access to a large array of documents and data made available by CIP. Additional documents were provided by the TAC and CGIAR Secretariats. A list of documents made available to the Panel is shown in Appendix V.
Altogether, the Panel believes it was able to obtain sufficient information to enable it to put forward with confidence the analysis, conclusions and recommendations in this Report. The Panel hopes that this Report will be useful to TAC, to the CGIAR, and most of all to CIP itself.
