The Panel notes that CIP has been highly responsive to the recommendations of the 1989 External Review. CIP has completed its reorganization, and is well positioned to address future opportunities in potato and sweetpotato research. Recently, CIP has recruited a number of bright young scientists (three women and three men), who bring to the Centre refreshing perspectives and new technology skills of notable value.
CIP has reorganized its regional research structure and has delegated responsibilities along with authority.
The Panel notes the considerable and significant research contributions made by CIP since 1989 and the demonstrated impact that CIP has had in potato and sweetpotato research in its mandated areas of responsibility.
After concluding its analysis, the Panel developed five overarching recommendations that span the domain of CIP. These recommendations deserve concerted attention.
With respect to CIP's vision and mandate, the Panel recommends that CIP define the Centre's nature by formulating a vision statement and clarifying through its operational mandate CIP's degree of commitment to global germplasm research
vis-à-vis assuming an ecoregional responsibility for the Andean region.
With respect to CIP's research focus, the Panel recommends that CIP engage in formal strategic planning to "put a person on the moon" (e.g. growing potato profitably without pesticides). The selected research should represent priority challenges employing CIP's special advantages and science capacity.
With respect to CIP's relationship with NARS, the Panel recommends that CIP increase its strategic partnerships for collaborative research and training with research-strong NARS, to take advantage of growing research capacities of national systems, particularly in Asia and Latin America.
With respect to scientific leadership, the Panel recommends that CIP pay greater attention to the necessary balance between science quality, programme responsiveness (to donors' priorities), and research relevance (to NARS' needs) as a continuing research management responsibility, leading to scientific leadership.
With respect to germplasm responsibilities, the Panel recommends that CIP accelerate its clean-up, documentation, and distribution of the global collections of its mandated crops.
In anticipation of questions regarding degree of donor satisfaction with CIP, the Panel points out that a demonstrable impact of CIP research, leading to considerable NARS satisfaction, has been made, but with some consequences for CIP. These efforts to achieve field-level impact may distract CIP's attention from science quality. But, the fact remains that CIP has been responsive to donor expectations for accountability in research achievements, as documented through impact assessments. Donors appear to have received a good measure for the dollars contributed to CIP through the CGIAR System, when measured as responsiveness.
Regarding the future of CIP, there will be a clear need for the Board of Trustees to assert itself in maintaining critical balances among science quality, programme responsiveness, and research relevance. The Board's participation in CIP's selection of its critical choices for the future is an institutional imperative. CIP must choose the most important research problems and do them well if it is to attain its true potential. Can CIP "put a person on the moon"? The Panel doubts that this is possible if CIP's resources are dissipated among activities in programs stretched globally. Focusing CIP's capacity on the most important problems is, in the Panel's view, what CIP needs to do. By focusing its research capacity on a few important activities, the Panel believes CIP could "put a person on the moon".
How will CIP do under the projected declining fortunes of the CGIAR? The Panel believes that the Centre has in place strong management, brought about under good leadership through its reorganization. This management advantage needs to be applied to future decision-making to obtain the most rational research programmes that will bring together the right partners in a global effort that can truly make a strategic difference for potato and sweetpotato agriculture.
