4.1 Governance
4.2 Leadership
4.3 1993 "Crisis in ICLARM"
The Chairman of the Review Panel attended the Sixth Meeting of the ICLARM Board of Trustees 14-19 November 1994. With one exception, the entire Board attended and actively participated in the meeting. While the Secretary of the Philippine Department of Agriculture could not attend, he was ably represented by his Undersecretary who has been actively involved with the work of the Center for some time and who, in fact, serves on the Board's Executive Committee.
The meetings of the Board were well organized and reflected some excellent preparatory efforts by the Chair and the Director General and her staff. The Chair ran the meetings efficiently, beginning and ending them on time, while encouraging full participation by members in the discussion of issues.
Apparently there were some significant problems related to the functioning of the Board during the internal strife which came to a head in early 1993. In recognition of these difficulties, Prof. Dillon, who assumed the Chair a few months later, initiated a number of actions to better define the mission of the Board and to improve its effectiveness. Such actions include the development and approval of the following:
· Revised ICLARM Constitution· Board of Trustees Mission Statement
· Board of Trustees Rules of Procedure including new committee structure and terms of reference
· Reduction in Board size from 16 to 12 and initiation of efforts to increase the number of CGIAR nominees from one to three
· Board of Trustees Code of Conduct
· Criteria for the Annual Evaluation of the Director General. (These criteria were applied in evaluating the DG in November 1994.)
· Annually updated Board Action Plan
· Form for annual-evaluation of Board Chair performance by Board
· Form for annual self-evaluation of Board members
The Panel commends the Chair and the Board for these innovative and progressive actions, which should contribute significantly to future Board effectiveness.
During its meetings the Board thoroughly discussed a number of recommendations of Management - as well as other issues of importance to the Center. It should also be noted that the Board invited two nominees to attend the meeting as observers, so that they might be further evaluated as possible members.
Overall, the Panel Chair was very impressed with the content and conduct of the sessions. He reported to the Panel that it was one of the better IARC board meetings he had attended.
A new Director General, Dr. Meryl Williams, assumed duties at ICLARM in April 1994. Her appointment was strongly welcomed by the staff in view of her scientific qualifications and her significant management experience. Dr. Williams moved quickly to meet the considerable challenges facing her. In an effort to strengthen ICLARM's credibility, she visited a number of NARS officials and donors and made a notable - and very well received - presentation to the October TAC meeting on "Transition in the Contribution of Living Aquatic Resources to Sustainable Food Security." She also took part in two CGIAR meetings and travelled to Egypt to investigate the offer of facilities by that Government.
In addition to these far-reaching external responsibilities, Dr. Williams has had to move to establish internal cohesion in a Center that, for a variety of historical reasons, has lacked such cohesion and one in which senior staff have kept the institution financially afloat and produced important scientific results through their independent and relatively undirected efforts. Further, she assumed responsibility for an institution with only embryonic management systems and has had to establish and occasionally design systems and procedures to the end that ICLARM will be served well as it grows and begins to reach its potential. Among them is the Performance Management System which is an important step in the closer involvement of staff in operational planning, a system to record and monitor donor relationships and a series of mechanisms to ensure information to and consultation with staff at all levels.
The Panel is assured that Dr. Williams is the right person for ICLARM at this juncture. Although she cannot be expected to overcome past difficulties immediately, and although there is still work to be done to put the house fully in order, the Panel is confident that, given sufficient time and some relaxation in the stringency of resources available to the Center, Dr. Williams will lead ICLARM to justify the judgement of CGIAR members in admitting the Center to the System.
Significant internal strife in ICLARM resulted in early 1993 in the resignation of the Director General and Board Chair, the dismissal of a senior staff member and his subsequent legal action and court-directed reinstatement with all this contributing to significant dissention and animosity within the Center. An external consultant, commissioned by the Director General and Board Chair during this period, referred to the "crisis in ICLARM" and described the Center as a "sick institution". Others have used the term, "civil war" to characterize the situation.
The consultant noted that there was very little structure in the management of ICLARM. Program Directors appeared to bypass the former Director General without his knowledge, e.g., expressing lack of confidence in him to his Board Members without his knowledge. The consultant referred to the need for:
· Ensuring leadership and repairing of internal damage
· Dismantling feudalism and dysfunctionalism
· Ensuring accountability for - and repairing of - external damage, and
· Changing the Board's role and relationships with the Director General, other managers and staff.
The Review Panel is not directly interested in or concerned about these past events - except as they may affect the future effectiveness of the Center. With regard to these events, however, Panel members conclude that responsibility or blame can be shared by all parties involved - by the Board, the Director General at the time and the senior staff. An important issue before the Panel was the extent to which the Center had overcome the crisis and effectively moved forward.
There have been a number of significant and encouraging developments which should bode well for the future:
· Within three or four months after the April 1993 "eruption," a new Board Chair, Prof. Dillon, was appointed. As discussed in section 4.1, Prof. Dillon has initiated a number of significant efforts which are contributing significantly to the more effective and efficient operation of the Board. These, along with his knowledge of the CGIAR system and his effective leadership skills, are giving greater stability and direction to the Board and the Center.· The new Director General, Dr. Meryl Williams, is giving stable and effective leadership to the Center. She has made no attempt to ascribe blame for the past difficulties but has totally focused on the future. She appears to be very open-minded, fair and objective in dealing with staff. She is also initiating a number of management improvements, discussed elsewhere in this report. The Panel is impressed with both her technical competence and her skills as an effective leader/administrator.
· Some of the principal senior staff members involved in the 1993 "crisis" have left or are leaving the Center. Without any inference with regard to their culpability in the earlier disputes, their decision to move on to a different environment is perhaps good for their own futures as well as that of the Center.
There is a perception by the Panel that the three Program Directors are not yet fully committed to being an integral part of a cohesive management team, dedicated to assisting the Director General in her efforts to lead the Center to new levels of effectiveness and achievement. If a smoothly functioning, mutually-supportive management team can develop, the Director General's task will be made easier and much more pleasant, and the Center's accomplishments will be greater.
The Panel concludes, however, that although there are remaining vestiges of the 1992-1993 internal strife, especially among the Program Directors, attitudes and conditions among most of the staff are steadily improving. The Panel further concludes that, with the excellent leadership of the Director General and Board Chair, ICLARM is poised to move significantly forward.
