Prof. P. Bernard Tinker
Department of Plant Sciences
University of Oxford, South Parks Road
Oxford OX1 3RB, U.K.
TEL (0044-865) 275079
FAX (0044-865) 275060
Glebe House
Broadwell, Lechlade
Glos. GL7 3QS, U.K.
TEL (0044-367) 860436
FAX (0044-367) 860436
7 March 1994
Dr. Alex McCalla
Chair
Technical Advisory Committee
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
219 E Street, Suite 2C
Davis, CA 95616-4577, USA
Mr. Alexander von der Osten
Executive Secretary
Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research
The World Bank
1818 H. Street, N.W.
Washington, DC 20433, USA
Dear Dr. McCalla and Mr. von der Osten,
I am pleased to transmit to you the Report of the First External Programme and Management Review Panel appointed to assess the International Irrigation Management Institute. This is the first external review of IIMI since the Institute began, in January 1991, to operate within the CGIAR System, and to transform from the 'old IIMI' towards the 'new IIMI' it wishes to become.
IIMI has an important and a critical mission to accomplish in helping to achieve the necessary and rapid increases in output and in productivity of food crops in irrigated agriculture. Accomplishing this task through intensification, and against the prospects of a decreasing share of water supplies for irrigation, represents a formidable technical, policy and managerial challenge at all levels. It will be the task of irrigation management research and IIMI in particular to help generate the knowledge base required to transform and modernize irrigated agroecosystems in the developing nations.
The need for a CGIAR role in helping to meet the above challenge provided the justification for IIMI's entry into the CGIAR System in January 1991. As the Report shows, IIMI has taken definite steps to meet the expectations of the CGIAR and TAC, though progress has been modest and uneven due to the need to develop both a strategic research agenda and a suitable organizational structure to implement it. Nonetheless IIMI is now showing dynamism in pursuing its aim of moving away from the legacy of donor-driven operation to a more strategic demand-driven programme approach, whilst maintaining the positive aspects of this legacy.
At the same time we are pleased to note that IIMI is already beginning to occupy an important position in research on irrigation management, and national collaborators generally have expressed confidence in and high hopes for IIMI. Also, the Institute's past record in the field is not insignificant, and IIMI is aiming to strengthen its links with key countries where it can take a longer-term view of its commitments, and thereby maximize the potential for impact.
Since joining the CGIAR, IIMI has gone through a major planning process, in which it has developed its Strategy document and its 1994-98 Medium-Term proposals. These provided valuable information that was helpful to the Panel's work, and also an insight into the wider goals and vision of the Board and Management. The Panel concluded that the emphasis on irrigated agriculture in IIMI's mission statement is correct, and the emerging programme structure is generally adequate and should be given a chance to succeed. IIMI now needs to create a climate of stability for itself so that it can achieve a sharper focus within each programme as it implements its Medium-Term Plan.
Consultations and interactions with IIMI Management and staff at every level were extensive, frank and cordial. We greatly appreciated the detailed and helpful documentation and presentations provided by IIMI, and the efficient and friendly way in which all members of the staff, from the DG down, gave us support. We are also grateful to the numerous irrigation and agricultural scientists, managers and government officials who shared with us, in many parts of the world, their perception of IIMI and its activities - particularly to those who received us so warmly during the our visits to Sri Lanka, Pakistan, India, Indonesia, Philippines, Nigeria, Niger and Burkina Faso.
I want to add my own warm personal thanks to the members of the Review Panel for their efforts to make the Report full, fair and accurate and the colleagues from the TAC Secretariat, Dr. Amir Kassam, and from the CGIAR Secretariat, Ms. Elizabeth Field, for their invaluable help. Without them we could not have completed the task.
In closing, all the Panel members join with me in expressing gratitude for the opportunity to be part of this Review Panel. We have been impressed and encouraged by the dedication and enthusiasm of IIMI's staff, and hope that this Review will assist them in IIMI's future development.
Yours sincerely,
P. Bernard Tinker
Chair, IIMI
External Programme and Management Review Panel
