Archives

Vol. 2 No. 4
February 16-29, 2001
ISNAR hosts 2nd CGIAR-CDMT joint retreat
by Junelyn dela Rosa

BAR Director Eliseo R. Ponce represented the Southern Countries to the second joint meeting of the Charge Management Team (CDMT) and the Steering Group (SG) of the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research (CGIAR) at the ISNAR headquarters in The Hague, Netherlands on 6-7 February 2001.

The 2nd joint meeting of the CDMT and SG is part of the series of meetings held to discuss and formulate proposed changes to revitalize the whole proposed changes to revitalize the whole CGIAR system. Discussion during the plenary sessions was based on the "Issues Paper" that was produced by the CDMT and presented by CDMT Chair Margaret Catley-Carlson. Both groups agreed that adopting a programmatic approach, seeking long-term financing, changing the structure of the system, improving governance procedures and developing a common communication strategy are the major elements that could pave the way to a new revitalized CGIAR.

CGIAR Chair Dr. Ian Johnson identified five major points during the synthesis of the two-day retreat. First was the large consensus on the concept of "Global Challenge Programs" (GCPs). GCPs will organize and coordinate research efforts that will focus on identified development issues. It was also agreed that each GCP effort could undertake discrete fund raising that will be autonomous but linked to the CGIAR resource mobilization processes.

Another important point of consensus was the CDMT recommendation that Centers could benefit from having common services, including the management of proposed GCPs. The SG shared CDMT's view that a programmatic view approach for the CG system will naturally create alliances among Centers. The CDMT was tasked to develop principles, criteria, and benchmark for clusters.

Another major issue was that the introduction of a programmatic approach would need better decision-making at all levels. It was recommend that the CGIAR create an executive body that will have the authority to follow-up on decisions, recommendations and act on behalf of the CGIAR between annual meetings.The CGIAR chair will head the executive body. The SG also supported CDMT's suggestion to transform the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC) into a higher-level of scientific advisory body that will function as a true research council. The TAC will provide the best available scientific advice, ensuring that science remains in sync with developmental objectives and current concerns such as ethics and biosafety.

The next point discussed was on changing the public persona of the system. Most of the participants recognized that any entity accepting financial contributions would need a legal persona. Since the system has few legallly constituted non-profit organizations, it was agreed that this matter to be taken up further in the next meetings.

As to branding, the SG recognized that the name Future Harvest did not resonate well with all members of the CGIAR. Both groups agreed on the need to combine the CGIAR and the Future Harvest communication functions. However, it was noted that Centers must continue developing their own communication strategies for national and regional focus and harmonizing their communication outputs.

Finally, the participants discussed the issue of building commitment for an agreed change scenario among CGIAR stakeholders. To afford a smooth change process be communicated to all the stakeholders so that closure on the change process can be reached at the Medium Term Meeting in Durban, South Africa.

February 16-29 2001 Articles:

:: BAR sets priorities for first 100 days of new administration
:: New DA sec: peasant champion
:: BAR meets assistance program grantees target for 1st quarter
:: Scientists and policy makers convene for a 2-day training on biotech
:: Operational plans of PhilFruits established
:: BAR sponsors symposium on biotech
:: ISNAR hosts 2nd CGIAR-CDMT joint retreat
:: RDMC special meeting held

::: More February 2001 articles :::