Technical Advisory Committee Sixty-Second Meeting, 18-23 October 1993: Report of the Meeting

Report of TAC 62 held in Washington, October 18-23, 1993, Alex McCalla presiding. TAC discussed the report of the CGIAR Steering Committee on International Livestock Research. It agreed that the expertise of existing IARCs should not dominate the new center. TAC commissioned a stripe study of plant genetic resources to recommend options to TAC for a change in CGIAR strategy which would recognize its place in a global system of biodiversity. The Committee agreed that the document on CGIAR resource allocation for 1994-1998 submitted to ICW accurately reflected its views. It also endorsed the version of Chapter 13 of the Report on CGIAR Priorities and Strategies as submitted to ICW.Issues on various aspects of the process for external reviews of centers raised in the ICARDA EPMR were discussed by TAC alone, and in a joint session with center directors and board chairs. TAC agreed to experiment with new ideas of strengthen the process. TAC decided to undertake a strategic stripe study of public policy and public management research, but asked for greater definition of the boundaries of the study. It also endorsed a proposal, discussed at TAC 61, to study CGIAR delivery mechanisms, starting in West Africa. TAC further agreed on an inter-center study of CGIAR research on roots and tubers in conjunction with the external reviews of CIP, CIAT and IITA.TAC held a critical discussion of the activities proposed to follow up on UNCED by the CGIAR task force headed by Stein Bie, and made a number of comments for consideration of the Group. The Committee reviewed and revised the criteria for the King Baudouin Award