Centre-Commissioned External Reviews

Memorandum by Selçuk Özgediz, Management Advisor in the CGIAR Secretariat, conveying the conclusions of an Inter-Secretariat Working Group on External Reviews. The working group responded to criticisms of the external review process expressed by center directors and by CGIAR Chairman Ismail Serageldin at CGIAR International Centers Week 1995. A note by the working group titled 'Improving the Quality and Consistency of CGIAR External Center Reviews' is attached.The documents address the appropriateness of the CGIAR review model, reliance on external reviews commissioned by the centers themselves, the consistency of reviews, the influence of staff of the two secretariats, and the cost of reviews. The discussion centered on how more use could be made of external reviews managed by the centers themselves, to enable the system reviews to focus more on strategic issues. A list of suggested refinements is presented for consideration at TAC 74