Fifth External Programme and Management Review of CIAT

Report of the fifth external program and management review (EPMR) of CIAT, conducted between November 1999 and April 2000 by a panel chaired by Ronnie Coffman. The document includes an excerpt from the summary of CGIAR International Centers Week 2000, a transmittal from the TAC Chair and the CGIAR Executive Secretary, TAC's comments, CIAT's response, and a transmittal from the panel chair.The review contained 12 recommendations related to research, two covering organization and management aspects, and one on partnerships. These were endorsed by TAC at its 79th meeting, and by the CGIAR at ICW 2000. TAC said the panel did not assess scientific quality adequately, and urged particular attention to social science research. It also sent up an alarm about the predominance of project funding.CIAT had survived difficult financial and other problems. It was praised for creating a research park to house other institutions. Among the panel recommendations related to research were obtaining funding to bring the genebank up to standard, improving storage of cassava germplasm through cryopreservation, developing a comprehensive policy and operational strategy on biodiversity, committing the center to increasing the productivity of its mandate commodities, finding long term funding for the African bean project, developing a rigorous overall approach to natural resource management, assessing the impact of past efforts to integrate germplasm, natural resources, and social science research, and review of experience with partnerships.Regarding organization and management, the panel noted a strong corporate culture. It urged greater inter-project and intra-project coordination, and redesign of the financial information system to provide better information to project leaders. The panel urged the board to focus on resource allocation and monitoring implementation