First External Management Review of ICRISAT, 1985

Report of the 1985 external management review (EMR) of ICRISAT, conducted concurrently with an EPR. The document includes letters of transmittal from the review panel to CGIAR Executive Secretary Curtis Farrar, and from Farrar to CGIAR Chairman S. Shahid Husain, as well as comments of the ICRISAT Governing Board in response to the review report. The report evaluated ICRISAT's organizational structure, mandate, mission, objectives, and strategy. It considered the qualifications and responsibilities of its Board of Trustees and Director General, and described the relations between them. Reviewers diagnosed over-centralization of decision making and budgetary processes, lack of planning and discussion surrounding the establishment and development of ICRISAT's Sahelian Center, and unclear criteria for determining compensation levels for nationally- and internationally- recruited staff. The report indicated the need to increase the openness of ICRISAT's senior management and communication among different levels of staff. The panel found unreasonable delays in the computerization of ICRISAT's financial administration. There were recommendations concerning the division of responsibility between the Director of Research and the Director of International Cooperation, and the governance framework for ICRISAT's Sahelian Center. Implementing ICRISAT's ten year plan required high quality administrative support and financial management. The report discussed ICRISAT's relations with the Government of India and with Indian research institutions. Considered at TAC 35 in October-November 1984 and at the CGIAR's June 1985 meeting