Sharing services to achieve gains in relevance, efficiency and effectiveness across the CGIAR Consortium
CGIAR Consortium members employ almost 10,000 staff operating from over 250 locations. Sharing functions and services across such a large and dispersed organization provides an opportunity for the Consortium to increase its competitive advantage in agricultural research by more effectively leveraging the scale and competencies of the Members and develop new capabilities that the Members could not afford to develop individually. As the research portfolio of CGIAR expands, shared services aim to avoid a proportional growth in overhead of back-office support and foster opportunities for increased collaboration.
The strategy of sharing resources and building synergies is already being adopted in areas including research, administration, human resources, ICTs, training and communication, producing tangible results in terms of cost-savings and improved services.
Building on this approach, the Consortium Office has prepared a roadmap to scale up efforts to develop, manage and operate, in cooperation with Member Centers, as appropriate, additional shared services with a view to increasing operational synergies and cost savings.
The CGIAR Consortium recognizes the potential benefits of shared services to drive:
- economies of scale: sharing services makes financial sense, brings savings;
- economies of scope: sharing services creates opportunities for collaboration, increases effectiveness, reduces duplication of efforts and supports the demands for increased collaborative efforts of the CGIAR Research Programs;
- enhancement of CGIAR brand value, positioning the CGIAR Consortium and its members as a good investment, being an efficient, effective, innovative organization;
- increased value of CGIAR Consortium as an employer of choice – for example by improving human resource practices and providing an innovative work environment.
A number of Shared Services are already in place, and new opportunities are arising. A few examples:
One Corporate System (OCS)
The OCS is an inter-centre initiative focused on identifying and implementing a common integrated enterprise resource planning (ERP) system to support Project, Financial and Human Resource information management. By committing to OCS, Centres expect to achieve a substantial reduction in the investment cost of adopting a new system and to benefit from an ease of information exchange and consolidation that results from use of common codes and information structures.
Association of International Agricultural Research Centers (AIARC)
All Centers participate in AIARC, an organization set up by the Members of the CGIAR Consortium to manage payroll, pension and insurance schemes for all Consortium members.
Leveraged Procurement
Joint purchasing allows the Consortium to leverage its scale and buying power, while common processes, standards and systems lead to a leaner, more efficient global organization. Where sharing and centralized buying is currently in place, the CGIAR Centers have seen substantial discounts. These include contracts for ICT services, software and hardware procurement, journal subscriptions and cost-effective consolidation of ICT hosting infrastructure. Other potential areas for cost-saving through streamlined procurement include laboratory equipment, IT hardware, travel and professional services.
CGIAR operational facilities and service support
With the CGIAR Consortium operating from more than 250 site locations worldwide, there are clear gains to be made by consolidating facilities such as the sites and buildings themselves, as well as services including safety and security, housing, transport, personnel, IT, finance, catering and utilities. While some Centers are already successfully sharing certain facilities, there are opportunities for moving further in this direction. For example a plan is being prepared to explore a regional ICT support structure for Eastern and Southern Africa.
The need for such an approach has taken on even greater importance with the launch of CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) – which are collaborative by nature – so as to provide opportunities for sharing both back-office and research facilities.
Two pilot locations have been identified to explore an increased level of shared services and potentially share office and research locations. The first in Dhaka, Bangladesh, the second in Addis Ababa, Ethiopia.
Other areas identified as offering scope for a more centralized approach include:
- collaboration tools and communications
- common host country agreements
- research support services
- human resources
- training
- library facilities
What are the benefits?
Shared services provide added value for common goals. They are voluntary, demand-driven, supported by a strong business case, coordinated centrally, delivered in the most efficient way, and monitored to ensure they deliver value. By driving efficiency, the aim is to leave more time and resources devoted to what really counts: pursuing top quality agricultural research and ensuring that its results directly contribute to reduce rural poverty, help improve food security and nutrition and increase sustainable resource management in poor countries.
