From the Helm – Message from the Transition Management Team (TMT)

As we move forward into the implementation phase of the Change Initiative, we must keep our collective eye on the vision of a revitalized System that is more effective and efficient with greater impact on poverty reduction and hunger alleviation. The transition phase will not be easy, and we will all have to accept some ambiguity in the face of change. However, our collective commitment to the reform process is strong and will provide the drive to make our vision of an improved CGIAR a reality.

Since approval of the reform model at the Annual General Meeting (AGM08) in Maputo, Mozambique, the TMT has been investing upfront in the design of the implementation effort to ensure a smooth transition. We are working together to sequence activities strategically, identify linkages, ensure upfront coordination, and line up necessary resources. Most importantly, we are taking great care to ensure that the System will continue to deliver on its day-to-day activities without disruption. We will move quickly, but not at the expense of rash decisions. Our decisions will be based on fact and thoughtful analysis and in some cases this may take time.

As you will see in this edition of Embracing Change, we are already making good progress in developing several elements of the new CGIAR. Throughout the transition we ask for your continued engagement and contribution to a successful revitalization through your own work and constructive input into the process. We will communicate whenever possible and when we have new information to share through this newsletter and the Change Management website.

Thank you for your ongoing commitment.

The Transition Management Team

Meet the Transition Management Team (TMT)

At AGM08, the CGIAR Members appointed a Transition Management Team (TMT) to oversee implementation of the agreed reforms and provide leadership to keep the CGIAR transition process on track. Led by Katherine Sierra, CGIAR Chair, the members are:

• Stephen Hall (CGIAR Alliance Executive Chair; Director General, WorldFish Center)


• Mark Holderness (Executive Director, Global Forum for Agricultural Research)


• Jonathan Wadsworth (Senior Agriculture Research Advisor, Department for International Development, UK)


• Ren Wang (CGIAR Director)

Rudy Rabbinge, CGIAR Science Council Chair, is advisor to the TMT Chair and Iftikhar Mostafa, CGIAR Secretariat Governance and Partnership Advisor, serves as Secretary. The TMT has associate members that provide advice on specific topics: Derek Byerlee (Science Council Member) on scientific matters; Isabel Alvarez (Director of the Research and Extension Division, Natural Resources Management and Environment Department, FAO) on linking the new CGIAR with multilateral organizations; and Vicki Wilde (Director, CGIAR Gender & Diversity Program) on gender and diversity matters.

Click here to see the TMT’s composition, terms of reference and monthly updates.

Forward Movement on Several Fronts

Achieving the ambitious goal of transforming the CGIAR by 2010 will take steady progress on several fronts with close coordination among them to ensure they come together to build the new CGIAR. Providing the guiding leadership to this endeavor, the TMT is organizing its work according to nine work streams that correspond with the reform model:

1. Establishing a Consortium of the CGIAR Centers
2. Creating a New CGIAR Fund
3. Developing the Strategic Results Framework & Mega-programs
4. Cultivating partnerships and launching the Global Conference for Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD)
5. Ensuring accountability
6. Designing a monitoring and evaluation system
7. Positioning the CGIAR within the international agricultural development landscape
8. Addressing System-wide issues such as a new CGIAR charter
9. Fostering culture change and behavior shifts across the System

The following provides a snapshot of progress to date on those work streams already underway.

From Alliance to Consortium
In December 2008, the Alliance created a Consortium Planning Team (CPT) comprised of three Directors General and three Center Board Chairs ** to help manage the process of transforming the Alliance into a Consortium. The Boston Consulting Group (BCG), a highly regarded international consultancy firm, has been contracted to work closely with the CPT to develop design options for the Consortium. Drafts of the Consortium constitution, Board charter, and CEO ToRs will be presented at the next meeting of the CGIAR Executive Council (ExCo-16) in June.

Creating a New CGIAR Fund
The CGIAR Secretariat and the World Bank are actively engaged in developing the institutional setting for the new CGIAR Fund. The initial steps to establish the Fund will include the clear articulation of Fund goals, the operation mechanism, and fiduciary responsibilities. The composition of the Fund Council, procedures for the Funders Summit, and structure of the Fund Office will also be developed. A prototype performance contract between the Consortium and the Fund will be crafted in close collaboration with the Alliance. For further information on this process, contact Ren Wang (r.wang@cgiar.org).

Strategic Results Framework and Mega Programs
The Strategic Results Framework will help align the Mega-Programs with the CGIAR’s vision and strategic objectives (Food for People, Environment for People and Policy for People) as well as measure results and impact using specific, measurable, attributable, relevant and time bound indicators. Over the course of 2009, the Strategic Results Framework and the Mega Programs will be developed on the basis of a consultative and inclusive process. The first meeting on their development took place at Bioversity Headquarters in Rome, February 17-20, 2009. Members of the Alliance Executive, Deputy Directors General-Research, members of the CPT, Challenge Programs leaders, and a range of partners and stakeholders gathered to clarify some of the key concepts and methods that will be used and review lessons from past efforts at collective action, in particular from the existing Challenge Programs. More details on the above and aspects of the Consortium planning process can be obtained by contacting Steve Hall (s.hall@cgiar.org).

The new Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development
The new Global Conference on Agricultural Research for Development (GCARD) will bring together stakeholders to provide input into the Strategy and Results Framework on a biennial basis. The Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) is organizing this major international event, with the first GCARD scheduled to take place in February 2010 in Montpellier, France. In lead up to the GCARD, a regional stakeholder consultation process will be organized to align the CGIAR’s Strategic Results Framework and the Mega-Programs with global challenges, and regional and sub-regional priorities. Beyond the event itself, GFAR will also cooperate with the Alliance in developing the Strategic Results Framework, especially to identify the changes in skills and behaviors needed to build long-term and mutually beneficial partnership. For more details on these activities, contact Mark Holderness (Mark.Holderness@fao.org )

Accountability, Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E)
On March 4th, an informal one-day workshop will be held in Washington, DC, on governance and accountability. The event will focus on how to effectively weave participation, transparency, feedback and evaluation into the accountability fabric of the new CGIAR. Discussions at the workshop will help determine the specific M&E instruments needed across the whole system and inform the development of the Consortium, Fund, Mega-Programs. For further information contact Jonathan Wadsworth (J-Wadsworth@dfid.gov.uk)

Fostering culture change and behavior shifts across the system
Vicki Wilde, Associate TMT Member and Director of the Gender and Diversity Program, is leading the development of a CGIAR gender strategy that will help ensure integration of gender into the Strategic Results Framework and Mega-Programs. For more details contact Vicki Wilde (v.wilde@cgiar.org)

Key Dates during the Transition

Being a Part of the Change – Information Flow, Perspectives and Ideas

Throughout the transition, ensuring the flow of information and sharing perspectives and ideas will be essential. To start with, all ideas are welcome on how best to keep lines of communication open and to make sure everyone has a chance to voice their view or ask a question. Please simply send a message with your ideas and suggestions to cgiar@cgiar.org If you have a question, you can ask it via email to the same address, and a response will be provided in the next edition of Embracing Change.

Contribute to Embracing Change
Embracing Change is an open platform of information exchange on the transformation of the CGIAR and your contributions are welcome and encouraged. Please send any submissions to cgiar@cgiar.org with Embracing Change in the subject line.

Resources for Getting up to Speed on the Reforms
Are you just tuning in to the Change Management Initiative? Still trying to get a clear picture of what the revitalized CGIAR will look like? There’s more than one way to come up to speed :

• visit the Change Management website to download the full reform proposal,

• or read a 2-page summary in the Change Update,

• or watch A Revitalized CGIAR: The Video, a five-minute video explaining the key features of the reform model,

• or read the proceedings of the CGIAR Business Meeting including decisions on the CGIAR reform.