News and Views From the CBC and CDC Chairs

Committees of Center Board Chairs (CBC) and Center Directors (CDC) meet at ICARDA

After a last-minute security alert caused by an event in Damascus, we heaved a sigh of relief when the all clear signal was finally given for our May 2004 meetings at ICARDA headquarters in Aleppo, Syria. The meetings were effectively supported by the efficient and friendly ICARDA staff. This, coupled with the excellent hospitality in Aleppo--the oldest continuously inhabited city on earth--made for a fine venue and productive meetings. We also benefited from an impressive overview of the ICARDA research program and magnificent site. This report provides highlights from both Committee meetings and the joint meeting of the Committees.

Programmatic and Global Organizational Alignments for the CGIAR: To both the CDC and CBC, the Future Harvest Centers' collective engagement in the CGIAR programmatic and structural alignment review is currently the most critical issue for attention. In Aleppo, the Committees interacted with the chairs of CGIAR Task Forces, both virtually and a face-to-face meeting with one co-chair, Per Pinstrup-Andersen.

The Future Harvest Centers intend to greatly increase their capacity for collective action and will solidify and operationalize their efforts at a CDC workshop planned for July in Addis Ababa. CBC representatives will also be taking part in the workshop. In addition, participants will meet with key African research leaders. The workshop will revisit organizational models for collective action, receive reports from the Centers' working group looking into programmatic and structural alignment in Sub-Saharan Africa, and develop a communications strategy to promote the current as well as future reality of Centers working together. Inputs from the CIMMYT-IRRI alliance exercise are also to be included to the extent possible, and will take account of how forestry, fishery, livestock, water and policy are encompassed.

Science Council: Both Committees interacted with Per Pinstrup-Andersen, Chairman, Science Council (SC), and expressed pleasure that a strong and independent SC was established. The Centers see the priorities for the work of the new SC as (1) program priority setting at the System level, (2) a definitive job on the programmatic Performance Indicators, (3) capacity building and training work, (4) research design for the Challenge Programs and lessons from the implementation phase of the present CPs, (5) impact culture and research on impact, and (6) how to better address and increase emphasis on key program areas such as forestry, fisheries and water.

CGIAR Working Group on Performance Indicators: CBC demonstrated its support for the Working Group that was appointed by the CGIAR Executive Council to design and implement a Performance Measurement System for the CGIAR Centers. CBC has accepted the responsibility to develop some performance indicators on governance. The CDC and the SC are also very actively involved in the development of other indicators.

ISNAR-IFPRI Program: This was our first meetings without ISNAR in attendance as an independent Center. We were pleased to learn about the excellent progress being made in translating the ISNAR mandate into IFPRI's work program.

Future Harvest Alliance Office: We are pleased that the Future Harvest Alliance Office is now fully operational, consisting of the new position of Executive Officer and the Executive Secretary of CDC. The first priority of the Alliance Office will be to build on improvements over the last several years and ensure that CDC operates more effectively. As Executive Officer, Meryl Williams will lay the ground work for CDC on key strategic issues such as the programmatic and structural alignment exercise.

Update from Task Force on Millennium Development Goals: The Centers are active in several ways to help achieve the Millennium Development Goals (MDG). First, Centers are orienting their own work programs and strategies to place the Goals at the core. Second, several senior Center executives are members of the UN-MDG Task Forces on Hunger, Water and Environment. Third, the Technical Support Center for the MDGs is proposed to be located at World Agroforestry Center. The CDC intends to make more visible the work that the Centers are doing to support the MDGs.

Compensation Study: Both CBC and CDC welcome this study and see it as contributing to the overall reform process especially in harmonizing common and basic compensation policies and urge that the study methods be sufficiently rigorous.

Gender and Diversity (G&D) Program Review: The Committees received the positive results of the External Review and approved the key recommendation to extend the G&D program for another four years.

A.U. Mokwunye, Chair, CBC
Kanayo Nwanze, Chair, CDC