Message from the Chair

Dear Colleagues:

I am pleased to introduce this issue of CGIAR News, which presents another diverse sampling of our collaborative research. Effective partnerships are a key ingredient of the achievements reported here and a central concern of the 64 CGIAR Members whose support makes all of this work possible.

Building and strengthening partnerships has been an important element of the CGIAR's reform program since it was launched in 2001. Francisco Reifschneider, who at the end of this month concludes his 6-year tenure as CGIAR Director, has worked tirelessly to give life and durability to the reform program with all components of the CGIAR, and with my predecessor, Ian Johnson. Francisco has brought to this challenging task a clear vision from the South of a more open CGIAR, ready to embrace a wider community of partners in research for development.

The reform program also saw a reinvigoration of the mutually beneficial linkages between the CGIAR and the World Bank in areas of shared interest. One of these is the conservation of plant genetic resources on which world food security depends. Another is our common goal of strengthening international support for the research needed to achieve sustainable agriculture in the developing world.

Civil society organizations, or CSOs, play a vital role in that work. The CGIAR's relationship with this important group of partners has gained new strength and direction, as a result of the highly successful CSO-CGIAR Forum at AGM06. A comprehensive work plan is being prepared, with the aim of fostering and expanding constructive dialogue between the CGIAR and a growing community of CSO partners. Following up on an announcement made during AGM, a pilot competitive grant program for CSOs and their Center partners was launched at the end of January, opening new avenues toward enhanced collaboration.

The momentum created by last year's AGM is being carried forward through several other activities as well, some of which will be highlighted at the next meeting of the Executive Council (ExCo12) to take place in Madrid, Spain, on May 16-17. A key event at ExCo12 will be the Alignment Forum, dealing with a critically important issue. Members see this event as a potentially effective mechanism for generating ideas about how to move toward the next phases of CGIAR reform.

As this process unfolds, Francisco will be rejoining family and returning to professional pursuits in his native Brazil. We will greatly miss him, and we wish him well in this new phase of his life and career.

Sincerely,

Katherine Sierra CGIAR Chair