The fourth EFARD (European Forum on Agricultural Research for Development) conference was held at Zurich in April. EFARD's periodic conferences provide a setting in which European ARD institutions and partners from the South can exchange ideas and assess strategic planning. EFARD conferences also promote awareness among policy makers and the public about the objectives and mission of ARD. Three previous EFARD conferences were held in Montpelier (1997), Wageningen (1999) and Rome (2002). The theme of the 2005 conference was "European Responses to Changing Global Needs." The CGIAR Chair was a featured speaker. EFARD is expected to share with its stakeholders an issues paper based on the presentations and discussions.

Paul Wolfowitz has assumed office as the World Bank's President. His predecessor, James D. Wolfensohn, often publicly commended the CGIAR "as one of the most successful partnerships in the history of development." Wolfowitz, addressing World Bank staff on his first day in office, emphasized several policies that will resonate strongly within the CGIAR System, such as priority for development in Africa, the need for genuine partnerships in the development process, and an equitable role for women in development.

The eighth ExCo meeting was held in Berlin on May 11-12. Marina Puccioni ( Italy) was elected co-chair. Participants were welcomed by Erich Stather, State Secretary of Germany's Federal Ministry for Economic Cooperation and Development (BMZ), who said that achievement of the first MDG (eradicating extreme hunger and poverty) depends largely on the work of the CGIAR. In that context, he suggested a number of key tasks for international agricultural research, such as creating technologies for increased food crop productivity; giving priority to vegetable and fruit production to improve nutrition and health; protecting natural resources and biodiversity; developing innovative and scientifically well-founded strategies for rural areas; and providing policymakers with guidance on how best to create coherence among agriculture, trade, and development. Among the matters taken up by ExCo8 were recommendations on program and structure by two Task Forces, Research Priorities under development by the Science Council, External Reviews of CIMMYT and IFPRI, updates on Challenge Programs, CGIAR Finance, and Performance Measurement. (For a link to the ExCo8 Summary Record of Proceedings, please see http://www.cgiar.org/who/structure/executive/meetings.html.)

Jochen de Haas and Per Pinstrup-Andersen, chairs of the TFs established to deal with programmatic alignment (TF1) and structural options/organizational alignment (TF2), reported to ExCo8 on the work undertaken by the TFs, and de Haas presented their joint recommendations which covered:

Eventual consolidation of all CGIAR activities into a single global corporate entity;

• Reconfiguration of Centers headquartered in SSA into two global entities: one in West and Central Africa (WCA), and the other in East and Southern Africa (ESA);
• Planning and Implementation of research activities focused on SSA through two MTPs, one for WCA and the other for ESA;
• Commissioning of other TFs to identify programmatic and structural alignment needs and opportunities in the remaining regions.

Following careful discussion of TF proposals, ExCo decided to submit its recommendations to the CGIAR for approval on a no-objection basis. Highlights:

• Long-term proposals to be discussed as separate topics at AGM05 if Members agreed;
• Centers should continue to develop the sub-regional MTPs consistent with System Priorities, with full engagement in this process by NARS, SROs and FARA, and implementation to begin in 2006.
• CGIAR Chair should discuss with the Board Chairs of IITA and WARDA and WARDA's Council of Ministers the consolidation of a single Center for West and Central Africa;
• Suggested options from CGIAR Members for the East and Southern Africa Global Entity to be discussed at ExCo9 in October 2005.

The Science Council's draft proposals on research priorities are based on their potential contribution to the overall goals of CGIAR research and their links to the MDGs. Priorities/goals have been structured around five priority areas:

1. Sustaining biodiversity for current and future generations;
2. Producing more and better food at lower costs through genetic improvements;
3. Reducing rural poverty through agricultural diversification and emerging opportunities for high-value commodities and products;
4. Poverty alleviation and sustainable management of water, land, and forest resources; and
5. Improving policies and facilitating institutional innovation to support sustainable reduction of poverty and hunger.

A full discussion of the research priorities formulated by the Science Council, and related aspects of System strategy, will take place at AGM05.

Agricultural scientists from India, Vietnam, Cameroon and their partner CGIAR Centers ICRISAT, IRRI, and the WorldFish Center were among 27 winners of the 2005 World Bank Development Marketplace awards. The theme for this year's Development Marketplace was "Innovations for Livelihoods in a Sustainable Environment." Over 2600 applications were received, and 78 finalists were selected by an international jury of 34 specialists. For full details, click here for the "Story of the Month".

For the second consecutive year, IFAR has awarded fellowships to developing country scientists sponsored by CGIAR Centers. Twelve awards were made under IFAR's Small Grants Program. Of these, the award made to the youngest woman grantee was designated the Ravi Tadvalkar Memorial Scholarship, in keeping with a decision by IFAR's Board that such a scholarship would be an appropriate means to honor Ravi Tadvalkar's efforts to re-awaken IFAR, and his contributions to the CGIAR in general. One Wilfried Thalwitz Scholarship was awarded, as well. For the names of grantees, the sponsoring Centers, and other details, please see the IFAR web site at ifar4dev.org.

Improved governance and strong leadership are fundamentals of the continuing reform program of the CGIAR. In keeping with this approach, the CBC has arranged seven orientation sessions over the past 12 months for members of CGIAR Boards. Ninety-two Board Members from all 15 Centers participated. In another development, a second leadership training program will be held at the Harvard Business School (HBS) in October 2005. The first such program (including a media component) was at HBS in December 2004. A first level leadership development program is also under implementation. Meanwhile, CBC in collaboration with the CGIAR Secretariat is in the process of commissioning a systemwide review of the effectiveness and efficiency of the corporate governance of Center Boards.

The CGIAR Performance Measurement system, currently in a pilot phase, has been widely commended, particularly because of the increasing emphasis on performance measurement systems within the development assistance community. One of the primary uses of performance measurement in the CGIAR is as a management tool by the Centers, and Centers have indicated their readiness to help in further refining the "pilot" indicators in cooperation with the Science Council and the CGIAR Secretariat.

The pilot phase covers the work of the Centers in 2004. It consists of eight performance elements grouped under "results" and "potential to perform":

Results: Outputs, Outcomes, Impacts, and Stakeholder perceptions

Potential to Perform: Quality of research and managerial staff, Quality and relevance of programs, Institutional health, and Financial health.

Four of the eight performance elements are still under review and assessment by the Science Council. Other data is being verified with the support of the Internal Audit Unit, a CGIAR System Office unit.

The next steps of the process are as follows:

• Continue verification of data;
• Finalize the Science Council's assessments of the programmatic performance data;
• Make results available, in the first instance, to Centers and Members, and
• Compile lessons learned so that adjustments could be made in the indicators to be used in future years.

The forthcoming CGIAR Annual Report will include a report on the status of the Performance Measurement pilot phase.

The Centers have launched a Scientific and Know-How Exchange Program (SKEP) with the private sector. The Centers developed the program in collaboration with the CGIAR Private Sector Committee, with support from the CGIAR Secretariat. SKEP's main purpose is to promote technology and knowledge transfer in designing, managing and controlling R&D processes and projects through exchange of staff between private corporations active in research and the CGIAR Centers. A few exchanges are likely during SKEP's first year of operations, beginning with an exchange between IFPRI and Bayer Cropscience. A Bayer senior manager will be posted at IFPRI for several months, working mostly on intellectual property (IP) issues.

The Centers are developing more effective collaborative decision making processes, supported and recognized through cross-center collaborations of the emerging Alliance of Future Harvest Centers of the CGIAR. During recent meetings of the Alliance committees (i.e., the Committee of Board Chairs and the Center Directors Committee) common policies on engagement with the private sector were approved, along with agreements between the Centers and the governing body of the International Treaty on Plant Genetic Resources for Agriculture. As well, agreement was reached on a common policy for preventing the unintentional presence of transgenes in ex-situ collections. The Centers in collaboration and consultation with their partners are continuing to develop two sub-regional Medium Term Plans - one for East and Southern Africa and another for Western and Central Africa. Click here to read the Future Harvest Alliance Executive Newsletter.

2004 - A New High in Contributions:

CGIAR financing in 2004 was $453 million. Member contributions exceeded the $400 million mark for the first time. Total financing consisted of $437 million in Member contributions, $45 million (12 percent) higher than originally forecast, and Center income of $16 million. Member Contributions for 2003 amounted to $381 million. Contributions in 2004 increased across all Member groups, with the main increases from Europe, North America and Developing Countries. Non-Member supporters of the CGIAR increased their contributions by $14 million, led by the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundations' contribution to the HarvestPlus Challenge Program (CP). The 2004 results confirm improvement in CGIAR finances in the aggregate.

Task Force (TF) on Funding System Priorities led by Denmark:

Denmark proposed at AGM05, and the Group agreed, that a Task Force (TF) of interested Members should examine options for developing appropriate mechanisms to ensure that unrestricted funding will support the System's new priorities. The terms of reference for a study of options have been finalized, and a consultant has been retained. A small TF of interested Members was constituted and will hold its first meeting on June 30-July 1 at the CGIAR Secretariat. Responses have already been received from Members to a survey concerning their funding and allocation decisions. The TF's draft report is expected to be presented at ExCo9 and the final version will be ready for discussion at AGM05.

Restructuring of CGIAR Trust Funds at the World Bank Nears Completion :

Key outcomes of this effort are maintenance of an efficient and low cost facility for receiving and disbursing approximately $120 million in CGIAR Member contributions annually, maintenance of the unique feature of allowing Members to express their allocation preferences, and enhancement of compliance with World Bank Trust Funds reforms.