New DGs at CIFOR, WARDA

CIFOR

CIFOR's Board of Trustees has selected Frances Seymour, Director of the Institutions and Governance Program of the World Resources Institute, as the Center's next Director General. She will succeed David Kaimowitz who will step down shortly after five years at CIFOR. The DG-designate has had a highly successful career in forestry and development issues with the World Resources Institute, World Wildlife Fund, Ford Foundation and USAID, and has worked in several tropical countries. She is due to attend a briefing at the CGIAR Secretariat shortly.

WARDA

The WARDA Council of Ministers has selected Papa Seck, Director General of the Senegal Research Institute and Adviser to the President of Senegal as WARDA's next Director General. He will succeed Kanayo F. Nwanze who will end his second and final term as WARDA's DG later this year. Papa Seck has long-standing connections with the CGIAR. He has been a member of ExCo and a member of WARDA's Board of Trustees. He was until recently Chair of the Forum for Agricultural Research in Africa (FARA).

Special Service to Members

CGIAR Members and other AGM Business Meeting participants are invited to visit the CGIAR Members Only Section, in the CGIAR website http://www.cgiar.org. If you need password information to access this section, please contact Jo Hernandez at j.hernandez@cgiar.org. Feedback is always appreciated. Comments on the Members Only section may be sent to cgiar@cgiar.org.

Reaching Out

The CGIAR Secretariat and the CGIAR System's Marketing Group have conducted a series of targeted communications activities with key policy makers in Member countries and agencies. These are two-way events in which information about the work of the Centers and the System is shared with key stakeholders and they, in response, provide helpful feedback. These activities are planned with great care and are carried out with enthusiasm and dedication. Special publications are prepared for them and, consequently, CGIAR System publications are now available in 12 languages. Information on the CGIAR is available on the System's web site in seven languages. Details of recent activities are summarized below.

China

A High-level Consultation and Roundtable Discussion on "Strengthening the China-CGIAR Partnership" were held in Beijing on April 3, as part of the continuing China-CGIAR dialogue. Senior officials representing China's perspectives included Vice Minister Wei Chaoan of the Ministry of Agriculture, Vice President Zhang Lijian of the Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences (CAAS), President Zhang Hecheng of the Chinese Academy of Fishery Sciences, and President Chu Fuxiang of the Chinese Academy of Forestry Sciences. CGIAR participants included the CGIAR Chair and Director, ICRISAT's Deputy Director General Dyno Keatinge, rep-resenting all Centers, together with IRRI's Deputy General for Research Ren Wang and the CGIAR Secretariat's Communications Adviser Fionna Douglas. Discussions centered on synergies between the agricultural priorities of China and the CGIAR, and on future areas of collaboration. Ten Centers were involved in the Roundtable Discussion which focused on a number of technical issues. The CGIAR Chair and Director held a series of Ministerial meetings on future opportunities for enhanced China-CGIAR collaboration. At the request of the Government of China, the CGIAR Marketing Group and CAAS organized a media workshop at the time of the high-level consultation. A full report on the media workshop is at http://www.cgiar.org/meetings/china_mediaworkshop/index.html. This was the second CGIAR Media Workshop conducted in a local language. The first was in Marrakech, at the time of AGM05.

Belgium

A multi-faceted program was organized in Belgium with the collaboration and support of the Belgian Senate and Directorate-General of Development Cooperation (DGCD). A CGIAR Briefing with presentations and discussions was held at the Belgian Senate (May 2), under the leadership of the President of the Senate, Senator Anne Marie Lizin. Participants included Minister of Agriculture Sabine Laurelle, Senator Pierre Galand, Director General (DGCD) Martine Van Dooren, the CGIAR Chair, CGIAR Director, and IPGRI Director General Emile Frison who spoke on Belgian-CGIAR partnerships, and Professor Dheda Djailo, Dean of the Faculty of Agriculture, University of Kisangani in the Democratic Republic of the Congo, explained the significance of agriculture to his country. This event was followed by a Belgium-CGIAR Dialogue (May 3) involving Belgian policy experts, government officials, NGOs, representatives of the CGIAR and their partners. The topics covered included genetic resources, agricultural research in developing countries, and the challenges of dry land agriculture in the Sahel. In addition, CGIAR representatives led by the Chair and Director held technical discussions with key officials at the European Commission on EU/EC initiatives relevant to the CGIAR, CGIAR System Priorities, and financial issues.

The Netherlands

The CGIAR returned to The Hague on May 16-18 for ExCo10, 16 years after it last met there in formal session for a Mid-Term Meeting. The Dutch welcomed the return of the CGIAR in the collegial spirit typical of relations between the Netherlands and the CGIAR. The CGIAR developed a number of activities around ExCo10, all of them designed to strengthen the Netherlands-CGIAR partnership. The CGIAR Chair and Director held high-level meetings in Parliament, linking up with representatives of the Parliamentary Network on the World Bank (PNoWB) which brings together parliamentarians over 140 parliamentarians from 60 countries to increase parliamentary involvement and effectiveness in international development. They also held discussions with senior officials at the Ministry of Foreign Affairs including the Director General for International Cooperation Ruud Treffers, the Dutch Ambassador for Sustainable Development Ton Boon Von Ochsee, and the Director for Water and Environment Gerben De Jong. Discussions covered the full range of partnerships between the Netherlands and the CGIAR, and opened the way to even closer collaboration in the future. On a more informal note, tribute was paid at a "Friends of the CGIAR" dinner to the numerous Dutch policy makers and scientists who have influenced the progress of the CGIAR. Another activity was a briefing on ExCo for new members. Following ExCo10, the Science Council held a technical workshop on "Strengthening the Research-Development Linkage."

France -- World Bank Forum

The CGIAR Chair and the CGIAR Director spoke at a breakfast briefing held in conjunction with the World Bank's Sustainable Development Forum in Paris on June 13. The audience consisted of representatives of the CGIAR's European Members. The CGIAR Chair spoke on the key role of agriculture and agricultural research as catalysts of economic growth and productivity, especially in Africa. He said that "agriculture is the heart of long-term sustainable development," and "is central to both ecological and environmental management." Twenty-first century farmers will be required to transform themselves into productive landscape managers both to raise agricultural productivity to meet increasing demands and to protect scarce global resources, he added. The CGIAR Director presented an update on developments within the System. He pointed out that steady support from European Members had contributed significantly to the progress achieved to date in the reform process. Member representatives were pleased to learn that System financing had increased to $460 million during 2005 and that Membership was poised to grow further in the near future. They welcomed the inclusion of a farmer representative on ExCo and looked forward to AGM06 with its emphasis on CGIAR engagement with civil society. They strongly supported a continuing dialogue with civil society organizations.

• The CGIAR Secretariat mounted exhibits on the work of the CGIAR, including its contribution to achievement of the Millennium Development Goals, as part of all the activities reported above.

Marketing Group meets in Nairobi

The CGIAR Marketing Group which partners the CGIAR Secretariat to plan and implement targeted communications events met in Nairobi in June to take stock of current activities, review progress made in implementing its work plan, and to consider programs that will move the work plan forward. The meeting was preceded by a successful media event, organized by the CGIAR System's new Media Specialist (see "System Office" below) on how CGIAR Science helps to battle desertification. The Marketing Group received feedback from several representatives of the CGIAR System on possible areas of collaboration with national agricultural systems, and on the work of the Centers in Africa. The practical results of these consultations will be seen in coming months. The core Marketing Group includes communication and resource mobilization representatives from the Centers, the CGIAR Secretariat, the Challenge Programs and the Global Crop Diversity Trust. The current Chair of the group is Klaus von Grebner (IFPRI). A broad network of marketing-focused individuals from across the CGIAR System also contributes to Group activities and discussion. Funded by the Centers and the Secretariat, the Group develops and implements activities designed to increase awareness of and support for the collective work of the Centers.

System Finance

Total CGIAR resources in 2005 amounted to $460 million, up from $453 million in 2004, an increase of $7 million or approximately 2 percent. Of this amount, $450 million was in contributions from CGIAR Members and non-members, $13 million more (3 percent) than in 2004. The remaining $10 million was income earned by the Centers. An increase of $16 million for Challenge Programs (84 percent over 2004), which was offset by a reduction of $3 million in support for the Centers, accounted for the $13 million increase. The rise in contributions in 2005 came primarily from two groups: Europe (an increase of $16 million or 9 percent) and North America (an increase of $5 million or 5 percent). Although the aggregate of total resources increased, the increase was unevenly spread over the 15 Centers. A peer group of finance directors has reviewed the externally audited financial statements of the Centers to ensure that they complied with CGIAR accounting policies and reporting guidelines.

• K. Akuffo-Akoto (IRRI) and Shey Tata were commended at ExCo10 for a lucid and useful presentation on the CGIAR System's financial health. An Executive Summary of the 2005 CGIAR Financial Results will appear in the CGIAR Annual Report to be published in July.

Funding for System Priorities:

As decided at AGM05, an ExCo ad hoc committee has been formed to move towards implementation of System Priorities, and coordinated funding. The ad hoc committee would be linked to organization of the System Funding Coordination Forum to be held at AGM, starting in 2006. The committee consists of six CGIAR Members (three ExCo and three non-ExCo) led by Jonathan Wadsworth. Its principal task is to develop a strategy for filling the funding gaps for implementing the CGIAR-approved priorities and for coordinating donor funding for all programs that fall within the priorities. Additionally, it will serve in an advisory role as a sounding board to the CGIAR Secretariat, which was tasked by the CGIAR to present ideas to ExCo on organization of a System Funding Coordination Forum to be held at AGM, starting in 2006. The committee will be supported by the CGIAR Secretariat with inputs from the Science Council and the Centers as necessary. The committee is expected to report to ExCo11 on progress made, and to submit a final report with recommendations at AGM06.

Stripe Review of Corporate Governance at Centers:

The stripe review of corporate governance of CGIAR Centers has been completed, and the review panel's 32 recommendations were endorsed by ExCo10. The panel consisted of Samuel Paul (Chair), Lili-Ann Foster, and Paul Egger, with Manuel Lantin as Secretary. Setting up the review was a joint initiative of the Committee of Board Chairs/Alliance Board (CBC/AB) and the CGIAR Secretariat. The main topics covered by the recommendations are:

• board structure, size, and composition;
• role of boards in strategy setting and performance oversight;
• board renewal;
• accountability of boards; and
• reference guides for Center boards.

The full text of the stripe review panel's report is at http://www.cgiar.org/exco/exco10/exco10_stripe_review_report.pdf.

Tackling UG99:

Nobel laureate Norman Borlaug alerted scientists and ODA managers at a USAID seminar in Washington DC to the challenges posed by Ug99, the virulent, fungal pathogen that takes it name from the country ( Uganda) and the year (1999) when it was first discovered. He said that "the prospect of a stem-rust epidemic in wheat in Africa, Asia, and Latin America is real and must be stopped before it causes untold damage and human suffering." Wind borne, Ug99 is working its way through Yemen, and Pakistan and eventually could reach China. By the end of the decade it could have reached areas in developing countries where the livelihoods of about 1billion people will be at stake. Western wheat varieties are equally vulnerable (70 percent of US varieties have been found to be susceptible). Speakers at the seminar emphasized the need to accelerate the research process, to attract adequate funding for research, and to increase public awareness about the dangers of Ug99. Earlier, CIMMYT and ICARDA hosted a wheat rust summit which led to the establishment of a Global Rust Initiative. Action plans and results to date are described in a report that may be accessed at

System Office:

2005 CGIAR System Office Annual Report

The new annual e-report of the CGIAR System Office (SO) has been launched. The SO, which consisted of eight units in 2005, provides a variety of services to Members and Centers as well as to other stakeholders. In an attempt to illustrate the wide range of activities in which each of the SO units is engaged, the report highlights collaborative activities as well as three major achievements of each unit during the past year.

SO units collaborated on several initiatives launched in 2005. The new pilot Performance Measurement System was launched and completed, for instance, through close collaboration among the CGIAR Secretariat, SC Secretariat, and Internal Audit Unit (IAU). A paper describing the lessons learned from the pilot was subsequently drafted for ExCo's consideration. A second key initiative was the development of the Scientific Knowledge Exchange Program (SKEP) with six international research-oriented agribusiness companies. The Future Harvest Alliance Office (FHAO) and the CGIAR Secretariat worked closely with the CGIAR Private Sector Committee (PSC) to design and launch SKEP. The first staff exchange, a senior private sector research manager assigned to IFPRI, took place in August 2005. In addition, both units worked with the PSC in organizing the September 2005 CGIAR-Private Sector High-Level Meeting in Washington, DC. The meeting resulted in the initiation of the development of a joint work plan. The IAU, Chief Information Officer, and the Gender and Diversity Program continued to work on a series of Good Practice Notes in the areas of human resource management and information security. Additional details on all SO services and the financial report are at http://www.cgiar.org/soar/2005/index.html.

External Assessment

The first external assessment of the System Office is in progress. It is being conducted by Canadian evaluation specialist Doug Daniels who was at one time Director of Planning and Evaluation at IDRC. The primary objective of the assessment is to determine whether the SO, as a virtual structure, has helped to increase coordination, capture synergies and increase overall performance of central service units that support the Centers and the CGIAR System as a whole. The report is expected to be shared with Membership by October.

Media Specialist

Catherine Mgendi, an award winning communicator, has started work as the CGIAR System's Media Specialist based at ILRI. Her office is the most recently established unit of the System Office. Her previous positions included that of Communications Manager of the World Wildlife Federation's Eastern Africa office, and Science Writer of the Nation newspaper group in Nairobi. The Media Specialist Unit is supported by seven Centers and the CGIAR Secretariat. As the lead media relations expert, she will develop a media strategy, and will plan and manage delivery of the Media Unit's activities and services.

Strategic Advisory Service on Human Resources (SAS-HR)

Unni Vennemoe, Director, Division of Personnel at the International Atomic Energy Agency (IAEA), has been selected as the new Director of the CGIAR System's Strategic Advisory Service on Human Resources. She has held several challenging human resources positions in the past. SAS-HR provides expert professional support to the participating Centers and to the System Office. The Director of the Service is expected to provide leadership, plan, manage, participate in, and ensure the effective delivery of the activities of the SAS-HR.

Catherine Mgendi and Unni Vennemoe will spend brief periods of orientation at the CGIAR Secretariat.

First Joint Appointment

The CGIAR Secretariat and the Science Council Secretariat have made their first joint appointment: Annabelle N Waruhiu, a Research Assistant based at the SC Secretariat in Rome, and contributing as well to the work of the CGIAR Secretariat's Governance Team. The Research Assistant is an alumna of the University of Reading, and the University of Edinburgh. She worked previously at ICRAF.

Partnerships:

CSO Forum Advisory Group

The 10-member Advisory Group established to guide the CGIAR Secretariat's preparations for the CSO Forum/Stakeholder Meeting at AGM06 met in May at the CGIAR Secretariat. Future discussions will be conducted mostly virtually. The group consists of representatives of civil society organizations (CSOs), the CGIAR Membership, and the Centers. The meeting was facilitated by Glyvyns Chinkuntha of the Farmers Union of Malawi, and a member of ExCo, Monica Kapiriri of GFAR, and Namita Datta, the CGIAR Secretariat's Governance Adviser. The Group agreed that as the CSO Forum is one of several mechanisms for CSO-CGIAR consultation and collaboration, best practices and lessons learned from existing CSO-CGIAR partnerships should be identified and serve as the basis for future collaboration. The Forum should be well focused and not overloaded with multiple issues. Towards that end, discussions at the CSO Forum will be built around the examples of successful partnerships presented at the AGM06 Innovation Marketplace, the central pillar of CSO Forum activities.

Private Sector Partnership Committee (PSC)

The PSC had its most recent meeting at the Royal Museum for Central Africa in Tervuren, Brussels, hosted by Guido Gryseels, Director General of the Museum and Board Chair of ICARDA. The meeting dealt with several practical matters including a workshop on research management and a workshop on product stewardship that are being organized by the PSC, and reviewed progress in the implementation of the PSC-initiated Staff and Knowledge Exchange Program (SKEP) between the CGIAR Centers and Private Sector research institutions. The committee also expressed an interest in participating in the proposed CGIAR workshop and study on hybrid-IP arrangements. Meanwhile, the Syngenta Foundation has commissioned IFPRI to conduct a study on the CGIAR's private sector partnerships, as a follow-up to the CGIAR-Private Sector CEO Dialogue. The PSC itself will conduct a self assessment, prior to the October meeting of ExCo, to determine the progress made towards achieving the goals laid out in January 2004. The PSC is expected to set up a booth at AGM06, as it did at AGM05.

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