Science Council Secretariat

The SC Secretariat is hosted by the Sustainable Development Department at the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) headquarters in Rome. Since 2004, it has been led by the SC executive director. The SC Secretariat provides technical and administrative support to SC activities involving the development of CGIAR priorities and strategies for research, mobilization of science, monitoring and evaluation (M&E) of center research activities, and assessment of the impact of the System's outputs. Although the SC Secretariat's role is diverse and multifaceted, it does not deliver its own outputs; rather it facilitates the work of the Science Council and its standing panels. The SC Secretariat's three major contributions of 2004 were related to the priority-setting exercise, the revision of the M&E process for CGIAR centers and design of research performance indicators, and establishment of the CGIAR Impact Web site

Facilitation of the Priority-Setting Exercise for CGIAR System Priorities

Following on the priority-setting exercise initiated by the interim Science Council, the SC led an exhaustive process of participatory information-gathering, analysis, synthesis, and debate to develop an initial proposal for the new CGIAR system priorities. The process involved consultation with CGIAR donors on the importance of agreeing on a limited number of CGIAR priorities in the coming 5 to 10 years. Facilitation of this process has been a major undertaking, one that heavily involves SC Secretariat staff. The Secretariat assisted the SC chair and members in preparing for consultations with individual doors and stakeholder groups, and the SC executive director was involved in the consultations. The SC Secretariat assisted with the preparation and dissemination of a draft document on system priorities at the Annual General Meeting, and it collaborated on sessions on the topic during the stakeholder and business meetings there. The Secretariat also completed preparations for a set of consultations on the priorities for January 2005.

Facilitation of Revising the M&E Process for CGIAR Centers and Design of Research Performance Indicators

The SC Secretariat was heavily involved in finalizing a document outlining the policy for a new M&E process for CGIAR centers, which is aligned with both the CGIAR priority-setting process and the CGIAR performance measurement system. Closely related to this effort is the SC Sec's major contribution to the drafting of indicators for center research performance, which will form one component of a coherent M&E system.

Facilitating Establishment of the CGIAR Impact Website

The SC Secretariat contributed in a major way to facilitating collaboration between the Science Council Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (SPIA) and all the Centers to develop a website for ex-post impact assessment (IA) in the CGIAR. The site is intended to disseminate IA studies, promote best practices in IA, and foster dialogue among IA practitioners, both within the CGIAR and throughout the larger research and development communities. The CGIAR Impact website (http://impact.cgiar.org) was launched in 2004 and is the main forum for IA activities. It is hoped that the website not only will improve intercenter communication but also will enable dissemination to new audiences beyond the traditional CGIAR arena. The site embodies a searchable, dynamic bibliography of ex-post IA and adoption studies, a dynamic link manager, a dynamic calendar of events, and a methods section. Development of the site was the result of collaboration between CGIAR centers, the SC Secretariat, and the FAO Information Services Division.

Collaboration with Other Units

There is substantial interaction and collaboration between the SC, the SC Secretariat, the centers, the SO, and other stakeholder communities, as described below.

Collaboration with the CGIAR Secretariat and the FHAO on Developing CGIAR Performance Indicators

In 2004, the SC Secretariat cooperated intensively with the CDC to help finalize a joint SC/CDC proposal for developing performance indicators for research performance. The elements included in the proposal were quality and relevance of staff; quality and relevance of programs; outputs; outcomes; and impacts. The SC Sec also collaborated closely with the CGIAR Secretariat in the work of the technical experts and resource persons and the Performance Measurement Working Group.

Collaboration with the CGIAR Secretariat in Facilitating the Preparation of Synthesis of Lessons Learned from Initial Implementation of the CGIAR Pilot Challenge Programs

The SC and CGIAR Secretariats worked together to facilitate the preparation of the Lessons Learned document requested by the ExCo The SC was responsible for the programmatic component of the report, and the CGIAR Secretariat consultant prepared the management component of the review. The document was submitted to the CGIARfor discussion at the Annual General Meeting.