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Feature Article: Protecting an
International Patrimony - Internal Audit and the CGIAR
Genebanks
Back in 2007 we published a news item on this web page on the
significance of the Centers' international genebanks in the
CGIAR's global activities, and on the risk management component
of a CGIAR System-wide project - the Global Public Goods Phase 2
(GPG2) Project, aimed at developing a risk management framework for
the CGIAR genebanks and associate tools.
Since then, the CGIAR Internal Auditing Unit has been providing
advice and guidance to the lead researcher for this GPG2 activity,
a senior scientist on secondment from the Philippines Rice Research
Institute (PhilRice), and the community of CGIAR Center genebank
managers and genetic conservation experts.
Our close involvement in the implementation of enterprise-wide
risk management systems in the Centers, and the importance of the
Center's genebanks as an element in these risk assessments,
led naturally to Internal Audit interest and input to this high
profile and critical activity.
Work on the final GPG2 risk management products is due for
completion in the first quarter of 2010 and in this article we
provide a glimpse of what will eventually be published in the
publically-accessible Crop Genebank Knowledge Base at http://cropgenebank.sgrp.cgiar.org.
This Knowledge Base has been set up as a repository for the GPG2
products and will be the place to publish updates and enhancements
of these products going forward. The Knowledge Base will be
maintained by the Systemwide Genetic Resources Program.
No surprises that, with Internal Audit encouragement, the
methodology and approach is consistent with that adopted for the
enterprise risk management framworks of the Centers. Drawing on
international standards and guidelines, this can be summarized in
the graphic below:
With assistance from the Internal Auditing Unit, the research
scientist has prepared a guidance document which adapts this
framework specifically for genebank managers and staff. He has
also compiled an extensive database of information on risks,
controls and contingency plan items relevant for genebanks,
covering both seed and clonally propagated crops. This draws on an
extensive study of literature from within and outside the CGIAR,
exchanges with genebankers in CGIAR and external genebanks, and a
review of the best practice information generated in other
activities of the GPG2 project. Finally he has developed an
initial concept for electronically documenting and reporting the
results of genebank risk assessments. These products are global
public goods for use by genebanks world-wide, not just the
CGIAR.
Genebanks are not intended to be museums. They house
collections meant to be actively used in research for food
security, better health and livelihoods; and in re-starting
agriculture in places which have suffered massive local seed stock
loss through physical or man-made disasters. The database reflects
the complexity of curating living organisms that are subject not
only to the typical issues of storing physical or data assets, but
also to biophysical processes. Many of these processes are
themselves not yet fully understood and the subject of ongoing
research. It also reflects that genebank collections are also not
very useful without good information on their contents.
The risk and control database developed under the GPG2 project
covers genebank operations through the whole cycle of curation:
collection/donation, registration of accessions, storage, viability
testing, regeneration, characterization and evaluation, sample
distribution, labelling, data handling, sample and information
backup, data quality and sharing. It also addresses the physical
infrastructure, human and financial resources dimensions of risk.
The control and contingency planning elements of the database
include protocols and processes that are evolving as the
understanding of biology and conservation technologies for the
crops in question expands. It captures advanced issues such as the
risks of unintended presence of transgenes in collections,
cryopresevation storage and random genetic drift.
The products are currently going through a quality review and
further refinement to put cross-references/links of items in the
control and contingency planning sections to detailed best practice
information. Keep an eye out for the finished products in the Crop
Genebank Knowledge Base.
The CGIAR internal auditors will have an important role in
promoting the adoption (and subsequent improvement) of the risk
management framework and tools, as part of their work to assist
Center-wide risk management.
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