CGIAR receives external, impartial, and expert advice related to strategic planning and positioning, program evaluation, and impact assessment. The independent advisory services comprise the Independent Science for Development Council (ISDC), the Standing Panel on Impact Assessment (SPIA), and an independent evaluation workstream implemented at the request of CGIAR System Council. CGIAR Advisory Services Shared Secretariat (CAS Secretariat) facilitates and supports these independent advisory services.
See the CGIAR Advisory Services website for further information.
INDEPENDENT SCIENCE FOR DEVELOPMENT COUNCIL (ISDC)
The ISDC provides its advice within the broader context of CGIAR’s Strategy and Results Framework (‘SRF’), and successive multi-year CGIAR Business Plans approved by the System Council upon the recommendation of the System Management Board. Guided by terms of reference approved by the System Council, the ISDC has a mandate for:
- Foresight work to inform CGIAR’s longer term research strategy;
- Horizon scanning to provide analysis on how emerging trends and developments can be taken into account in CGIAR’s work;
- Priority setting exercises and analyses integrating both ex-post and ex-ante analyses;
- Guidance for periodic proposal assessment processes; and
- Other functions, on the strategic direction of CGIAR and the value of its research agenda.
Members and main affiliations
| Term ends | ||
| Holger Meinke ISDC Chair |
Strategic Research Professor for Global Food Sustainability, University of Tasmania, Australia | 20/09/2022 |
| Andrew Ash ISDC Member |
Retired Chief Research Scientist, CSIRO | 30/09/2022 |
| Fetien Abera ISDC Member |
Professor, Plant Breeding and Seed, Mekelle University, Ethiopia | 30/06/2024 |
| Chris Barrett ISDC Member |
Stephen B. and Janice G. Ashley Professor, Charles H. Dyson School of Applied Economics and Management, Cornell University, USA | 30/09/2022 |
| Magali Garcia ISDC Member |
Professor Emeritus, Universidad Mayor de San Andres, Bolivia | 30/06/2024 |
| Nighisty Ghezae ISDC Member |
Director of the International Foundation for Science, Sweden | 31/12/2021 |
| Suneetha Kadiyala ISDC Member |
Professor, Global Nutrition, London School of Hygiene and Tropical Medicine, UK | 30/09/2022 |
| Nompumelelo Obokoh (nee Masubelele) ISDC Member |
Chairperson, Board of the National Research Foundation (NRF), South Africa | 30/06/2024 |
| Lesley Torrance ISDC Member |
Director of Science at the James Hutton Institute and Professor of Biology at the University of St Andrews, UK | 30/09/2022 |
See the relevant section on the CGIAR Advisory Services website for further information.
STANDING PANEL ON IMPACT ASSESSMENT (SPIA)
SPIA is an external, impartial standing panel of experts in impact assessment subject matters appointed by the System Council and accountable to it. Within the context of the CGIAR System, operating according to multi-year CGIAR Business Plans to increase coherence and alignment in CGIAR’s delivery against it Strategy and Results Framework (‘SRF’), and guided by terms of reference approved by the System Council, SPIA is responsible for providing rigorous, evidence-based and independent strategic advice to the CGIAR System on:
- Efficient and effective impact assessment methods and practices, including those measuring impacts beyond contribution to science and economic performance; and
- On innovative ways to improve knowledge and capacity on how research contributes to development outcomes
Members and main affiliations
| Term ends | ||
| Karen Macours SPIA Chair |
Professor at the Paris School of Economics and researcher at the French National Research Institute for Agriculture, Food and Environment (INRAE) | 30/09/2023 |
| Kyle Emerick SPIA Member |
Associate Professor in Economics, Tufts University, USA | 31/12/2022 |
| Sujata Visaria SPIA Member |
CEO and founder of QualAnalytics | 30/06/2024 |
| Monica Biradavolu SPIA Special Initiative Member |
CEO and founder of QualAnalytics | 30/06/2024 |
| Kelsey Jack SPIA Special Initiative Member |
Associate Professor of Environmental and Development Economics, University of California Santa Barbara, USA | 30/06/2022 |
| Rachid Laajaj SPIA Special Initiative Member |
Associate Professor in Economics, University of Los Andes, Bogota, Colombia | 31/12/2022 |
| Travis Lybbert SPIA Special Initiative Member |
Professor of Agricultural and Resource Economics, University of California Davis, USA | 30/06/2022 |
See the relevant section on the CGIAR Advisory Services website for further information.
CGIAR ADVISORY SERVICES SHARED SECRETARIAT & INDEPENDENT EVALUATION WORKSTREAM
Guided by terms of reference approved by the System Council, the CGIAR Advisory Services Shared Secretariat (CAS Secretariat) provides operational support for ISDC, SPIA and implementation of the CGIAR System’s multi-year evaluation plan.
Staff members
| Allison Grove Smith | Director |
| Amy R. Beaudreault | ISDC Lead |
| Ricardo Labarta | SPIA Program Leader |
| Svetlana Negroustoueva | Evaluation Function Lead |
| Pierre Boulanger | ISDC Advisor |
| Mina Karasalo | SPIA Officer |
| Karen Erdoo Jay-Yina | Senior Evaluation Officer |
| Ira Vater | Senior Program Officer |
| Mae Maghirang | Administration and Finance Specialist |
See the relevant section on the CGIAR Advisory Services website for further information.
2021 Synthesis of Learning from a Decade of CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs)
