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During the forty years of its existence the CGIAR has been through a number of changes and has adopted new research activities, approaches and institutional arrangements.
At this moment the world is asking for a strong contribution of agricultural research for improved agricultural productivity and to address the issues of food security in the face of enhanced risk and variability of climatic stresses. The CGIAR ’s international approach to developing country agriculture and history of accomplishment means that the organization is well placed to address these challenges but that requires adaptation to current day dynamics and to raise efficiencies through change.
1. The share of CGIAR research in International Agricultural research has decreased during the last decades.
2. The mode of operation of research has changed, the linear model of technology development has been augmented by a more participatory approach as illustrated in the IAASTD report.
3. The willingness of the international community to strengthen agricultural research has increased in recognition of the important role that agriculture plays in overall development (as has been identified in the World Bank 2008 Development Report).
4. Within the CGIAR, there is a need for a more programmatic approach making use of a wide range of research and development partners to open up the system . The intention is to create a more outward-looking system through which the products of CGIAR research can feed into other international efforts.
These reasons have stimulated the change process in the CGIAR that started about one year ago. The various working groups are making progress.
Working Group 1 has re -examined the vision and mission of the CGIAR and built up its strategic objectives, research opportunities and practices of the CGIAR on this basis. They have started to identify where the comparative advantage of the CGIAR lays and groups have provided inputs into how this will be made operational.The key research opportunities that are adopted will directly address the strategic objectives, preferably via research contracts bonding the convenors to outputs and expected impacts, whatever the agreed structure and mechanisms of the future CGIAR. One table in the WG1 Report illustrates where the CG takes a likely position as leader of some aspects of international research where as in others it will more likely be an active partner or contributor to groups of players in an international endeavour. The reformulation of the research agenda is based on recognition of comparative advantage and the identification of those development challenges which are best addressed by good agricultural research. This document and the outputs of other Working Groups on partnerships, CGIAR structure and funding will soon be made public.
It is important that CGIAR stakeholders enter into the discussion of the best means to change the CGIAR into an even more effective research for development organisation. We invite your inputs into the process, by considering the draft documents that are already available on the Change Management website.
The change of the CGIAR as a system and the strengthening of programs through which Centres contribute will raise in the immediate term substantial challenges and adjustments for all members of the CGIAR family.
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Filed under: CGIAR Change Management
