Preparing for ExCo-17

Dear Colleagues,
The next Executive Council Meeting (ExCo-17) will soon take place on November 3-4, 2009 in Rome. In preparation for the meeting, there’s been a lot of activity across the System to get ready for this important milestone in the change process. In addition to preparing new updated drafts of the primary  documents of the new CGIAR, consultations have been taking place amongst various constituencies to allow for dialogue on key issues that will be addressed at ExCo. These pre-meeting conversations are helpful for beginning to build the consensus we need to move the reform process forward.

For example, last week the Transition Management Team organized a three day e-consultation to provide a forum for discussion on four key areas: the development of the Consortium, development of the Fund, the Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E) Framework, and roles and responsibilities for the Independent Science and Partnership Council (ISPC). All CGIAR Members, Center Directors General, Center Board Chairs and the Science Council were invited to participate in the consultations. A total of 83 individuals registered and about 100 messages were recorded across the four discussion topics during the three days.

During the consultations, exchanges on the Consortium centered on the balance of authority between the new Consortium Board and Center Boards, the Consortium Constitution, and performance agreements – the contractual arrangements between the Fund and the Consortium and the Consortium and the Centers in turn. Topics addressed related to the Fund included the responsibilities and the criteria for membership of the Fund Council, how to handle institutional funding, and how to design and manage the contractual relationships between the Fund, the Consortium and the Centers.  The M&E dialogue focused on issues such as where to host an independent evaluation unit and the exchanges related to the ISPC continued the discussion to clarify the roles and responsibilities of this new group.

I would like to thank all those who took the time and effort to be involved in this e-consultation.  The comments, feedback, and discussions shared during the consultation are critical inputs to the process as the details and working modalities of the new CGIAR are brought into greater focus.  I hope the consultations have helped to establish a good foundation for the discussions that will be held at ExCo-17. For more details on the agenda and documentation for ExCo-17, visit our website for the meeting: http://www.cgiar.org/who/structure/executive/exco17/index.html

Best regards,
Ren Wang