Toward a New Vision and Strategy for the CGIAR: Final Synthesis

The final synthesis of an electronic consultation on what the CGIAR should do in the future organized by TAC in the period December 12, 1999 through January 14, 2000, and moderated by Julio A. Berdegué and Germán Escobar of Santiago, Chile. Some 400 persons registered to participate, and there were 146 contributions. The coordinators found a consensus that the CGIAR had made an important contribution and should continue to play a strong role in the production of scientific and technological services and product. They also found agreement that the CGIAR was suffering from dispersion of effort on too many goals; that its mission must be directly related to the eradication of poverty; that strategic partnerships and alliances had to become a key ingredient of the institutional culture; and that the dichotomy between research on improving genetic resources and research on protecting the environment was false.