5.1 Overall Management Structure
5.2 Management of Research
5.3 Management of Support Services
5.4 Financial Management
5.5 Human Resources Management
5.6. Information Technology and Management Information Systems
5.7 Management of Intellectual Property and Intellectual Property Rights
CIMMYT has done well in addressing a range of management and organizational issues that have emerged as funding trends have changed. The overall environment for operating a successful CGIAR Centre will continue to be challenging in the next 5-10 years.
Changes in styles and amounts of funding, the rate of change in information transfer opportunities, new and different relationships with partners, changing patterns of employment and increasing uncertainty will all contribute significantly to the new management challenges.
Board of Trustees
The Board of Trustees is a group of highly qualified individuals eager to carry out their responsibilities with interest and dedication. The Board enjoys experienced and competent leadership, and there is a good balance of both competencies and geographic representation. The Panel notes the intention of the Board to seek to improve the gender balance in its next round of appointees, as well as to gain specific competencies, such as legal expertise in intellectual property rights, which will be important in the coming term.
It is the view of the Panel, however, that there is insufficient information going to the Board identifying both the significant programme initiatives and different types of risk - and how these risks are being managed. Additionally, progress needs to be made on clarifying the connection and relationship between mission and strategy and decisions being taken by the Board, especially those decisions relating to the budget, as this is one of the most important policy decisions the Board takes annually. Information on these aspects needs to be available to all Board members, irrespective of the specific committee on which they serve. The flow of information from the committees to the full Board, and from management to the committees and Board, could be improved. Therefore, the Panel recommends that the Board:
Ensure that adequate information on the budget and important policy decisions is provided to all Board members irrespective of the specific committee on which they serve; and that the flow of information from committees to the Board, and from management to the committees and Board be improved.
The Board must be assured that all outputs are costed fully and completely, that the generation of outputs is resourced adequately, and that they are delivered on time. This approach is essential to manage the changes resulting from the continuing decline in unrestricted core funding.
Director General's Operations
The period under review covers the tenure of the preceding Director General up to 1995 and that of the present incumbent commencing in 1995.
The period from 1993 to 1995 was characterized by the maintenance of the strength of the primary programmes and mandates. Significant adjustments were made to accommodate substantial financial cuts in real funding and dollar related inflation in Mexico. These changes repositioned the Centre particularly through the initiation of work in biotechnology and natural resource management. The guiding principle in these undertakings was the preservation of CIMMYT's traditional strengths in germplasm enhancement. The former Director General and his colleagues are to be commended for these achievements. However, some of these changes were at the expense of activities deemed to be of secondary importance. In the management area, the failure to recognize the need for specific competencies was an unfortunate oversight.
The present Director General is to be commended for the strengthening and development of very effective relationships with the 'donors, and the priority he has accorded to interacting with NARS and attending meetings of the various regional fora. Within CIMMYT his initiatives in developing a new style of management through the strengthening of the Management Advisory Committee (MAC) and amending the role of the Research Coordinating Committee (RCC) have been beneficial and are appreciated. It is evident that a combination of circumstances, including financial gains from devaluation of the Mexican peso, completion of downsizing, procedures adopted for the development of the Medium Term Plan (MTP); and an emphasis on participative management and improved communications, has resulted in a significant improvement in morale of staff, and a number of initiatives which are modifying and improving the culture of the Centre. There is no doubt that the Director General is demonstrating very good and effective leadership.
CIMMYT now enjoys a very high profile and reputation in the CGIAR and is taking a significant leadership role on a number of very important issues. These include the contribution of the Director General to the work of the Centre Directors' Committee and to the CGIAR System's discussions on Intellectual Property Rights and biotechnology issues. The Director of CIMMYT's Applied Biotechnology Centre (ABC) serves as the resource person on the TAC Panel on Biotechnology and the Director of External Relations serves as Chair of the CGIAR Public Awareness Association.
The Panel is pleased to note that, following considerable interaction with the external auditors, the Director General has clarified the role of the internal audit department and reestablished the Internal Audit Committee. The development, execution and evaluation of the longer-term internal audit work plan is something in which the Director General will undoubtedly take a close interest.
The challenges for the Director General in the immediate future will be the sponsorship of the evolution to full project management that is to be undertaken in the first year of the new MTP, the sponsorship of new initiatives in information management, and the maintenance of the current very high profile of the Centre.
CIMMYT Committees
CIMMYT is well served by the following committees:
· Management Advisory Committee
· Research Coordinating Committee
· Intellectual Property Rights Task Force
· Biosafety and Bioethics Committee
· Catalytic Change Committee
· Comite de Personal de Apoyo (comprising nationally recruited staff)
· International Staff Committee
· Fondo Hanson (Hanson Fund)
· Empleado del Mes (Employee of the month)
· Securidad e Higiene (Security and Sanitation)
Their terms of reference appear to be appropriate and the Panel understands that each committee is operating effectively. No significant areas of activity, with the possible exception of the coordination of training, appear to be overlooked. It appears that a number of people share the view that the Catalytic Change Committee has achieved its main purpose and should now be phased out. The Panel agrees that when a committee appears to have completed its key objectives it should be terminated rather than kept going simply for the sake of continuing to exist.
The activity and contribution of the Management Advisory Committee and the Research Coordinating Committee are discussed in the following section. The new initiatives through the Catalytic Change Committee and the role of the two staff committees have been particularly appreciated during the recent actions to discuss desirable changes, and to determine and implement improvements in job classification for both international and national staff.
The work of the Intellectual Property Rights Task Force is making a contribution both within CIMMYT and also to the wider discussions within the CGIAR System.
Since the last review, the roles and responsibilities of both the RCC and the MAC have been enhanced. All major science programmes are now represented on the RCC, which exercises a significant role in the coordination of research, oversight of donor relations, identification of new project proposals and negotiation of these with donors. During the past two years, the amount of restricted funding has increased from US$ 6 million of a total of US$ 26.4 million (22.7%) in 1995 to US$ 16 million of a total of US$ 30.4 million (52.6%) in 1997. Total income for 1998 is budgeted at US$ 35.5 million, of which US$ 16 million (45.1%) is expected from this source.
The effectiveness of the MAC has been heightened by direct representation of all the science programmes, and especially by persons with specialized financial management and human resources management skills. In view of the importance of the topic, the Panel wonders why the Committee does not have available to it specialist expertise in information management. The Panel notes that in 1998 it is proposed that IT be a standing item on the monthly MAC agenda.
The new modes of operation of the RCC and the MAC have created a number of positive benefits. These include greater transparency of decision making, improved two-way communication of issues, prompt communication of decisions to staff and a much more participative management style. The identification of the 21 new project coordinators was by peer assessment and nomination, followed by the confirmation by senior management via the RCC. None of those being offered this new role declined this leadership opportunity.
In combination with other groups within the CGIAR System, a number of training and Gender in the Workplace initiatives have been undertaken to assist to change the culture, develop management skills, empower Project Coordinators, develop teams, and equip people for more effective work paradigms.
A major initiative has been the development of a new management matrix that will come into operation with the commencement of the 21 new projects in 1998. The Panel has had the opportunity to view draft proposals for seven of the proposed 21 new projects. Based on these, and there being considerable variation in the preparation of the drafts, it is evident that the new way of working presents both significant new opportunities and challenges. Clearly it is too early to come to any firm conclusion on the long-term success of this new way of operation, but the Panel supports the move to project management.
What CIMMYT is endeavouring to do is an exciting development that has considerable potential benefit and the Centre is to be commended for the initiatives being taken to engage in multidisciplinary projects and, as part of these, for their interaction with partners.
The draft project proposals seen and evaluated by the Panel raise concerns about the means and consistency of costing the research outputs and, therefore, the assessments of impact and estimation of cost benefits. It is acknowledged that 1998 will be a transitional year, and also that the ongoing strength and benefit from some aspects of a programme focus cannot be ignored. While attention has been given to the development of the responsibilities and accountabilities of the project coordinators, these have yet to be tested in practice. The Panel expects that considerable attention is going to have to be given to the alignment of staff and procedures for ensuring the timely delivery of the contracted project outputs.
The role of project coordinators and their interaction with programme directors will need to be monitored and can be expected to change over time. A particular concern of the Panel is the apparent reluctance to change the method of budgeting as well as the proposed financial management accountabilities and reporting to recognize the significant changes that must be expected in operational management.
Communication. Public Awareness and Library
CIMMYT enjoys very good service from each of these functions. 'New initiatives in communications have been particularly evident in the discussions Panel members have had with a range of donors and with members of the regional networks in Africa and Guatemala. There is no doubt that the way in which technical material is made available and the format in which it is presented are greatly appreciated by a range of important audiences.
The Public Awareness function has been well utilized as CIMMYT has gone through a period of building new relationships with its partners. It has also contributed to raising CIMMYT's profile internationally. The Panel notes the efforts being made to improve the efficiency as well as the effectiveness of these activities.
The Library is very well resourced and efficiently managed. Staff at CIMMYT are well served by the manner in which the Library maintains reference material holdings and the provision of up-to-date information from periodicals and other databases. Significant initiatives have been taken, making efficient use of computerized systems, and staff are now benefiting from these changes.
CIMMYT's Laboratories
Due to the likely changes that implementation of the new project structure will bring the Panel has not taken the time to review the laboratory facilities and services in great detail. In making its brief assessment, the Panel has benefited from discussions with the staff of Applied Biotechnology Centre (ABC) and also from a paper on the management and resourcing of the Soil and Plant Analysis Laboratory that has been prepared for consideration by the MAC.
Applied Biotechnology Centre
In the time since the Interim External Review in 1993, Applied Biotechnology is the area of laboratory function that has increased the most, and it has been elevated to programme status. Details of the work conducted by this laboratory and its management are set out in Section 3.3.
Soil and Plant Analysis Laboratory
This laboratory is a centralized facility that provides analytical services for plant materials and soils. Since 1995 there has been a two-fold increase in the total number of individual analyses requested. So far this year (mid November 1997), the figure is some 48,100 and over 20,000 soil plant and water samples having been submitted for multiple analyses. Plant material represents about 75% of all samples submitted. The number of soil samples submitted for analysis has nearly doubled in the same two-year period.
Currently the laboratory is staffed by a manager, six full-time technical staff who do the analyses and three assistants who assist with preparation and cleaning. The manager reports to the Director of the ABC; this is being reviewed. It is proposed that the manager report to a specialist scientist on the staff of the Natural Resources Group (NRG). This seems logical to the Panel in view of the specialist advice that would be available and the need to support the NRG's expanded efforts in research on natural resource management. The proposed budget for 1998 is some US$ 220,000.
At the present time staff of the Wheat Programme are the principal users of this laboratory, with just over 90% of all samples submitted to date in 1997 coming from that programme. The number of analyses requested by the Wheat Programme constitutes 83% of the laboratory's total load. The agronomy section of the Wheat Programme submits 66% of all samples received from within CIMMYT, and the laboratory spends some 70% of its time undertaking total nitrogen (using the Kjeldahl wet digestion method followed by colorimetric analysis) and micro-elemental analyses of plant and soil samples. The method for performing K, Ca, Mg, Na, Fe, Mn, Zn, Cu, Al and P analyses of plant and soil samples is inductively coupled plasma for atomic emission spectrometry. Analyses are currently done at no charge for all but special projects.
The major problems are that the turn-round time for processing samples can be as long as six months, which is entirely due to the fact that the laboratory is expected to operate with antiquated equipment. This imposes constraints on the introduction of new methods and techniques. Staff are considered to be well trained and highly efficient, and the laboratory is well managed and working to the maximum possible capacity of its present equipment. Consideration will need to be given to introducing new techniques, updating the analytical equipment and significantly improving computerization. The laboratory currently has only one computer: a 3 86 model.
The Panel believes that the current practice of not charging core-restricted programmes for the provision of services must be reviewed and would urge that all programmes or projects submitting the samples bear the full cost of all analyses.
Seed Health Laboratory
The primary purpose of this laboratory is to provide health assurance of all seed materials being prepared for export. The laboratory manager reports to the Director General and no difficulties were reported to the Panel.
Wheat Quality Laboratory
This laboratory, which is located at El Batan, runs a comprehensive set of quality data assessments on the parents and advanced products of the wheat breeding programme, and is managed by staff in that programme. The operations of the laboratory have undergone substantial changes as a result of implementing the outcomes of the CCER conducted in 1994 (see further discussion in Section 2.1.5). No particular difficulties with the operation of this laboratory were reported to the Panel.
Plant Pathology Laboratory
Currently staffed by one person with particular expertise in wheat diseases and one person with comparable expertise in maize diseases, the laboratory provides services to the respective programmes and will, in 1998, service the projects. No particular difficulties with the operation of this laboratory were reported to the Panel.
Entomology Laboratory
This laboratory provides entomological services to both the Wheat and the Maize Programmes, and the staff are responsible to the Maize Programme. No particular difficulties with the operation of this laboratory were reported to the Panel.
Biometric Services
This small unit used to report to the DDG (Research) and now reports to the Director of the ABC. The unit is staffed by one full-time person and additional assistance is contracted in as required. No particular difficulties with the operation of this unit or the service provided were reported to the Panel.
Conclusions
The Panel suggests that in addition to the specific recommendation on full charging for all services, that the Centre may want to explore whether some of these services could in fact be provided in a more cost effective way if they were contracted out to other agencies in Mexico City. Therefore, the Panel recommends that CIMMYT:
Implement a policy of full charging for all samples processed by the various laboratory services and evaluate the relative cost effectiveness and analytical quality of outsourcing the supply of the different types of laboratory analyses.
It appears to the Panel that the provision of these services has not benefited from proactive management. The full costs of the services should be determined, the equipment in the Soil and Plant Analysis Laboratory updated, and the staff trained to use more effective analytical methods. More information will have to be obtained to determine if it is more cost effective to provide all the services from CIMMYT's resources, as is being done at present, after the proposed upgrading and re-equipping has been carried out.
Field Stations
Research at CIMMYT is greatly assisted by the impressive array of services provided by a network of field stations and the professionalism of those who staff them. There are five main field stations in Mexico (Headquarters at El Batan; Obregon and Toluca for wheat research; and Tlaltizipan and Poza Rica for maize research) and a number of facilities serving the outreach offices in various countries. The Panel had the opportunity to visit the stations in Obregon and Tlaltizipan in Mexico (used mainly for wheat and maize research, respectively), and the outreach offices in Guatemala, Nepal, Thailand and Zimbabwe (which serves the southern Africa region). Some 200 full-time regular CIMMYT staff are based at the five field locations in Mexico. The total operational budget for these stations is US$ 1.95 million per year.
The Panel commends the station superintendents and their staff for doing an excellent job, often under difficult conditions. The general impression is very positive about the competence and dedication of staff and their contribution to CIMMYT's research programmes. The field stations visited both in Mexico and elsewhere were well resourced and immaculately kept, the atmosphere was conducive to work, and relationships with Headquarters were generally good. Reporting procedures for these stations have changed. Formerly all CIMMYT field stations were under a central office at Headquarters. The various field stations are each headed by a superintendent and come under the research programme that utilizes them the most. This change is perceived by all concerned as being very positive, primarily because it enables direct contact between the scientists and the superintendent, all of whom report to the same programme director.
During its visits, the Panel examined several key aspects, including station administration and its links with programme and project management at El Batan, cost and financial accountability, human resources management, information management and wider environmental concerns.
The Panel was unable to ascertain what action was being taken to counter the reported declining water table problem, and the impact of urban encroachment being encountered at El Batan. It was also informed about the deterioration of soil quality at the Tlaltizipan site, which may threaten the utility of the site for the major breeding activities. It is a crucial location for the Maize Programme's research. The Panel notes the steps being taken to identify improved management practices to reverse the degradation processes; improved agronomy and soil science management appear to be needed.
Important issues related to management information and reporting systems, performance appraisal of field-based staff, and the costing of sub-project outputs discussed elsewhere in this report deserve further follow-up by CIMMYT management. The present system does not provide accurate output or activity costing information.
One of the stations visited by some Panel members has a line-item budget of US$ 450,000-500,000 per year that is not charged back to the projects/subprogrammes using the facilities. In addition, there is an annual expenditure of about US$ 500,000-600,000 on specific experiment-related costs that is recovered from the users. While the station maintains details of actual costs incurred for each item of expenditure in the reports that go to management, the total cost of the activities is not shown in a single report.
The accounting and financial information is available on a computer database. The Panel understands that the proposed project-management system has not yet had a significant impact on station operations. However, in the future it should be possible to utilize the costing data already available to undertake "standard" as well as "full-costing" of the new MTP project activities conducted at the station, as suggested elsewhere in this report.
The Panel notes that this detailed information is going to be necessary to determine whether the present total cost of some US$ 2.5 million annually is sustainable, or whether current methods of operation are the most cost-effective way of producing the project outputs.
With regard to staffing matters, the staff at the Tlaltizipan station (some 60 people) appreciate the significant improvements made in the HR system in recent years, especially its perceived fairness and transparency, and the introduction of well-documented personnel and benefits policies and manuals, the staff classification scheme, and the proposed 360 degrees evaluation scheme. However, at present the performance evaluation system leaves much to be desired, as few programme scientists routinely consult the station superintendent before evaluating "their" programme staff. The link between evaluation ratings and merit increases is not always apparent. The management-by-objectives (MBO) system is apparently applied somewhat loosely, based on general job descriptions and evaluation criteria, and the link between this and career development and training of technical staff at the station is not very strong. The Panel understands from discussions with staff at other locations and Headquarters that this situation is not atypical, and therefore suggests that these matters merit increased attention by management.
Maintenance
CIMMYT retains staff to provide a variety of both repair and preventive maintenance functions. The quality and appearance of the buildings and grounds are very impressive. Carpenters, electricians, painters and plumbers are available to undertake the normal range of duties and if required for large building jobs, additional services are contracted in from the local community.
A well-equipped automotive workshop enables the provision of similar regular maintenance for motor vehicles and farm machinery. Attention has been given to the level of resourcing so that the most cost-effective services can be provided and if demand exceeds supply additional services are available locally.
This area has been one of the most challenging of all aspects of management. Difficulties with financial management were identified in both the Interim External Review (IER) in 1993 and particularly at the time of the Internally Commissioned Management Review in 1995. The Panel considers that until the latter part of 1995, insufficient action was taken to effectively address and correct the shortcomings that had been identified.
Since the IER in 1993, there have been two new accounting systems, two different external auditors, two different internal auditors, and three different financial managers.
The key weakness has been, until recently, CIMMYT's lack of recognition of the need for additional high calibre professional financial competence to contribute value and benefit to the overall efficiency and operations of the Centre. The external auditors' management letters note a number of issues that would not occur under normal operating policies and procedures, and that reasonable internal audit practices should have been able to identify and correct.
Recently, however, much has been done to improve the credibility of the financial systems at Headquarters, and CIMMYT has developed and implemented a software system for financial recording and reporting at its regional posts and research stations. The first reconciliation of the fixed asset inventory since 1992 has been completed and steps are being taken to modify procedures accordingly.
During 1998 additional staffing support will be needed as substantial new work must be undertaken to provide good project-based information to all levels of management, and to implement improvements to the chart of accounts, and related systems, as recommended by a recent consultancy.
The development and implementation of a transparent template based on project outputs for the preparation of 1999 budget proposals will be a very important step in managing the transition to the system required to achieve the MTP commitments. It is the view of the Panel that full project costing, showing both income and all expenditures, will be one of the most important ways that CIMMYT (and other CGIAR Centres) can manage the implications of the continuing decline in unrestricted core funding. The Panel believes that the present categorization of funding (unrestricted core, restricted core, special project and self-generated income) is one aspect that places a high administrative cost on centres and complicates financial management. Therefore the Panel recommends that CIMMYT:
Prepare all future budget proposals on the basis of full project costing, showing both income and all expenditures for all project outputs.
There is still considerable scope for improving the integration of "end of month" financial data transferred from regional posts to Headquarters, with the costs debited by staff at Headquarters to those regional specific activities.
The tendency for some managers to keep separate sets of financial records should be discouraged. CIMMYT will operate much better when a single database and the relevant sets of figures are, without exception, used by all managers.
Urgent consideration should be given to linking the accounting and the human resources databases.
Both the IER of 1993 and the ICMR of 1995 suggested actions that CIMMYT should take to improve various aspects of its Human Resources Management (HRM). These have been done. The Centre now recognizes and appreciates the benefit of leadership from a qualified and skilled professional practitioner.
Significant progress has been made with job classification studies and the review of positions for both internationally and nationally recruited staff. These initiatives have reduced anomalies and seek to ensure that CIMMYT's terms and conditions are fair and realistically competitive with comparable enterprises. Progress is being made, within this context, on mechanisms for performance appraisal, again for both internationally and nationally recruited staff, and pilot teams have been identified to test new styles of multi-source performance appraisal.
The availability of professional HRM advice to the MAC is having an impact in assisting programme directors to develop the necessary understanding and philosophy of people management that are needed to ensure CIMMYT remains efficient and effective in a changing world.
There are opportunities for improved administrative efficiencies through closer interaction of systems between Human Resources and Financial Management, and the move to project-based management will further highlight the need for these improved systems.
CIMMYT has engaged in a number of programmes being offered as part of the CGIAR Gender Programme which have assisted its endeavours to improve both the overall strategic performance of the organization as well as creating better work environments for women and men. Progress has also been made in increasing the number of women employed in various roles in CIMMYT and in ensuring that advertisements reach a wide pool of suitably qualified persons. CIMMYT provides facilities on campus for a school and a women's centre. The development of a childcare centre has been approved. Some initiatives have been taken in the area of spouse support and employment and further attention is being given to this topic.
Long-term initiatives have been commenced to change the work culture of the organization and ensure that CIMMYT staff and research partners, when planning collaborative work, seriously consider gender issues. Actions have been undertaken to identify potential leaders, provide training in both leadership and team building, and look for particular ways to express and encourage participatory management. The Panel will be interested to see which indicators are developed to monitor the results of these initiatives.
The work that CIMMYT has done in the areas of job classification and the terms and conditions of employment is particularly important for both national and international staff. The Panel encourages CIMMYT to continue to look at a range of examples so as to ensure that what is being done is most appropriate for the future employment environment. Because of changing circumstances the future will require a number of changes compared with what organizations have regarded in the past as best practice.
A particular challenge is that scientific research is strategic and long term. However, the whole funding environment has changed and the focus is on shorter term funding than was the case in the past. This will mean a variety of employment relationships, some of which will be quite different from the very long-term tenure that many enjoyed in the past. The job classification and reward systems initiated thus far may have to be amended to take this into account.
CIMMYT is going to have to ensure that what it expects of its staff enables them to remain competitive in bids of employment with other institutions at the end of their employment on a particular contract with CIMMYT. In this regard the Panel looks forward to the outcomes of the new approach to performance appraisal.
Attention will also need to be given to the feeling of "overload" being experienced by many staff and to providing effective cover for key persons, when taking parental leave, study leave, and when travelling. Another challenge, in a time of considerable change and development, especially to the new project management, is for CIMMYT to develop more realistic job loads for staff so that they do not take on too many new initiatives at once - realizing the amount of time and energy that it takes to change "long established cultural values".
5.6.1 Information Technology and Information Management
5.6.2 Management Information Systems
In any scientific organization information is probably the most precious resource. This includes the ideas members of staff have, and how those ideas are developed, tested and subsequently shared. The skills in managing information are therefore very important. The resources and opportunities for managing information have developed enormously since the mid 1980s with the availability of computers and related systems.
CIMMYT has an enviable record for the information resources that it has generated over the years and the way in which that information has been shared. This has been through personal contacts at visits, seminars, lectures, field days and demonstrations; papers, books and other printed resources; films, tapes, CD-ROMs and, now, the Internet and information on the web page.
CIMMYT is contributing significantly to the current debate on the appropriate understanding, within the CGIAR System, of intellectual property rights, and how intellectual property of the various types should be managed.
Having such a wealth of information poses a challenge as to how it is most effectively managed. As noted in Section 5.3 CIMMYT has a very good record of creating and maintaining library resources and in public awareness and communication. There has been a good history of software development for specialist applications and a number of significant scientist-led initiatives, of which an example is given below.
Agricultural researchers face increasing challenges for the efficient management of research results. Biotechnology promises to generate vast sets of data on genetic variation, but breeders will need these data to be directly linked to crossing plans and field evaluations. Concomitantly, increasing costs of field and laboratory research mean that experimental data - both old and new and from diverse sources - must be exploited to achieve greater cost-effectiveness, and that such data must be managed as valuable corporate resources. Although most centres and some NARS have explored use of research databases, there are few examples of fully integrated crop information systems that meet data management and storage standards of other industries.
The International Crop Information System (ICIS) represents an active "grass roots" response to these concerns. Building on CIMMYT's International Wheat Information system (IWIS) (see also Section 2.1.3), versions of ICIS are being implemented through collaborative research at CIAT, CIMMYT, CIP, ICRISAT, IITA, IRRI and partner national institutions.
Consultations started in 1994. A data model was developed in 1996 for managing pedigrees of crops from diverse breeding systems. In 1997, the model for managing evaluation data was developed by CIMMYT, ICRAF and IRRI. The aim is to allow the linking of evaluation data from international trials, specialist nurseries, molecular biology and, essentially, any other source used by the centres or the NARS. The design of ICIS is sufficiently generic and robust to accommodate a broad range of users and the Open Database Connectivity protocol (ODBC) ensures that ICIS is "platform independent" and can be installed on any major relational database system. This also allows for distributing a full copy of ICIS to NARS or other groups at low cost. Use of a standard interface across centres not only ensures development of more versatile and robust software but will allow major savings in software development, training and system maintenance.
The ICIS initiative is congruent with the strategy of the Singer Genetic Resources Project (SGRP) and has been endorsed by the Inter-Centre Working Group on Genetic Resources. Nonetheless, the initiative lacks formal status within the CGIAR System. To guarantee continued efficient development, the initiative needs stable resourcing and a formal management structure.
Outside of what has been done in information management, the Panel considers that some of the technical aspects of developing and maintaining management information systems have not received the overall attention they warrant. CIMMYT has until quite recently failed to provide and resource the necessary professional competencies in this important area. The short- and long-term cost to the Centre is largely unrealized.
The fact that some 450 computers at El Batan operate on nine different operating systems and that there are four different types of network configurations means that developing and implementing efficient upgrade strategies is very difficult and much more expensive than need be.
CIMMYT is to be congratulated on the fact that all its software is licensed, but more effective backup policies and practices for managing all scientific and general administrative information must be developed and implemented as a matter of urgency.
The Panel is encouraged by the proposal that CIMMYT will, in 1998, undertake an exercise to develop a strategy for information technology and information management.
The Panel thinks that this is extremely important and hopes that the Director General personally sponsor the initiative to develop the terms of reference for a consultancy to develop a draft strategy. The Panel expects that the consultancy will be asked to provide recommendations as to the whole range of managerial and technical competencies that CIMMYT needs in order to make the necessary progress in this important area. Therefore, the Panel recommends that CIMMYT:
Take all the necessary steps and obtain the necessary expert input to develop and implement an integrated strategy for information technology and the operation of CIMMYT's management information systems.
This topic (IPR) is potentially one of the most important issues to be addressed within the CGIAR in the foreseeable future. Some reference has been made to it in Section 5.2 of this report, and it is also being addressed at the broader CGIAR System level.
The CGIAR has set up, under the auspices of TAC, two specialist panels, one of which will deal with Biotechnology and the other with Proprietary Science and Technology. This is commendable, as the two topics are separate but integrally related. Both panels should report to TAC and the CGIAR by mid 1998. The EPMR Panel understands that the special panel dealing with property rights will use five of CIMMYT's case studies as base materials to progress in its own work and to formulate recommendations on how the issues involved could be resolved and a course for the future might be charted.
It is acknowledged that there are two initiatives that have to proceed simultaneously. Individual centres have to develop their own clear policies for the management of IPR and the situation needs to be avoided whereby individual centres have widely divergent policies.
CIMMYT has a policy on Intellectual Property (IP), approved by the Board of Trustees in June 1995. The first section of this sets out policy related to genetic resources held in trust, the products of research, and information products and computer software. A second section deals with the distribution and use of germplasm from the Maize Programme, including germplasm distributed in collaborative trials, announced inbred lines and source populations, breeding nursery germplasm, germplasm bank accessions and non-CIMMYT germplasm. A third section contains the Material Transfer Agreement and a separate Germplasm Acquisition Agreement follows as the fourth section. The fifth section deals with the distribution and use of germplasm from the Wheat Programme, including CIMMYT segregating populations, CIMMYT-derived lines, non-CIMMYT introductions, and germplasm bank materials. Finally there is the CIMMYT policy for classifying accessions held "in trust".
The Panel commends CIMMYT for the development of this policy statement and also for the establishment in June 1997 of an IPR Task Force, which has two broad tasks:
1. To advise the Director General and the Research Coordinating Committee and to recommend best practice on current and planned IP protection that CIMMYT is, or should be, involved with; and2. To advise on any reporting required by CIMMYT, in relation to CIMMYT's IP policy and the development of specific partnerships with the private sector.
This is a rapidly developing field and the CGIAR System is fortunate to be able to benefit from the carefully thought through positions and initiatives that CIMMYT has prepared and taken. The Panel is confident that CIMMYT staff will continue to make a significant contribution in this field.
