Major Change Case at the CGIAR

The CGIAR is the Consultative Group on International Agricultural Research. It is described as a strategic alliance of members, partners and international agricultural research centers, which mission is "To achieve sustainable food security and reduce poverty in developing countries through scientific research and research-related activities in the fields of agriculture, forestry, fisheries, policy, and environment."

This organisation has started a major change initiative aiming at adopting a new reform model, redifining its vision, strategic goals and organisation in a context that has become challenging. The case for change is described as follow:

"The world of agricultural research has shifted dramatically. With the rapid growth of the national agricultural systems in Brazil, China and India the space that international research centers occupy has altered. Some national institutions challenge the ability of the CGIAR to partner equitably or meet their needs. The entry of strong new actors into the field of agricultural research is further challenging the role of the CGIAR as a major player in the world of international agricultural research.

The CGIAR may no longer be perceived as the critical provider of solutions for agricultural productivity, natural resource management or policy advice. As a result, CGIAR Center funding is not increasing in proportion to client needs.

If these trends continue, and the CGIAR does not adapt, the CGIAR will rapidly become irrelevant.

It is for these reasons that the CGIAR has launched a major change initiative.

The good news is that the CGIAR has never been more open to change."

As part of the initiative, the CGIAR change management blog has been created, enabling everyone to follow the initiative and, as the editor puts it, to open a dialogue engaging all stakeholders in the process. A remarkable initiative as long, of course, as it doesn't become the tree hiding a forest of poor stakeholder engagement.

A brief look at their reform model document gives reassurance that key stakeholder groups seem to have been represented in the definition of the new model. Of course, the main challenge in these workshops is to find the right balance between sharp but insufficiently shared output and non-value added group consensus.

With this in mind, I find the strategic objectives to be brilliantly formulated (Food for people, Environment for People, Policies for People). The vision ("To reduce poverty and hunger, improve human health and nutritionand enhance ecosystem resilience through high-quality international agricultural research, partnership and leadership") could, I think, have been a little more compelling and engaging, if a little shorter.

An interesting change initiative we'll be following...