The CGIAR at 40

Abstract

The Consultative Group on International
 Agricultural Research (CGIAR) has been one of the most
 successful research-for-development organizations over the
 past 40 years. The $11 billion invested by CGIAR donor
 members in research conducted by the international Centers
 under its umbrella has yielded many multiples of that sum in
 economic benefits to developing and emerging countries.
 Annual economic benefits of research on rice in Asia alone
 are equivalent to the total investment made by CGIAR donors
 over 4 decades, leaving aside benefits in other continents
 and from other research conducted by CGIAR institutions. The
 CGIAR‘s success is due in part to the way it was organized.
 The Group itself was an informal forum for dialogue among
 donor members about research priorities, investment options,
 and the continuing relevance and effectiveness of the
 institutions supported. The international centers
 constituted the core of the CGIAR. Each was (and still is)
 an autonomous international organization governed by an
 international board. The Group and the Centers were
 originally advised by the Technical Advisory Committee (TAC)
 of distinguished scientists from developing and developed
 countries, each appointed as an individual. The Group’s
 activities were facilitated by its Secretariat based at the
 World Bank in Washington, DC, and TAC’s activities by
 another secretariat based at the food and agriculture
 organization in Rome.