The Independent Science and Partnership Council (ISPC) is a critical advisory entity associated with the Fund. It is an independent standing panel appointed by the Fund Council whose overarching purpose is to provide independent advice and expertise to the funders of the CGIAR through services to the Fund Council and the Funders Forum. It also serves as an intellectual bridge between the funders and the Consortium. ISPC reports to the Fund Council. The Consortium may seek advice from ISPC in areas that do not create a conflict of interest for either party.  Click here for ISPC membership information.  Click here to view the ISPC website.

 ISPC roles and responsibilities: 

The Independent Science and Partnership Council (ISPC) is a standing panel of world-class scientific experts. The Council’s overarching purpose is to provide independent advice and expertise to the funders of the CGIAR through services to the Fund Council and the Funders Forum. It also serves as an intellectual bridge between the funders and the Consortium of CGIAR Centers.

The ISPC plays a vital role for the CGIAR to strengthen science, to improve productivity and quality of science, to catalyze the partnering of CGIAR science with other institutions of international agricultural research and to support the important role of the CGIAR as honest
broker in various global debates.

In providing its advice, the ISPC will ensure alignment of programs with the Strategy and Results Framework. As part of a learning organization, the ISPC will capitalize on previous evaluations and seek to provide its learning to evaluations being done by the peer review process and eventual ex-post evaluation.

ISPC’s specific tasks are:

a.       Commission and oversee evaluations of the scientific quality, relevance, partnership arrangements and likely development effectiveness of the investment proposals submitted by the Consortium to the Fund Council and make recommendations concerning their investment worthiness.

b.      In undertaking the role described in 1 above, the ISPC will also provide feedback and guidance to the Consortium on any areas of concern regarding the quality of the proposed research and partnership arrangements contained in submitted investment proposals and on any deficiencies in the ex ante impact assessments provided by the Consortium in support of them.

c.       Provide the Fund Council and the Funders Forum with foresight advice on trends and emerging issues, as well as potential strategies of addressing them related to the CGIAR Strategy and Results Framework. In undertaking this role the ISPC will act as commissioner and coordinator of any required foresight studies, drawing on expertise within the Consortium and beyond, as appropriate, to undertake them.

d.      To complement the GCARD process, in consultation and partnership with the Consortium and GFAR, convene periodic high-level scientific dialogues on high priority issues that will inform the scientific deliberations among CGIAR scientists and their research partners and help catalyze partnerships of the CGIAR with other global science communities.

e.       Improve strategic investment decisions and help increase the rigor and the reach of impact assessment studies within the CGIAR by commissioning, in partnership with the Consortium, ex-post impact assessment of the development effectiveness of CGIAR investments. The evaluation of the CGIAR Research Programs (CRPs) and system review will be undertaken by an independent evaluation arrangement, which will in turn avail itself of the lessons learnt from the ISPC’s work.

f.       Provide the Fund Council with independent advice on other matters upon request.