The task of preparing a training manual on Agricultural Research Institute Management began with the FAO Expert Consultation on Strategies for Research Management Training in Africa, held at the International Livestock Centre for Africa (ILCA), Addis Ababa, Ethiopia, 12-16 December 1983. Following the recommendations of the consultation, and on the basis of the curriculum design adopted, FAO embarked upon the preparation of this manual. In the process of its preparation, many agricultural research managers and management specialists have contributed. Besides the two main consultants, namely Dr Ronald P. Black, Denver Research Institute, University of Denver, USA, who prepared the first draft, and Dr V.N. Asopa, Professor at the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, India, who prepared the current version of the manual, the contribution of the following specialists in various fields must be singled out: Ramesh Bhat, J. Casas, A.K. Jain, F.S. Kanwar, V. Martinson, Gopal Naik, P. Nath, R.K. Patel, T.P. Rama Rao, S.K. Sharma, E.S. Tayengco, and J.S. Woolston. FAO expresses its gratitude to them all.
Special thanks are due to the International Service for National Agricultural Research (ISNAR), which has willingly made available its valuable experience and relevant materials throughout the preparation of the manual.
FAO also thanks all those authors and publishers who have allowed the use of copyright material from their publications, even though the courtesy is recognized in each case.
This manual has been prepared under the responsibility of the Research Development Centre, Research and Technology Development Division, FAO, with the guidance of: Mohamed S. Zehni, former Director; and J.H. Monyo, E. Venezian and B. Müller-Haye, past Chiefs of the Research Development Centre. Scientific supervision was provided by G. Beye, Senior Officer, now Chief, Research and Technology Development Service.
MODULE 10: INSTITUTE EVALUATION
This module comprises a single session devoted to the evaluation of a research institute. The training material includes a case exercise to be discussed in a plenary session. Its aim is to familiarize participants with a framework for organizational assessment and covering various activities.
Evaluation of an institute aims at measuring organizational effectiveness in terms of its functioning, problems and achievements from both behaviourial and social system points of view. Through an organizational assessment exercise, problems that underlie constraints are identified, as distinct from mere symptoms. This then helps in discerning priority issues for change, visualizing alternative ways to achieve that change, and formulating a plan to bring about the desired change.
Important parameters to be examined during the evaluation include:
· the mandate of the research institute and whether it is clearly understood by the management and the scientific staff;· the present scope of the activities of the research institute, and whether they are consistent with the mandate;
· the research programme and support services, and whether they are relevant to and adequate for carrying out the mandated research activities;
· the balance between basic and applied research, and extent of interdisciplinarity;
· the quality of the scientific direction of research and the quality of the scientific staff;
· the success of research and the process of technology transfer;
· the structure and organization of the institute, and whether this facilitates multidisciplinary research in the context of the mandate;
· the quality of the managerial staff and the extent to which managerial training has been provided;
· human, financial and other resources, and their adequacy for implementation of the mandated activities; and
· the productivity and cost effectiveness of the research institute.
Basic principles of evaluation discussed in the reading note can be evolved through a discussion of the case study. This provides, during the discussion, an opportunity for participants to bring in their own experiences of organizational assessment.
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DATE |
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TIME |
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FORMAT |
Individual reading, group discussion and plenary participatory case discussion |
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TRAINER |
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OBJECTIVES
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The case study exercise should help participants appreciate: 1. The process of institute evaluation. |
INSTRUCTIONAL MATERIALS
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Exhibit 1 |
Steps in organization assessment |
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Exhibit 2 |
Contents of an example of an organization assessment report |
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Exhibit 3 |
Framework for assessing organizational performance |
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Exhibit 4 |
Question areas for the assessment exercise |
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Exhibit 5 |
Assessment information from records and documents |
REQUIRED READING
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Case study: The Cocoa Research Institute of Savana |
REQUIRED READING
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Reading note: Organizational evaluation |
BACKGROUND READING
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1. Lawler, E.E., III, Nadler, D.A., & Cammann, C. (eds) 1980. Organizational Assessment. New York, NY: John Wiley. 2. Nadler, D.A., Mackman, J.R., & Lawler, E.E., III. 1977. Managing Organizational Behaviour. Boston, MA: Little Brown. 3. Dagg, M., & Eyzaguirre, P.B. 1989. A methodological framework for ISNAR reviews of national agricultural research systems (NARS). ISNAR Working Paper, No. 23. |
SPECIAL EQUIPMENT AND AIDS
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None. |
