The members of the External Review Panel wish to express their appreciation to the Board, Management and staff of IRRI for their cooperation throughout the review. The arrangements made for our visits to the Headquarters and national programmes in India, The Philippines and Vietnam were more than adequate, and we appreciate the support received from IRRI staff during our country and field visits.
Dr. George Rothschild, Director General (until end November 1997), Dr. Bob Havener, Interim Director General (since 20 January 1998), Dr. Ken Fischer, Deputy Director General, Research, Mr. Michael Goon, Deputy Director General, Finance and Administration (until end September 1997), and Mr. Edward Sayegh, Director of Finance (until end December 1997), fully cooperated with the Panel as well as with the TAC and CGIAR Secretariats. They deserve our special thanks for ensuring that we were provided with a good working environment and effective secretarial and technical support. We also thank Dr. and Mrs. Havener for their kind hospitality.
The Panel acknowledges with special thanks the superb work done by Mrs. Irmi Braun-Castaldi of the TAC Secretariat in the preparation of this Report. We could not have produced the Report on time without her. She received excellent assistance from Mrs. Fely Almasan, Ms. Cherryl Cruz, and Ms. Rowena Lumbres who, together with Mr. Noel Soza, ensured that our working environment was always optimal.
The Panel would like to record their appreciation to Mr. Ian Moore, Mr. Nani Cerido, Mr. Art Gonzales, and Mr. Wency Alimagno, all from the Computer Services, for keeping all our computers functioning in good order and connecting us to the outside world on the e-mail and the Internet. We thank Mr. Eugene Hettel, Head of the Communication and Publication Services, and his staff for help with editing and printing the Report.
We thank Ms. Ella Castro, Ms. Zordie Menguito, Mr. Manny Alejar and Mr. Glenn Enriquez for warmly receiving us at the Manila Airport, and Ms. Dolly Jolejole and her colleagues from the Food and Housing Services, including the janitor of the Swaminathan Hall, Mr. Ric Bejosano, and the IRRI drivers assigned to the Panel, for taking such excellent care of all our domestic and personal needs.
We are also pleased to acknowledge the help received from the staff of the TAC and CGIAR Secretariats during the course of the Review.
