M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation at 21: Report of the Independent Program Review Uma Lele1 and Kavita Gandhi2 1 Development Economist and Formerly Senior Advisor in the Independent Evaluation Group (IEG) of the World Bank, uma@ umalele.org 2 Regional Manager, Oxfam, India, [email protected] Contents Foreword .............................................................................................................5 Preface ..................................................................................................................7 Acknowledgements ..............................................................................................9 Executive Summary ............................................................................................11 The Independent Review ...................................................................................16 The MSSRF Program Overview ........................................................................20 Overall Conclusions, Implication and Lessons of the Program Review .............50 Actions Taken and Way Forward .......................................................................64 Annexure 1 Methodology ..................................................................................................69 2 List of People Consulted ................................................................................74 3 Current organisational structure ...................................................................80 4 Changes in program funding, funds received and expended during the last decade under each Programme Area ....................................81 5 Projects implemented/ongoing segregated, Programme Area wise ..............86 6 Conferences hosted by MSSRF (1990-2008) .................................................98 7 MSSRF Staff who have been awarded Ph D ................................................118 8 List of publications (1990-2008) ..................................................................121 9 Balance sheet (latest) ...................................................................................272 10 List of donors ..............................................................................................275 11 Project support received (1990-2008) ........................................................283 12 Awards received by MSSRF staff .................................................................307 13 Honours Received by MSSRF Staff ..............................................................311 Foreword MSSRF started functioning in August 1989 first in the space kindly made available by the Indian Institute of Technology, Chennai and later in a rented building in the Kotturpuram area of Chennai. On April 14, 1993, the staff and scholars of MSSRF moved to their own building constructed in land made available by the Government of Tamil Nadu in the Taramani Institutional Area. In July 1998, the research and training infrastructure was further strengthened through the construction of the JRD Tata Ecotechnology Centre. A publication summarizing the work done during the period 1989-2009 was compiled in 2009. From the beginning, MSSRF has been working in the following interdisciplinary areas • Coastal Systems Research • Community Biodiversity Conservation • Biotechnology with particular reference to preparation of genetic material which can help to mitigate the impact of climate change resulting in sea level rise, higher mean temperature and drought • Ecotechnology leading to the blending of traditional ecological prudence with frontier technology • Food security for achieving the goal of food for all and for ever • Information, Education and Communication with particular reference to human resource development and the integrated use of the internet, cable TV, FM radio and the cell phone In addition, MSSRF has occasionally undertaken assignments for preparing detailed strategies for overcoming agrarian problems, as for example, in the Idukki and Alapuzha districts of Kerala. Both external and internal reviews have been held from time to time to evaluate the progress made in accomplishing the goals of the different projects. However no comprehensive PAN-MSSRF review covering all the work done from inception had so far been carried out. Towards the middle of 2008, I requested Dr. Uma Lele to conduct such a comprehensive review. She was kind enough to accept MSSRF’s request and spare considerable amount of time during December 2008 and January 2009 for carrying out the review based on interviews with all the stakeholders including the donors, the scientists and scholars of MSSRF, a desk study of the published literature and a few field visits. The present report is the result of such a comprehensive analysis of both achievements and deficiencies. Dr Uma Lele was ably assisted by Dr Kavita Gandhi in this task. This publication contains their report which was discussed at the Board meeting held on April 1, 2009, and the steps MSSRF has already taken to address many of the issues they identified. On behalf of the Trustees, Scientists and Scholars of MSSRF I express our deep gratitude and appreciation to Drs Uma Lele and Kavita Gandhi for their labour of love for the further development of MSSRF. Chennai 2009 M S Swaminathan Preface In the fall of 2008, Dr. M.S. Swaminathan asked if I would conduct an independent review of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation “to assess our programs and provide a road map for the future,” and as an input into the 20th Anniversary of the Foundation3. Concurrently a management review was underway from which this review benefited considerably. Dr. Swaminathan noted that there have been several internal and external reviews and independent evaluations of the Foundation’s specific programs. But there had not yet been a comprehensive review of the Foundation’s programmatic work as a whole since its establishment in 1988. Consequently lessons and implications of its achievements and challenges going forward had not yet been systematically drawn. The need to conduct the review was also shared by the Board. It is an honour to be asked to conduct such an independent review. But it is also an awesome responsibility. Besides, when I accepted the invitation to produce a “just in time” review for consideration at the 20th anniversary board meeting held on February 28, 2009, I was unaware of the full scope and magnitude of MSSRF’s work. That task became evident in December 2008/January 09 when the work for this review began. Investigations were conducted over a period of two weeks, a week of December 13 to December 20th, 08 in New Delhi to solicit views of MSSRF donors and past and present board members, and the week of January 5 to January 11, 09, in Chennai and surrounding areas interviewing MSSRF management and staff, Mr. Venugopal, the leader of the management review, board members, institutional partners, and numerous members of diverse communities with whom MSSRF partners in the conduct of its programs. The assessment also involved the adoption of a systematic evaluation framework, outlined in Annex 1, a review of publications, submissions prepared by the program directors, data, internal and external evaluations among others, simply the bibliography of which extends to 115 printed pages. A review of the publications from the viewpoint of their scientific quality was not possible, both due to the sheer number and range of publications and the shortage of time in which the review was conducted. Hence the review relied largely on the opinions of experts, for example, in the field of biology and information technology, and on the team’s own expertise and experience in the areas of economics and social sciences. Kavita Gandhi, the only team member, has been a special asset. Her experience as organiser and Regional Manager of Oxfam, North India has been invaluable. A graduate of Yale School of Forestry, she was a member of the team I led in the World Bank’s Operations Evaluation Department, which carried out the evaluation of the World Bank’s 1991 Forest Strategy. To ensure independence and objectivity we volunteered our time and undertook two international trips to India on my own, including one to attend a special board meeting held in Chennai on April 1, 2009 to discuss the review’s findings and recommendations. The team’s limited familiarity with MSSRF prior to the commencement of this review further assured its independence. I had briefly visited the Foundation in 1992, as a member of the International Commission on Peace and Food, which Dr. Swaminathan chaired. He gave me a tour of the Foundation’s buildings then under construction at the current headquarter site, noting its environmentally friendly construction and low maintenance requirements. Often I heard about the visits to the Foundation 3 Email of November 7, 08 8 M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation at 21: by professional colleagues I happened to work with in Africa, Latin America or Asia. At times Dr. Swaminathan and I shared a platform or a panel discussion at meetings where he spoke of aspects of the Foundation’s work. The views contained in this report are thus strictly those of the authors. They neither represent the views of the M.S. Swaminathan Research Foundation, nor of the numerous individuals outside and inside the Foundation who generously contributed their time, information and data and shared their knowledge and perspectives. A note of caution is in order. MSSRF has substantial information and data based