Ph.D. Lindsay Falvey
Patron’s Foreword As Patron of ILRI, I am pleased to introduce this examination of governance in the international livestock research centres. Governance is a neglected subject and those of us who know the research field from our particular specialties tend to assume that the right people for the task will somehow arise from within our ranks. Fortunately this has often occurred, and when it works well it is most easily overlooked. In the international arena that is reliant on government and philanthropic donations in a system somewhat like the United Nations, continuity of funds for long term research projects requires skilled management. The interaction between management and governance of legally constituted bodies such as ILRI must be productive. Again, this interaction can be easily overlooked. From my own experience on the Board of one of ILRI’s earlier iterations, ILRAD, I know that it is tempting for a board member to follow interesting research detail, especially in one’s own field. Keeping a board focussed on its governance tasks is thus a consistent theme across the world’s most impactful research institutes. This publication brings an unusual glimpse of the challenges that arise in the international research sector, and in particular ILRI and the ever changing group called CGIAR. Most of us are experienced in national institutions such as autonomous universities or government research organisations where international research is simply Governance in International Livestock Research, ILRI ix assumed to be the routine collaboration we have with our colleagues around the world. That assumption is incomplete for organisations such as ILRI that are legal entities and as such may well be increasingly scrutinized under corporate law, especially as they source more funds from and join with private bodies. For these and other reasons, I commend this work to those who may not have understood this part of the jigsaw that allows institutes such as ILRI to produce ex
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