Brief Balancing International Public Goods And Accountability

As the two case studies suggest, STI impact is highly context-specific, and must often adapt to a changing decision-making milieu. Partner engagement is a critical piece in moving policy research to outcomes, as is reflected in IFPRI’s most recent strategy and increased deployment of personnel to country programs. However, local deployment for impact comes at the expense of critical mass at headquarters and the ability to engage in emerging trends in scientific discovery. And, as the review highlights, such critical mass can only be deployed over a limited number of research themes. As the IFPRI STI team explores the next strategic focus for its research, it faces the difficult question of how to balance the increasing emphasis on accountability, and therefore impact, with the ability of IFPRI to define new research areas and generate IPGs in this critical policy area.

The International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI) has undertaken research programs on agricultural STI policy since 1995. This study assesses the impact of this body of research outputs and support services in terms of three complementary analyses: (1) an evaluation of the potential impact of the complete body of research using implicit or explicit impact pathways, (2) two case studies that assess the actual impact of particular research outputs, and (3) a more traditional bibliometric analysis. Movement along the impact pathway, in turn, requires different types of research products—evolving from problem framing to methodology development, then to case studies, and finally to context-specific policy recommendations—all within the logical stages of the impact pathway. How far IFPRI operates along this impact pathway produces a basic tension between the CGIAR’s mandate to produce international public goods (IPGs) and the increasing focus on accountability through impact in the use of international public funds.

This publication addresses factors that promote or inhibit successful provision of the four key international public goods: financial stability, international trade regime, international diffusion of technological knowledge and global environment. Without these goods, developing countries are unable to compete, prosper or attract capital from abroad. The need for public goods provision is also recognized by the Millennium Development Goals, internationally agreed goals and targets for knowledge, health, governance and environmental public goods. The Report addresses the nature of required policies and institutions using the modern principles of collective action.

There is growing recognition of the need for new approaches to the ways in which donors support accountability, but no broad agreement on what changed practice looks like. This publication aims to provide more clarity on the emerging practice.

Conflicts of interest in both the public and private sectors have become a major matter of public concern world-wide. The OECD Guidelines define a conflict of interest as occurring when a public official has private-capacity interests which could improperly influence the performance of their official duties and responsibilities. However, identifying a specific conflict of interest in practice can be difficult. And resolving the conflicting interests appropriately in a particular case is something that most people find even more challenging. The Toolkit focuses on specific techniques, resources and strategies for: Identifying, managing and preventing conflict-of-interest situations more effectively; and Increasing integrity in official decision-making, which might be compromised by a conflict of interest. This Toolkit provides non-technical, practical help to enable officials to recognise problematic situations and help them to ensure that integrity and reputation are not compromised. The tools themselves are provided in generic form. They are based on examples of sound conflict-of-interest policy and practice drawn from various OECD member and non-member countries. They have been designed for adaptation to suit countries with different legal and administrative systems. FURTHER READING: Managing Conflict of Interest in the Public Service: OECD Guidelines and Country Experiences

This publication applies the principles of the revised IMF Code of Good Practices on Fiscal Transparency to the unique set of transparency problems faced by countries that derive a significant share of their revenues from natural resources and need to address complex and volatile transaction flows. The guide identifies and explains generally recognized good or best practices for transparency of resource revenue management. It supplements the IMF Manual on Fiscal Transparency. It is designed to give a framework for assessing resource-specific issues within broader fiscal transparency assessments (including so-called 'fiscal ROSCs').--Publisher's description.

'Governance,' as defined by the World Bank in its 1992 report, 'Governance and Development', is 'the manner in which power is exercised in the management of a country's economic and social resources for development.' The report deemed it is within the Bank's mandate to focus on the following: -the process by which authority is exercised in the management of a country's economic and social resources -the capacity of governments to design, formulate, and implement policies and discharge functions.Also available: 'Governance: The World Bank's Experience' (ISBN 0-8213-2804-2) Stock No. 12804.