An exciting year comes to an end—our first year working for the Independent Science for Development Council (ISDC) Secretariat. It has been a year marked with ISDC’s review of the CGIAR Research Portfolio and the publication of a special issue on inclusive innovation in Agricultural Systems, launched during the ISDC Science Forum. A busy year, but also a perfect one for newcomers to immerse ourselves in the important work of the Council and its contributions to CGIAR.
The year began with ISDC’s first in-person meeting in Kenya. It was a fantastic opportunity to meet the ISDC members in person and interact with CGIAR scientists in the field. One of the highlights of the trip was visiting Kapiti, ILRI’s research center, where we were able to not just learn about all the science but also spot some of the amazing wildlife of Kenya.
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The ISDC meeting in Nairobi served as preparation for the independent review of CGIAR’s 2025-30 Portfolio with its 13 Science Programs, Accelerators, and Asset. The review process kicked off in June with interviews to enhance the Subject Matter Expert roster maintained by IAES. By that time, we were determined to find the best expertise to match them to the requirements of the Portfolio. We identified and contracted 39 independent reviewers (long but rewarding summer) that worked with ISDC to prepare the advice to System Council. And we were ready to kick start when we received the proposals in late September.
The final phase of the Portfolio review took place in Dubai in November, where we met with all the Council members to finalize the process in person. It was a very engaging and busy meeting—there’s nothing like face-to-face interactions! However, not everything in Dubai was about the Portfolio (well, 90% was); we also had the opportunity to visit the International Center for Biosaline Agriculture (ICBA). Despite the harsh environmental conditions in the UAE, they are able to grow certain crops at 50 degrees using saline water, which seems almost impossible. That productive week in Dubai kept us motivated to finalize and submit our commentary to System Council in good time for its December meeting.
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Our first year at the ISDC Secretariat concluded with the ISDC Science Forum that served as a launch event for the special issue in Agricultural Systems. The Forum was originally scheduled for July, during CGIAR Science Week. As the latter was postponed to 2025, the ISDC Science Forum was rescheduled for December after receiving an invitation to be a side event at CGIAR’s Scaling Week. We packed our bags and hopped on a plane to Nairobi to host and broaden our knowledge of scaling in agricultural and food systems.
To reach more interested, we decided to organize a hybrid event, with all the complications that entails—can you hear me now? Checking the sound, cameras, and microphones…are there enough chairs? In the end, we successfully managed all the technicalities, and it turned out to be a very inspiring event. Our online audience was matched by some 50 people attending in-person, including some of the amazing authors of the special issue.
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As we close the year and prepare for (holidays and) the 2025 ISDC workplan, we look forward to another exciting year—as the Portfolio implementation commences, our Council will see some membership turnover and we will be continuing to support this amazing group of people committed to ensure the quality of CGIAR science. Which makes us proud to be part of the team (thanks Amy 😊).
