Abstract
This report presents the CGIAR Center External Review (CER) of the International Water Management Institute (IWMI). The IWMI CER was an independent, learning-oriented assessment of the center, commissioned by its Board of Governors, managed by CGIAR’s Independent Advisory and Evaluation Service (IAES), and conducted by an external panel. Covering 2020–2025, the review assesses IWMI through six reference statements and eight evaluation criteria. Drawing on mixed-methods evidence, the Review Panel finds IWMI on a positive transformational trajectory, with a highly relevant water-security mandate, strong strategic foundations, extensive partnerships, substantial and diversified outputs, and growing operational reach. The report identifies organizational maturation as the priority for IWMI’s next phase, particularly strengthening evidence and learning, organizational systems and operating capacity, partnership architecture, and quality and lifecycle governance. Eight strategic recommendations aim to help IWMI sustain its growth, strengthen its contribution and impact, and reinforce its distinctive value proposition and global thought leadership. IWMI management has supplied a management response in which it fully accepted all recommendations, and the IWMI Board, through its resolution of 17 September 2026, endorsed both the report and the management response.
Review Panel: O. Ünver (chair), D. Templeton (lead author), O. J. Adelegan, G. de Gooijer, J. Chesshire, and M. M. Molinari (evaluation analyst)
To learn more, visit the Center External Reviews dedicated resource page.
Citation
CGIAR Independent Advisory and Evaluation Service (IAES). 2026. CGIAR Center External Reviews: International Water Management Institute (IWMI) Review Report. Rome: IAES.
Publisher
CGIAR Independent Advisory and Evaluation Service (IAES), Evaluation Function
