The institutional history of the CGIAR Challenge Program on Water and Food - Water Scarcity, Livelihoods and Food Security - page 82

The 14 SGPs identified and funded small-scale or local-level water
management initiatives that had the potential to be scaled up. The BFPs were
established in reaction to CGIAR Science Council criticism of the CPWF's
fragmented research portfolio. They documented knowledge in five work
packages in the CPWF's nine benchmark basins (Harrington et al., 2006,
p. 9) plus the Niger, included at the request of the government of France. The
work packages were: water availability and access; water productivity; water
poverty; policy and institutional context; and opportunities for water-related
interventions.
Over 60 percent of the research funding in Phase 1 was disbursed through
competitive grants, which united many different stakeholders (Biswas et al.,
2007, p. 2). Projects were selected based on their innovative quality and the
diversity and quality of the project teams rather than by national or regional
priorities. A total of 68 projects were contracted during Phase 1 (Table 4.1). A
median of seven institutions participated in each project, including two
CGIAR Centers, four NARES, one advanced research institute and one
national or international NGO (Biswas et al., 2007, p. 22). Many projects were
led by non-CGIAR institutions. This diversity of partnerships was achieved
through specific requirements about the number and types of institutions in
each proposal, as well as limitations on the maximum percentage of budget
allocated to CGIAR Centers.
The goal of the CPWF's Phase 1 was to support a diverse research program,
but the Program received much criticism for its “unfocused” approach. Project
selection criteria had generated the project diversity needed to deal with
complex water and food issues. With few mechanisms available to foster
coherence across projects within basins or across themes, cross-project learning
was limited. Basin Coordinators and Theme Leaders struggled to generate
coherence. Projects implemented in multiple basins, however, were generally
more successful in achieving cross-basin learning within their project.
As Phase 1 progressed, the CPWF's understanding of how to implement
outcome-oriented research evolved, assisted by a series of workshops and
events that it convened to assess its research portfolio.

Table 4.1 The CPWF Phase 1 projects.

Date of call for project funding Number and type of projects funded

First call (December 2002-October 2003) 31 competitive grant projects

Special call ( July-September 2004) 2 commissioned projects

BFPs (first set) (March 2005) 4 commissioned projects

Small grants (August-November 2005) 14 competitive grant projects

BFPs (second set) (February-September 2006) 6 competitive grant projects

Second call (May-December 2006) 11 competitive grant projects

Source: Author.