Pre-Proposals Received!
The deadline for pre-proposals for the Generation Challenge Program was 15 May 2004. We received 10 start-up proposals and 70 pre-proposals for standard grants, involving about 120 institutions, of which roughly 50% are NARS and 50% are ARIs. It is clear that we are meeting one of the objectives of our Programme and the competitive grants process: open our research agenda to the broader research and education community. The pre-proposal breakdown according to Subprogramme is as follows:

  • 24% submitted for SP1
  • 33% submitted for SP2
  • 33% submitted for SP3
  • 10% submitted for SP4

Pre-proposals will be screened in June. PIs of projects for full proposal development will be notified by July 1. Full proposals will be submitted by late August. Awards will be announced in December for work to start in January of 2005.

Crops with Appropriate Gene Technologies Workshop in Nairobi 26-30 April a Success
The Generation Challenge Program workshop on Crops with Appropriate Gene Technologies was held in Nairobi, Kenya, from 26-30 April. Coordinated by Marc Ghislain and Charlie Crissman of CIP and Zaida Lentini of CIAT, the workshop brought together all of the transformation specialists in the CGIAR for the first time - as well as many outside experts - to discuss common approaches, challenges, and opportunities. For a copy of the program and list of participants, please click here:
http://www.generationcp.org/vw/Download/SP3_CAGT_WORKSHOP_REPORT.pdf.

For copies of the workshop presentations, please contact the presenters, whose contact information can be found here:
http://www.generationcp.org/vw/Download/SP3_CAGT_WORKSHOP_REPORT.pdf.

Reports to ExCo and the Science Council
We recently submitted two reports to the CGIAR Executive Council and Science Council detailing the Challenge Programme's progress. The reports can be found here:
http://www.generationcp.org/vw/Download/Science_Council_comments_MTP.pdf ; http://generationcp.org/vw/Download/Response_to_ExCo_Concerns.pdf ; http://generationcp.org/vw/Download/Responses_to_ExCo_Concerns2.pdf.

GFAR Coordinating Establishment of a GCP Stakeholder Committee
The Stakeholder Committee will serve as a neutral platform for inter-stakeholder dialogue on issues related to the various stages of CP development and implementation. Acting in an advisory capacity, the Stakeholder Committee will serve as a link between the CP and the various stakeholder groups. The Stakeholder Committee will ensure that the ideas, values, and needs of GCP stakeholders are reflected in the policies, strategies, research priorities, and program activities of the Challenge Program. For more information, click here:
http://www.egfar.org/tools/april2004/newssh.html#IARCs.

Nominations for Phenotyping Protocols Workshop (5-9 July in Montpellier, France) Now Closed
The list of participants for the GCP Phenotyping Protocols Workshop has been finalized. Participants can find the abstract and draft agenda for the workshop at:
http://www.generationcp.org/na.