Generation Challenge Programme E-Newsletter
(March 2006)

Jean-Marcel Ribaut Represents the GCP at Challenge Program Day at the World Bank
The World Bank hosted an afternoon of Challenge Program presentations and interactions for several US donors, including USAID and USDA, on 23 March. Paul Wolfowitz, World Bank President, attended the session and voiced his and the Bank?s strong support for agricultural research for development. The other Challenge Programs?Harvest Plus, Water for Food, and Sub-Saharan Africa?were also present, making for a very fruitful afternoon of dialogue. For pics and more information, click here: http://www.generationcp.org/latestnews.php?i=416.

Call for Competitive Grant Proposals OPEN
The new call for competitive grants targets five scientific themes, which serve to consolidate the GCP agenda around high-impact research areas. The call for proposals can be viewed on the GCP website here: http://www.generationcp.org/latestnews.php?i=370. Pre-proposals are due 30 APRIL 2006. Contact Jenny Nelson (j.nelson@cgiar.org) with any questions.

GCP Seeks Subprogram 3 Leader/Product Manager
The GCP is seeking an innovative and self-motivated full-time Subprogramme Leader (SPL) for Subprogramme 3: Trait Capture for Crop Improvement. The SPL will be part of the GCP management team and as such will participate in the development of GCP strategy and research priorities, and will work with the GCP Director and other SPLs to ensure that the combined information and outputs from each SP meet the objectives of the GCP. In addition, the SP3 Leader will develop mechanisms to validate and ensure the transfer of data, technologies, tools and products from the other Subprogrammes to crop improvement programmes. The full position announcement can be viewed here: http://www.generationcp.org/sp3_announcement. The closing date for applications is 3 APRIL 2006.

GCP Joins the Grain Legume Technology Transfer Platform (GL-TTP)
The GL-TTP was launched in July 2005 following an initiative of the GLIP, the European ?Grain Legumes? Integrated Project (http://www.eugrainlegumes.org/). The GL-TTP is an international Technology Transfer Platform created to transfer knowledge and state-of-the-art technologies between research scientists, plant breeders, producers, and end-users in order to boost the production and quality of grain legumes. As a member of the platform, the GCP and its partners can contribute to GL-TTP planning activities, identify new collaborators in the legume research community, and gain access to new sources of genomic information and breeding tools.

2006 Commissioned Research Proposals Now Available
The 2006 commissioned research portfolio and full project proposals can be viewed on the new Research Page of the GCP website: http://www.generationcp.org/2006_commissioned_research.

GCP 2005 Annual Report and 2006 Workplan Now Available
The 2005 Annual Report and 2006 Workplan, which details last year?s progress and achievements and outlines the workplan for 2006, is now available in hard copy and online: http://www.generationcp.org/sccv10/sccv10_upload/2005_annual_report.pdf, Please contact Griselda Marquez (g.marquez@cgiar.org) to request hard copies.

GCP Project Officer Appointed
Adriana Santiago, formally the Financial Administrator for the GCP, has been promoted to the position of Project Officer in the GCP. In addition to financial administration of the program, Adriana is now also responsible for project administration, which includes the tracking of proposal and report submission, monitoring and enforcement of project management policies, and development of contracts. In addition to the relevant Subprogramme Leader, Adriana is now the GCP?s point of contact for questions regarding project reporting, budgeting and budget realignment, subcontracts, no-cost extensions, and funds disbursements. Please join us in congratulating Adriana in her new role! Adriana can be reached at a.santiago@cgiar.org or +52 55 5804 2004 x1310.

Capacity Building Corner Feature Story: GCP Work in Cassava Brings State-of-the Art Technologies to Africa
A CIAT-led Generation Challenge Programme project entitled ?Development of Low-cost Marker Technologies for Pyramiding Useful Genes from Wild Relatives of Cassava into Elite Progenitors? is pioneering a rigorous training and technology transfer plan to radically upgrade cassava breeding capacity in National Agricultural Research Systems (NARS) in Ghana, Uganda, and Nigeria. Read about the project?s four-pronged approach in this month?s Feature Story: http://www.generationcp.org/capcorner.php.

Mark Your Calendars! 2006 Annual Research Meeting: 12-16 September 2006 in Brasilia
The dates for the 2006 Annual Research Meeting are now fixed: 12-16 September 2006. By popular demand, this year?s ARM will last five days, with three days dedicated to cross-program scientific seminars and discussion, and two days for Subprogram-specific reporting and planning. The meeting will be held in Brasilia, Brazil. The GCP extends our gratitude to consortium member Embrapa for hosting this meeting! Zeze Sampaio at Embrapa (zeze.sampaio@embrapa.br) is the local contact. Please contact Zeze or Jenny Nelson (j.nelson@cgiar.org) with any questions.

Announcements on the GCP Website
The GCP website has a "Latest News" feature where we can post announcements about events, publications, etc., of interest to GCP members and the global genetic resources and genomics community. We also have an ?Announcements? section in the Capacity Building Corner for news and opportunities related to training and human resource development. The website gets over 2,000 hits per month, so here's a way to get some publicity for your news! If you have an announcement you would like posted, please send it to Kaitlin Lesnick (k.lesnick@cgiar.org) for posting to www.generationcp.org.