Theme 5: Product delivery

Proto-catalogue product list (Under construction)

Rationale

Product delivery as a stand-alone Theme is new but has evolved naturally from the increased focus GCP now places on the delivery and, in addition, on management of project products. GCP’s Strategy Framework requires a clear identification of GCP products. These are considered not only as GCP’s legacy of tangible evidence of its efforts towards developing molecular breeding programmes in the developing world, but also as vehicles for lasting impact. As such, products can have indirect (eg, capacity development tools) or direct (eg, informatics tools) impact on breeding efficiency, or can be used as intermediate components (germplasm, markers, etc) in a research pipeline towards the development of improved germplasm for farmers.

In order to be utilised, these products must first be delivered, which – beyond development – includes cataloguing and quality assurance before being made available for access or distribution. In keeping with the increased emphasis GCP now places on products, all current GCP projects require that their Principal Investigators identify – in a Delivery Plan – the products that will be generated from outputs. The plan must also identify capacity constraints to delivery, IP issues, and describe solutions as necessary. Thus, as GCP has evolved into a more impact-oriented Programme, product delivery and management (which also includes quality control, maintenance and promotion) have assumed a new imperative and renewed impetus.

The establishment of Theme 5 for Product Delivery is in recognition of the special management of products required to achieve desired impact. This new Theme – and related project Delivery Plans as well as product management in general – is overseen by a Product Delivery Leader (PDL). Also in recognition of the new imperative, Product Delivery Coordinators (PDCs) for each of the seven Research Initiatives are also included under Theme 5. PDCs report to the PDL and assist project PIs with drafting and implementing product Delivery Plans. PDCs also monitor the projects and alert the PDL to unforeseen obstacles and constraints which may compromise successful product delivery.

Main achievements

Preliminary Delivery Plans were completed for all nine third-round (2008) competitive projects as well as 18 projects under the Research Initiative umbrella. A web-based product delivery tool, PDKit, was deployed to design and manage plans. The tool allows for real-time interaction between the PDL, PDCs, PIs and partners without the need for sending files by email.

The GPS Workflow Management System is an integral part of the overall strategy for successful product delivery monitoring, quality control and cataloguing. Products previously entered into the module (2006–2009) were subjected to a strict review resulting in major editing of critical cataloguing information such as product names, descriptions, uses and access. These products will now be available through a catalogue publicly accessible via a web-based portal.

Under the broad interpretation of product management and sustainability, Theme 5 is also responsible for designing a business plan for the sustainability of the Integrated Breeding Platform (IBP) after GCP’s sunset in 2013.