The System Office established the Working Group on Performance Measurement in May 2003, under the Co-Chairmanship of two ExCo members: Kevin Cleaver (ExCo/FC Chair) and Luis Arango (ExCo/PC member). Three sets of activities were carried out in preparation for the first meeting of the WG on September 5, 2003:(1) The CGIAR Secretariat prepared a Sourcebook on Performance Measurement in Research Institutions and Programs as background on approaches and methods of performance measurement being used in similar organizations globally.(2) Members of the WG shared additional information relevant to the objectives of the exercise (e.g., papers, articles);(3) A sub-group of the WG (made up of technical experts and resource persons1) met for a two day workshop on August 11-12, 2003 to discuss and outline performance measurement options that could be considered by the WG at its September 5 meeting, as a means of facilitating the task of the WG. This paper reflects the outcome of this preparatory workshop.The paper is organized as follows: the remainder of this chapter discusses the rationalebehind the worldwide trends towards Performance Measurement and offers definitions ofsome key terms. Chapter 2 focuses on the CGIAR, describing potential purposes and usesof performance measurement, identifying possible key elements of a performance measurement system, and outlining how such a system could fit into the planning and evaluation processes of the CGIAR. The final chapter summarizes the main conclusions and recommendations. This report was discussed during the Business Meeting at AGM 2003
