Paper on the CGIAR's role in collaborative international agricultural research prepared by TAC Chairman Don Winkelmann for the first meeting of the Global Forum on Agricultural Research (GFAR) held during CGIAR International Centers Week, October-November 1996. The paper stressed the CGIAR's capacity for translating the research outputs of 'high science' into international public goods that addressed the needs of the poor and the imperatives of protecting the environment. Among all possible research choices, the CGIAR would emphasize topics that would make the most difference to the poor, and on which the CGIAR had a clear advantage.The paper was circulated as an input into GFAR discussions leading to a Declaration and Action Plan for Global Partnerships in Agricultural Research,. It was intended to provide insights on partnerships and collaboration from the perspective of the CGIAR