Management system design and implementation in the CARDI farming systems research and development project

Section one systematically assesses the need in FSR to manage: (1) inputs (human and physical resources, project methodology, financial resources, technology inputs); (2) the research program (the analysis-design-evaluation research cycle, the related yearly review-plan-budget-monitor cycles, and life-of-project model-building); (3) outputs (alternative technologies and improved methodologies); and (4) overall project coordination (the need for a central system is argued). Section two describes a general FSR project management system that meets the needs identified in section one, while section three describes the management system of the Caribbean Research and Development Institute"s (CARDI) FSR project in order to illustrate the characteristics described in section two. A final section describes an approach to the development of appropriate management systems and the identification of principles that can guide their installation.