A new Strategic Plan for 2001–2010 was developed by the end of the last episode (1995–2001), based on the then organisational model with three Divisions, one of which was the Resource and Crop Management Division (RCMD), an eco-regional focus and 16 projects. The Plan was followed initially during this episode, but the new Director General set a significant reorientation in motion. In respect of the actual research content, this episode saw a variety of inherited and new initiatives in soils and soil fertility management research and a shift from ecoregional to 'crop-based systems' research, from the development of 'international public good' or prototype technology to integrated production packages for chosen product chains, and from developing and testing improved technology to a wide range of activities from technology 'discovery' to delivery. Soil characterisation and mapping was no longer a stand-alone activity, but was meant as an integral part of the project design and implementation