REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

SAINT LUCIA

OECS DATA FOR DECISION-MAKING PROJECT IDA-71120

Assignment Title: Consultancy Services for the Development of ICT Policy

Reference No.: SLU-DATA-CS-ICS-PD-01-22

The Central Statistical Office of St. Lucia (CSO) is currently engaging  in  on-going actions to develop and sustain a National Statistical System (NSS). One important step in this initiative is a final strategy for the Development of Statistics in Saint Lucia (National Strategy for the Development of Statistics (NSDS)), which would provide the framework for strengthening statistical capacity across the NSS as well as establish the vision and outline milestones to monitor the various stages of progress in the medium to long-term. As part of the development of the NSDS and strengthening of the NSS, the goal is to construct a robust Information and Communication Technology (ICT) policy document aligned with the CSO’s Mission and Vision and enhance the department’s ability to produce high-quality, reliable statistics that support evidence-based decision- making and meet the needs of stakeholders and decision-makers. The ICT should not only focus solely on technology, but also, on the people within the organization, the organizational culture and the cultivating of best practices and skillsets. The CSO is seeking the services of an ICT consultant with experience in the preparation and development of ICT policies, governance structure and framework that will address the ICT structure gaps that support the CSO operations.

Under the direction of the Project Coordinator and Deputy Project Coordinator, the Consultant will be required to undertake activities as outlined below.

1. Conduct a comparative analysis of ICT policies implemented by other statistical agencies, focusing on countries with similar profiles and challenges as well as the Public Sector of Saint Lucia Department of Modernisation;
2. Identify strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and threats related to the existing ICT framework;
3. Engage with key stakeholders within the CSO to understand their specific ICT needs and challenges;
4. Identify international best practices and standards in ICT policies for statistical organizations including identification of best practices, like what obtains at the Government of Saint Lucia Division of Modernisation.
5. Draft a comprehensive ICT policy document tailored to the specific needs and goals of the Saint Lucia CSO that is aligned to the Government of Saint Lucia Division of Modernisation ICT’s policy
6. Ensure the policy addresses key areas such as data security, network infrastructure, software usage, disaster recovery, and user access controls;

7. Clearly outline roles and responsibilities for the implementation and enforcement of the policy,
8. Provide practical and actionable recommendations for the phased implementation of the ICT policy;
9. Suggest key performance indicators (KPIs) and metrics for monitoring and evaluating the effectiveness of the policy.

The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be found at the following website; https://stats.gov.lc/about-us/tor-ict-policy-consultant/

The Department of Economic Development now invites eligible individual consultants (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the services. Interested Individual Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services; (Curriculum Vitae with supporting certified copies of qualifications, description of similar assignments, etc).

Interested Consultants should have the following requisite minimum qualifications and professional experiences listed below for undertaking the assignment.

QUALIFICATIONS AND EXPERIENCE REQUIREMENTS FOR SELECTION OF AN INDIVIDUAL CONSULTANT ARE:

Mandatory

• Bachelor’s Degree in Computer Science, Computer Information Systems, Information Systems Management, Information Technology or a related field;
• At least five years’ experience in in the area of ICT governance;
• Conducted at least 2 similar assignments to government ministries and agencies, or international donor agencies or regional agencies;
• Demonstrated experience in at least 2 similar assignments involving conceptualization, definition, design and implementation of ICT Governance/Standards;
• Demonstrated experience in at least 2 similar assignments involving conceptualization, definition, design and implementation of ICT architectures;
• Familiarity with the context and challenges of statistical offices in small island nations is an asset.

The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to paragraph 3.16 of the World Bank’s Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers (Procurement Regulations) fourth edition, November 2020, setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.