The development of the OECS Secretariat Institutional Strengthening (OECSSEC IS) Project  is in direct response to the dire need to strategically reposition the OECS Secretariat (OECSSEC) so that there is greater operational effectiveness and efficiency in implementing the integration mandate and strategies on behalf of its Member States.  Driven by the mandate of the OECS Authority, the staff of the Secretariat under the leadership of the Director General has recently undertaken internal assessments of its operations with a view to transforming its strategies and visions and becoming a “Centre of Excellence” that will assist Member States in meeting the emerging developmental challenges and needs. The transformation and repositioning of the Secretariat as a “Centre of Excellence” will require both a reallocation of its own core resources, as well as attracting new and additional resources.

The loans are being provided under a special facility of the concessional lending arm of the World Bank, the International Development Association (IDA).

The World Bank is currently in negotiations with St. Vincent and the Grenadines, which is contemplating joining the Project in the very near future. Two non-IDA countries, St. Kitts and Nevis, and Antigua and Barbuda, may in the future be eligible for World Bank financing, but are likely to participate initially on the basis of donor grants that are yet to be negotiated.

The Project became effective on 18thJune 2009 and is being implemented by the Regional E-Government Unit (REGU) of the Organisation of Eastern Caribbean States (OECS) Secretariat. The project seeks to address some of the huge challenges of size and isolation faced by small island developing states.

The Development Objective of EGRIP

To promote the efficiency, quality, and transparency of public services in the beneficiary countries, through the delivery of regionally integrated e-government applications that take advantage of economies of scale.

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