The Project is structured in two phases and will run over a four-year period.

Phase one (1) focuses on cross-sectoral e-government issues and on specific applications in the public finance area (including Public Financial Management, tax, customs and procurement), and an e-government in health pilot project.

Phase two (2) is expected to deepen the assistance provided under Phase 1, while expanding the program to cover other sectors, in particular, tourism, agriculture, health and education, among others that may emerge during the early stages of implementation of Phase 1. 

 

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(i) Reduces the cost of doing business (ii) improves public sector efficiency, transparency and accountability (iii) reduces opportunities for fraud and corruption (iv) improves revenue collection and (v) facilitates more sub-regional harmonization and integration.

Benefits to Citizens

(i) Faster and more convenient access to government services (ii) twenty-four hour service delivery and (iii) improves the business environment and (iv) develops the private sector.

Benefits to Government

(i) Provides lower cost channels for communicating (ii) improves delivery of public sector services (iii) promotes economies of scale and related synergies at the regional level and (iv) contributes to public sector modernization

 

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National & Regional Levels

1. At the regional level, two new structures will be created, the Regional Technical Committee (RTC) for the project and the regional E-Government Unit (REGU), which will be a specialized unit within the OECS Secretariat, the implementing agency for the project.
2. At the national level, the project will be coordinated by the respective ICT or E-government units, which will be the national focal points for the project and will provide assistance to the REGU in implementing the relevant activities at the national level. The national focal point will be in charge o f the day-to-day management of the technical and logistical aspects of the project at the national level, including the work program, coordinating with the relevant ministries and departments, and the preparation o f terms of reference and technical specifications. These units will coordinate their work and receive guidance from existing national e-government or ICT steering committees (NSCs). No new structures at the national level are being created for this project.

 

Regional Technical Committee 

1. The RTC will be responsible for providing overall policy guidance to the REGU including monitoring and evaluation of implementation progress and addressing implementation bottlenecks.
2. Given the multi-sectoral and regional nature of the project, the RTC will be comprised o f country representatives appointed by the participating governments at the level of Permanent Secretary or higher, as well as the OECS Secretariat. It will also include representatives from the other OECS states, CARICAD, CARTAC, ECCB and ECTEL, on an advisory role. The RTC will be chaired on a rotating basis by the participating governments. The REGU will act as the executive secretariat of the RTC. Any major policy decisions requiring the agreement of the Heads of State will be channeled through the OECS Secretariat to the relevant OECS Authority Meeting.

Regional E-government Unit

1. This unit will consist of a Project Manager, as well as a Procurement Specialist and a Project Accountant. It will be assisted by one fully paid local specialist per participating country, who will be staff of the REGU located within existing ICT or e-government units at the national level.
2. 
   Once alternative options are assessed, it is possible that during project implementation a Regional Center of Excellence may emerge out of the REGU, to support broad e-government implementation at the regional level, manage regional platforms and provide technical support. 

Assistance at the National Level

At the national level, the project will provide assistance to strengthening existing national e-government/ICT steering committees as well as to national e-government/ICT units. This function will be carried out in close consultation with the REGU. The national arrangements for each country are discussed in the paragraphs that follow.

Grenada – National Focal Point 

1. In Grenada, the national focal point for this project will be the Central Information Management Agency (CIMA) located in the Prime Minister’s Office, in close coordination with the PS o f Human Resources and the Financial Secretary. This unit is headed by a Senior Advisor.
2. A National ICT Steering Committee is in place which could also function as the steering committee for this project. This committee comprises the Permanent Secretary in the Office o f the Prime Minister; Permanent Secretary, Ministry o f Education; Permanent Secretary, Ministry o f Agriculture and the Minister of National Security.

 

St. Lucia – National Focal Point

1. In St. Lucia, the e-Government unit, within the Ministry o f Public Service, will be the national focal point for the project, in close coordination with the Permanent Secretary of Finance. This unit is headed by a Director of E-Government and is mandated to coordinate ICT initiatives across the Public Service and to implement several ICT related components under a European Union funded project, including capacity building / training, ICT legislative and regulatory framework, process analysis and reengineering, systems integration and the community technology programme.
2. An E-Government Taskforce has been established, chaired by the Director of E-Government and comprising the following: Project Coordinator and Website / Database Specialist, E-Government Unit, General Manager, Computer Center Limited; MIS Manager, National Insurance Corporation; IT Manager, Universal Health Care; I T Officer, Police Department; Data and Records Officer, Ministry of the Public Service and I T Managers of the following Ministries / Departments: Finance; Education, Customs and Electoral. This Taskforce will serve as the steering committee for this project.

  

Dominica – National Focal Point

1. In Dominica, the national focal point for the project will be the Reform Management Unit (RMU) under the Establishment Department, in close coordination with the Financial Secretary. The staffing of the RMU is expected to be strengthened through the EU SFA 2005 ICT Project, to include the following positions: Director/Coordinator of E-Government; Systems Management Specialist; Process and Change Management Specialist and Database Specialist.
2. Dominica has already established a national steering committee which could also function as the steering committee for this project. This existing steering committee consists of a representative from each Ministry with an IT department or IT related project.

  

St. Vincent – National Focal Point

1. National implementation arrangements for St. Vincent and the Grenadines will be confirmed in the respective credit documents, however, the Ministry of Telecommunications, Science, Technology and Industry is likely to act as the national focal point for the project, in close coordination with the Financial Secretary.
2. A National E-Government Steering Committee is in the process of being created under the EU SFA 2005 project, and could also act as the national steering committee for this project.

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Component 1: Horizontal E-government Interventions (US$2,655,000)

The main objectives of this component are to strengthen and harmonize national and regional e-government policies, processes, operational ICT platforms and frameworks; to promote more efficient regionally-based ICT development and strengthen capacity; and to provide an enabling environment to achieve Public Administration objectives in a globally competitive context, so as to better serve citizens, businesses and consumers in the OECS region.

Component 2: Vertical E-government Interventions (US$3,697,500)

The objective of this component is to harmonize and improve key e-government systems by focusing on specific interventions in core areas of public finance (including Public Financial Management, tax, customs and procurement). This area was identified as a national and regional priority by all stakeholders, due to regional commonalities that can be used as a pragmatic basis to begin to harmonize regional e-government systems to modernize Public Administration in the OECS.

Component 3: Project Management(US$ 487,500)

This component will support the establishment of the Regional E-government Unit (REGU), under the direction of an overall Project Manager. The REGU will also include specialized staff located in the agencies identified in each country as focal points for the project, thus assisting in project implementation at the local level. To help manage the fiduciary aspects of the project, there will be a Procurement Specialist, and a Project Accountant. Contingency – US$ 360,000

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The Governments of Dominica, Grenada and St. Lucia have each received soft loan financing in the amount of 1.5 Million Special Drawing Rights (SDRs), equivalent to US$ 2.4 Million, from the World Bank for implementation of the OECS Electronic Government for Regional Integration Project (EGRIP).

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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