The Government of the Virgin Islands (GoVI), through the Ministry of Financial Services, Labour and Trade, is seeking proposals from qualified consulting firms to develop a comprehensive Digital Transformation Strategy. This strategy will leverage digital technologies to enhance public services, improve operational efficiency, and foster economic and social development of the Virgin Islands.

SCOPE OF THE WORKS

The consultant will report to the Permanent Secretary and collaborate with the Digital Transformation Steering Committee. The consultant's responsibilities include:

Phase 1: Digital Maturity Assessment

1.1. Evaluate the current state of digital maturity of government entities, identifying gaps and comparing to best practices. This will include assessing current:

• IT infrastructure (including hardware, software, network connectivity, and security), policies, and procedures  
• platform development and maintenance capacity
• service delivery channels (including E-Government portal)
• data management practices, and
• digital literacy of government employees.

1.2    Assess the digital public infrastructure (digital ID systems, payment platforms, data exchange frameworks, and communication networks).

1.3    Identify digital transformation priorities aligned with the National Sustainable Development Plan.

Phase 2:  Strategy Development and Implementation Roadmap

2.1   Develop a comprehensive Digital Transformation Strategy and implementation roadmap outlining initiatives, timelines, resources, prioritization, risks, mitigation strategies, and Monitoring, Evaluation and Learning (MEL) framework.

2.2    Design a distributed data exchange framework that enables the secure and efficient sharing of data and information across different systems and applications.

2.3    Outline the institutional framework required for effective implementation, including roles and responsibilities of various stakeholders (including government entities, private sector, civil society, and international partners).

               Phase 3:  Enabling Environment

3.1    Assess the existing legal, regulatory, and policy framework and propose legislative and regulatory reforms that:

• Align with international standards and best practices in data protection, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies.
• Foster innovation and growth in the digital economy while safeguarding public interest and consumer rights.
• Ensure that digital transformation efforts are inclusive, equitable, and tailored to the specific context of Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS).
• 3.2    Conduct a cybersecurity risk assessment and develop a comprehensive cybersecurity framework.

APPLICATION FOR DOCUMENTS

The Request for Proposals documents will be sent to Tenderers electronically upon request to procurement@gov.vg with the subject title “Consultancy Services for the Digital Transformation Strategy – Government of the Virgin Islands.” Tenderers are advised that the destination mailbox is NOT automated to send Tenderers an acknowledgment of receipt and delivery of their request by email.   Therefore, Tenderers should not assume that their email has been safely received and it is the responsibility of the Tenderer to follow up with the Procurement Coordinator using the contact information below if an acknowledgment of receipt is not received within one (1) day of submission of the e-mail.   Under no circumstance will GOVI or the Procurement Unit, Ministry of Finance, be responsible for the non-receipt of documents by the Tenderer.

Address for Correspondence Only

Procurement Coordinator

Ministry of Finance

Procurement Unit

RFG Place 2^nd Floor

Road Town, Tortola

British Virgin Islands

Tel: (284) 468-4245

Email: Procurement@gov.vg

SUBMISSION OF EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST

Electronic submissions in a non-editable format not exceeding 10 MB should be sent to the Ag. Procurement Coordinator (Mrs. Diana Percell-Gumbs) at email address procurement@gov.vg. The filename and the email subject must bear the Applicant’s name and “Consultancy Services for the Digital Transformation Strategy – Government of the Virgin Islands”.

Expressions of Interest must be submitted electronically to the Ag. Procurement Coordinator no later than Monday, 14^th October, 2024 at 12:00 p.m. (local time).  Expression of Interest submitted after this time will not be considered and will be rejected.Submissions will be opened on Tuesday, 15^th October, 2024 at 11:00 a.m. (local time).Tenderers are invited to witness the opening via WebEx.  Access code and password will be provided prior to the tender opening.