The government of the British Virgin Islands (BVI) has issued a tender for proposals to revolutionise its digital economy. This ambitious project will involve the development of digital identities, ID systems, payment platforms and data exchange frameworks. The winning bid will be responsible for evaluating the current state of government agencies and the territory’s digital public infrastructure.

According to the tender released on September 12, the chosen consultant will report directly to the Permanent Secretary and collaborate closely with the Digital Transformation Steering Committee. The consultancy will be structured into three key phases:

Phase One: Digital Maturity Assessment

This phase will involve assessing the current digital maturity of government entities by identifying gaps and benchmarking against best practices. The assessment will cover IT infrastructure, policies, platform development and maintenance, service delivery channels, data management practices, and the digital literacy of government employees.

Phase Two: Strategy Development and Implementation Roadmap

In this phase, the consultant will develop a comprehensive Digital Transformation Strategy and an implementation roadmap. This will include outlining initiatives, timelines, resource allocation, prioritisation, risk management, and a Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) framework.

Phase Three: Enabling Environment

The final phase will focus on reviewing the existing legal, regulatory, and policy framework. The consultant will propose reforms to align with international standards and best practices in data protection, cybersecurity, and emerging technologies.

The tender explained that this phase will also aim to promote innovation and growth in the digital economy while safeguarding public interest and consumer rights. Additionally, it will ensure that digital transformation efforts are inclusive and suited to the specific context of Caribbean Small Island Developing States (SIDS).

The consultant will also conduct a cybersecurity risk assessment and develop a comprehensive cybersecurity framework.