Government is moving to make the Immigration Department more business friendly.
That was the basis of a new institutional strengthening project which will be managed by a consultant to be hired early in the new year, BARBADOS BUSINESS AUTHORITY learnt.
According to a Request for Expressions of Interest document released last week, the Freundel Stuart Administration received grant financing from Compete Caribbean, a regional private sector development programme, “to undertake a consultancy to facilitate the institutional strengthening of the Barbados Immigration Department, aimed at improving the business climate in Barbados”.
“The consulting services will conduct a diagnosis of the Barbados Immigration Department and prepare an action plan with recommendations to improve the efficiency of its operations including the facilitation of the international business and tourism sectors over a six month period [from] January 2014 to July 2014,” the document stated.
“Specifically the diagnosis will assess the current legislative framework, organizational structure, functions, outputs and human resources, as well as information and communication technology capacity. It will also formulate an action plan (short and medium to long term) to address any shortcomings and/or bottlenecks and prepare a draft project proposal for submission to Compete Caribbean.”
The organization said the scope of work would include several activities, but noted others could be added to the list.
Those mentioned included an examination of the existing legislative framework and other relevant documentation, an organizational assessment to identify bottlenecks, map the workflow of application processes, evaluate the adequacy of staff levels and competencies, determine training needs and recommend any necessary changes to the organizational structure, functions and processes.
The consultant would also be expected to assess immigration’s information and communications technology requirements to identify any gaps and to recommend the appropriate improvements to reduce delays.
This would be followed by the development of a draft action plan outlining options for improving the efficiency of the operations of the department, including a budget, time lines and any relevant terms of reference for recommend activities.
Compete Caribbean said the Barbados consultancy would take place using funds from its Facility to Support Phase II of the Caribbean Growth Forum RG-CC2066, a project it designed “to support the initial implementation of a set of agreed reforms from the action plans that emanated from the Caribbean Growth Forum National Chapters”.
Compete Caribbean is jointly funded by the Inter-American Development Bank, the British Department of International Development and the Department of Foreign Affairs, Trade and Development in partnership with the Caribbean Development Bank.
It provides technical assistance grants and investment funding to support productive development policies, business climate reforms, clustering initiatives and small and medium size enterprise development activities in the Caribbean. (SC)
