Consultancy for Digital Public Services Gaps Analysis

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSION OF INTEREST

Consultancy for Digital Public Services Gaps Analysis

Country: The Republic of The Gambia

Project Name: Digital Transformation for Africa / Western Africa Regional Digital Integration Program (DTfA/WARDIP SOP1)

Project ID: P176932

Reference: WARDIP/C4.15.1/2024/QBS007

Assignment Title: Consultancy Services for Digital Public Services Gaps Analysis

Duration of the assignment: Six (6) months

Issued Date: 20th November 2024

Deadline of submission: 6th December 2024, 12:00pm (Gambian Time)

Selection Method: QUALITY BASED SELECTION (QBS)

Background:

The Government of The Gambia has secured funding from the International Development Association (IDA), referred to as ‘the Bank,’ under the Digital Transformation for Africa - Western Africa Regional Digital Integration Program (WARDIP) Series of Projects (SOP)-1, with an allocation of USD 50 million.

The primary goal of DTfA/WARDIP-SOP1 is to strengthen the digital infrastructure and ecosystem within The Gambia to support national and regional digital transformation. Among its objectives, the project aims to foster broadband connectivity, enhance digital public services, and establish a seamless digital ecosystem that aligns with the broader goal of creating a Single Digital Market in Western Africa.

The development of new digital public services is not just a technological upgrade but a fundamental necessity to bridge existing gaps, meet the evolving needs of the public, and drive socio-economic progress. Investment in modern, inclusive, and secure digital solutions will yield substantial benefits in terms of efficiency, citizen satisfaction, and overall economic growth. By addressing the identified digital service gaps, we can create a resilient, agile, and user-centric public service ecosystem that serves all stakeholders effectively.

A service gap analysis of the existing digital public services can identify significant deficiencies that hinder efficiency, accessibility, and satisfaction. Addressing these gaps through improvement and the development of new digital public services is essential to enhancing service delivery, ensuring equitable access, and fostering economic growth.

Given the above, GICTA through the DTfA/WARDIP seeks to hire a consultant to review existing digital public services comprehensively. This consultancy aims to identify service gaps, areas for improvement, and strategies for enhancing the overall quality and accessibility of government digital services.

Objectives

The primary objective is to conduct a Digital Public Services Gaps Analysis with the following objectives:

• Conduct a thorough analysis of existing digital public services offered by the government.

• Identify gaps and deficiencies in the current digital public services offerings.

• Develop recommendations and strategies for improving the quality, efficiency, and accessibility of existing digital public services.

• Recommend new digital services for implementation to bridge the gaps identified in the services.

• Produce a comprehensive report that includes the findings and recommendations.

Scope of Work

Service Gap analysis: Assessment of existing e-services:

• The objective of this assessment, and the satisfaction of users and identify recommendations and action plan for their improvement.

• Evaluate the accessibility, and usability of the current e-services, and identify areas for improvement within current digital public services; enhance operations and the user experience to better serve the public, support economic development and ensure sustainable digital governance.

From the demand side:

• conduct a user journey mapping for the users accessing the digital services, identify pain points, and access issues for different types of users (by gender, age category, and disability status), as well as user satisfaction with the e-services.

From the supply side:

• Identify all current digital services provided by Ministries, Departments and Agencies (MDAs) and document the processes, functionalities and purposes of each service (a non-exhaustive list of potential MDAs is included in the annex).

E-Government development analysis: roadmap for adding future digital services

The objective of this assessment is to identify all services that are delivered by government entities (Government-to-Government (G2G), Government-to-Business (G2B), and Citizen (G2C)), assess their potential for digitalization and establish a prioritization of services based on a set of criteria to be identified and developed.

• Conduct an exercise to identify all services delivered by Ministries, Departments and Agencies, and to document the processes, functionalities, and purposes of each service.

• Identification and development of evaluation criteria which may include the volume/numbers of users of services, readiness for and feasibility of digitalization, potential impact of digitalization in reduction of cost/time for users etc.

Assessment of government capacity to deliver digital services: Infrastructure, Governance and capabilities.

Infrastructure and interoperability

The objective of this section is to assess infrastructure and technology supporting the delivery and scaling-up of e-services and provide recommendations for improvement.

• Assess infrastructure needs toward a unified/consolidated digital service offering.

• Assess data hosting needs.

Governance, processes and capabilities:

The objective of this section is to assess the institutional capacity gap to deliver and scale up services and provide recommendations for development to support the improvement of existing services (from the gap analysis) and integration of future services (from the e-government development analysis).

• Assess institutional capabilities toward a unified approach to e-services (coordination, digital governance arrangements)

• Skills and HR needs for IT management and use (digital skills, infrastructure, data hosting, development etc.)

Key Deliverables

The project implementation period will be 6 months from the date of the contract signature. The firm will be required to produce an inception report within two weeks of contract signature, proposing a timeline for the tasks and deliverable. The selected consultant is expected to complete and submit the following deliverables within the approved timelines:

• Inception Report outlining the key activities and methodology on how the Consultancy will work with relevant ministries, agencies and departments­­

• A draft gaps assessment done by studying various ministries, departments and agencies.

• Outline a digital roadmap on how to provide a structural approach to the improvement of existing digital public services and the development of new ones, enhancing service delivery and improving efficiency

• Draft final report outlining comprehensive analysis, recommendations, and implementation strategies

Duration

The consultancy is expected to last for six (6) months, starting from the contract date.

Firms Qualification

Interested firms must demonstrate:

• A minimum of ten (10) years experience in digital public service delivery or related analysis at national/government level;

• Demonstrated expertise in designing and implementing digital public services.

• Proven track record of successfully delivering projects related to process automation, digitalization, and/or integration and interoperability of digital services in similar environments and region in the private or public sector;

• Deep understanding of industry standards, best practices, and emerging trends in digital public services gap analysis.

• Ability to collaborate with stakeholders at various levels, including government or private agencies, to understand requirements and design effective interoperable solutions;

• Capability to analyze complex systems, identify interoperability challenges and propose innovative solutions leveraging a user-centric design approach.

• Knowledge and experience in designing scalable and secure digital public services across large-scale systems;

• Familiarity with requirements and systems engineering approach in the analysis, design and implementation of digital services;

• Demonstrated knowledge of innovative and cutting-edge technology and its applications in digital transformation for the public or private sector.

The attention of interested firms is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” (July 1st, 2016, revised in November 2017, Augus 2018 and September 2023) (“A Candidate will be selected in accordance with the QUALITY BASED SELECTION (QBS) method set out in the Procurement Regulations.

Further information and the full TOR can be obtained from the email addresses below during office hours from 08:00 to 16:00 GMT on Mondays to Thursdays and from 0800 to 12:30 GMT on Fridays.

Expressions of interest together with relevant documents must be delivered in a written form or via email addresses below not later than 12:00pm (Gambian Time) 6th December 2024. Submissions should be in hard, or softcopy marked as Expression of Interest for the Consultancy for Digital Public Services Gaps Analysis

All interested firms are urged to send their expression of interest letters with attached documents to the following email addresses:

• Sent to the Project Coordinator: [email protected]

• Attention to the Project Procurement Specialist: [email protected]

Physical Address of the Project:

Digital Transformation for Africa –

Western Africa Regional Digital Integration Program

C/O Ministry of Communications and Digital Economy

Bertil Harding Highway, Stadium Junction, Bakau, The Gambia, West Africa.

Digital Address (Google Maps): F889+WWH