Request of Expressions of Interest For Information Technology Consulting Firm

Transcription

1 Election Commission Secretariat Preparation of Electoral Roll with Photographs and Facilitating the Issuance of National Identity Card Project Islamic Foundation Building Agargaon, Dhaka. No. PERP&FINIDC/Ops/040/480 Date: 27 January 2011 Request of Expressions of Interest For Information Technology Consulting Firm The Government of the Peoples Republic of Bangladesh intends to apply for financing from the World Bank (WB) towards the cost of the proposed Identification System for Enhanced Access to Services (IDEA) project and intends to apply part of the proceeds of this credit to payment under the contract for Information Technology Consulting (ITC). The services include: (i) making an assessment of the current Information technology (IT) environment in the Bangladesh Election Commission (BEC) in terms of infrastructure software and hardware, management information system (MIS), databases to design the ultimate future data communication network for national identification system of Bangladeshi citizens; (ii) assisting in the procurement of data communication network; and (iii) supervising and certifying the installation of data communications network under this project. The Project Director, Proposed Identification System for Enhanced Access to Services (IDEA) project, Bangladesh Election Commission now invites eligible consultants to indicate their interest in providing the services. Interested consultants must provide information indicating that they are qualified to perform the services (e.g. brochures, descriptions of similar assignments, experience in similar conditions, availability of appropriate skills among staff, etc). The EOIs would be reviewed on the basis of the following: Registration of firm Age of firm Availability of key professionals Availability of resources Experience of the firm in similar task Experience of the firm in other works Support services of the firm Consultants may associate to enhance their qualifications, but should mention whether the association is in the form of a joint venture or sub consultancy. In the case of an association, all members of such association should have real and well defined inputs to the assignment and it is preferable to limit the total number of firms including their associates to maximum of four.

2 A consultant will be selected in accordance with the procedures set out in the World Bank s Guidelines: Selection and Employment of Consultants by World Bank Borrowers May 2004 (Revised October 2006 and May 2010). Interested consultants are requested to collect detailed TOR from the address below during office hours 0900 to 1700 hours on working days only. Expressions of interest must be delivered to the address as mentioned by 15 March Akhtaruzzaman Siddique, psc,te Brigadier General Project Director (Proposed) Proposed Identification System for Enhanced Access to Services (IDEA) Project Bangladesh Election Commission Secrtariat Islamic Foundation Building Agargaon, Dhaka Phone : Fax ; pdperpec@gmail.com website:

3 Terms of Reference For Information Technology Consulting Firm Background The Government of Bangladesh has recently charged the Bangladesh Election Commission to develop a nation wide Identification system, building on the voter list database, and to provide verification services to core public and private sector services. The National ID and Registration Act has been promulgated to provide a high level legal framework and the National ID and Registration Department within the BEC has been established to administer the NID system. The absence of reliable means of national identification system and the proliferation of fragmented database for various services have taken a heavy toll of inefficiency and corruption in the past years in this country. In this regard, the successful preparation of electoral voter list database of 85 million citizens for the 9th parliament election1 is considered laying a crucial foundation for building a national ID system. This comprehensive database2 for national ID system, not only created the immense demand of voter ID cards, an unintended by product of electoral voter list preparation, but also has made the authorities realize an acute need for proper ID scheme and robust ID card in country. Having a comprehensive and reliable national ID system is a precondition for effective public policy formulation, and targeting and verification of various public and private service deliveries. The NID system provides vital information for policy makers to formulate well targeted national government programs and provide a highly effective means to verify that such programs reach only intended beneficiaries. Such verification services by NID equally benefit private sector such as banks and mobile companies by making sure that only legitimate users are allowed to subscribe their services. Many countries also find NID system a must for national security and anti terrorist drive. To date the BEC has initiated, among other interventions, upgrading the current data center and establishing robust communication network to provide reliable verification services through decentralized offices at the Upazila level; replacing current paper laminated voter ID card, which have been frequently faked in the market, with more robust, hard to fake national ID card; and developing rather an autonomous and highly efficient department to administer NID system. 1 Held in December, 2008 and the election process has been widely recognized for its fairness. 2 However there is a need to clean up duplicate IDs and other inaccuracies in the current database

4 IDEA Project Design Overview Legislative and Operational Framework and Capacity Building Modern ID Card Production/ Distribution National ID Data Center Upgrade Linking with Birth Registry Virtual Private Network E Services with National ID NID Upazilas NID District Offices NID Regional Offices Public Agencies (revenue, pension, BB) Private Institutions (banking and mobile phone) 10 The proposed IDA financed IDEA project will aid Government s initiatives in making a reliable NID system. Once fully implemented, the NID system is expected to make a significant impact in the way which the government, private sectors and citizens interact. Beneficiary of public services should be verified against national ID, greatly reducing the scope of leakage; private sectors would ensure authenticity and legitimacy of their service users; and any transactions using NID verification would be considered more reliable. This eventually would contribute to reduce social transactional costs and increase overall level of trust in Bangladesh. The main objectives of this consulting assignment are to support the project in: Making an assessment of the current IT environment in the BEC in terms of infrastructure s/w and h/w, MIS, databases to design the ultimate future data communication network for national identification system of Bangladeshi citizens; Assisting in the procurement of data communication network; and Supervising and certifying the installation of data communications network under this project.

5 Scope of Work The project aims to develop a reliable, authoritative national ID system that can serve as an efficient, secure data platform for delivery of multiple public services, and pilot usage of national ID system in (two/three) public and private service areas. The key results expected from the proposed Project are: Approximately 85 million national ID cards produced and distributed to eligible citizens within project period. The database is linked with at least two key pilot services where the data would be shared and used for improved service delivery. The birth registration records are digitized and cleansed so that it can be linked with national ID database at a later point in time. Data center and disaster recovery facilities established for the new national ID database. Well functioning National ID Registration Department of BEC established A reliable data communications network between NID center and all upazila server stations is critical for successful NID system operation. In particular, decentralized enrollment or updating of citizens ID, replacement and distribution of new ID cards, verification for service agencies and gateway to other agencies all require a functional, real time data communications network. Ensuring that these are properly procured, the vendor is properly managed and the systems are correctly defined and effectively deployed is therefore key to the overall success of the project. Once the analysis is completed and in consultation with the procurement department at BEC, the IT consulting firm shall assist BEC in drafting necessary technical specifications and bidding documents for the IT system components. The IT consultancy firm will also assist BEC in establishing vendor selection procedures and in monitoring and supervising the installation of the IT systems. Output 1: Initial assessment of current IT systems conducted Review and document BEC s current information systems capabilities, including hardware and software utilization, data processing (DP) organizations, resources, staff skills, status of current application systems and assess how well they serve the organization's information requirements; Develop and document an overall understanding of the BEC in terms of its goal, functions and business processes; Identify and document the fundamental business processes BEC has to perform to carry out its mission, achieve its objectives, plan, organize and implement its work programs; Determine and document management perspectives regarding the organization's DP objectives, current problems and potential opportunities for improving the information systems; Identify, describe and document the information needs and information flows associated with the various business functions and processes; Develop and document a framework for information systems development at BEC required to be put in place to support organizational goals and objectives.

6 The initial assessment evaluation should include: Description of the inputs, outputs and processing associated with each application, the primary data bases which will be required by the various systems, their linkages and interfaces within BEC and with other public or private organization. Description of the ownership and distribution of these application systems between the various organizational units at head office and the BEC branch offices and the volumes, frequency and mode of sharing data between various processing nodes. A report on the available alternatives with cost and technical details with pros and cons of data communication network from the local market. Output 2: Data Communications Network Design and Strategic Plan Prepared Develop and document an implementation strategy and phased program for data communications network, set priorities based on the strategic objectives of BEC and the IT opportunities identified. Assess and document the requirements for office automation and related systems at BEC Head Office and branch offices throughout the country and specify the recommended hardware and network services for efficient operation; Make an assessment of, and document the technology/network architecture required for implementing the data communications network. This would, inter alia, result in a statement of specification for: - Hardware configurations with estimates of capacity - Office systems and related hardware & software - LAN and WAN at the head office and branch offices and the inter office networking requirements. Output 4: Implementation Roadmap Prepared during preparation Specify a phased implementation program and tentative implementation schedules based on resource availability and absorptive capacity. This would include a schedule for phased acquisition of equipment, software, development of systems, training plan and a migration/integration plan from existing systems technologies, as applicable. Output 5: Assistance in Bidding Process provided The result of this assessment should be documented in a form that can be used for preparing procurement documents for acquisition of required hardware and network services under relevant bidding procedures of the World Bank. Help BEC draft the bidding documents including the Request for Expression of Interest (REOI) if needed. Guide in short listing the vendors for calling a Request for Proposal (RFP).

7 Provide technical assistance to BEC in preparing the RFPs. Review the System Requirement Specification (SRS) submitted by the prospective vendors to make sure that all the necessary functional details are adequately covered in the SRS for submission of bids. Suggest appropriate evaluation criteria matrix for assigning weight for financial and technical bids. Guide to finalize the selection of vendor for execution of the Project as per Procurement guidelines of the World Bank. Certify the network, software and hardware delivered by the vendor and closely monitor the testing of the systems It also should be noted that while drafting the RFP, World Bank procurement guidelines will be followed. Copies are available on World Bank s website ( Output 6: Participate in installation and testing of the data communication networks and platforms Participate and supervise the configuration, installation, acceptance testing and final acceptance of the platforms. The IT consultant firm will assist in monitoring and performing a series of tests on the newly installed systems to make sure that the systems are error and bug free. The IT consultant firm will adapt a universal standard for Testing and assist in preparation of detailed Acceptance Test Protocol (ATP) documents or guidelines. Output 7: Training BEC Staff to build the capacity for sense of ownership During both stage The IT Consultant firm will review the detailed training plan provided by the vendors. During the execution of the training, it will monitor and ensure that a detailed training program for the newly installed systems has been prepared and will monitor the training sessions carried out by the developer / provider in/out of the country. The training programs should include administrative and user trainings. The IT consultant firm will verify and certify the quality of the documentation prepared by the system provider. Making sure that documentation provided is sufficient for the operation and maintenance of the systems. The BEC will require the development/upgrading of its in house information systems organization and capacity to customize, maintain, and operate the various systems envisaged. Accordingly, the consultants would analyze the existing resources and capacity

8 and develop and document a plan to upgrade this organization and/or set up a new organization which would be able to service BEC informatics needs. This would include: - Developing a human resources plan, including a identification of the number and types of skills required - A training plan for existing and new staff in the use of various tools, such as operating systems, and more general training in DP organization and project management, and user support and training, technical and user documentation and training plan specifying the various types of training required (internal or external), target audiences, number of trainees and timing. - Estimating the types of external consulting assistance (local or expatriate) if required for implementing the plan. - Definition of an appropriate organizational and management structure to manage the DP resources of the organization and the organizational arrangement for overseeing and monitoring the progress of the proposed plan. - Estimate the Financial Resources required Output 8: Methodology, Overall Work Plan, Progress and Status Reports The Consulting firm will provide an overall work plan for the execution of the project as well as a methodology for the execution of the project. The methodology should consider aspects such as task distribution among the proposed team, timeline for the project and a description of the mechanisms to ensure that quality products will be delivered throughout the project. Progress reporting should include monthly progress reports as well as a final report of the overall effort. Deliverables and Timeline The following items are indicative of the deliverables which the firm is expected to deliver: A written assessment of the current IT systems in BEC and a proposal with an IT plan. In addition to the written assessment a presentation to key BEC members will also be provided. An implementation roadmap for phased acquisition and installation of IT systems including those which are purchased as part of the RERP project, and those which will be necessary as part of the IT strategic plan and steps needed to integrate into the BEC reporting system (based on the brief survey conducted).

9 An Inception Report within one week of start of the assignment, outlining overall work program. The team leader shall maintain a daily diary where required indicating all major activities. A final written assessment of all work undertaken. Implementation period will be 6 8 months. This may be extended basing on the actual need. Key experts Team Leader: Have Master degree in computer science or relevant field with 15 years working experience in the field of IT particularly in the public sector. Have full knowledge of automation of a modern institution. Network Engineering Expert: Have Master degree in computer science or relevant field with 12 years working experience in the field of IT. Preferably having a industry certification on the expertise. Software Engineering expert: Have Master degree in computer science or relevant field with 12 years working experience in the field of IT. Preferably having a industry certification on the expertise. Biometrics Expert: Have Master degree in computer science or relevant field with 10 years working experience in the field of Biometrics. Preferably having an industry certification on the expertise. IT software and hardware procurement expert: Have Master degree in computer science or relevant field with 10 years working experience in the field of. In addition, have familiarity with the World Bank procurement guidelines and procedures.