Overview

The sustainability of growth and development is of critical concern to the Government of the BVI. Given the rapidly growing economy and population, and the demands which these place on our infrastructure and physical environment, it has become important for the territory to develop a process which can ensure that all facets of national policy are coordinated with a view to maximizing the development and welfare of all citizens.

With the above in mind, a project for the formulation of an Integrated Development Plan in support of sustainable development has been developed by the government in collaboration with the United Nations Development Programme.

This project has been developed to ensure that:

• A mechanism for the development of coordinated sectoral programmes is created.
• Coordination of all aspects of development takes place.
• Emphasis is not only placed on economic development, but also on the social, physical and environmental aspects of development.
• The widest cross section of the population is involved in the planning process.

Because the institutional linkages for the design and implementation of policies and strategies to meet our developmental needs have been fully developed it was recognized that there was the need to develop a process for the preparation of the National Integrated Development Plan. It is therefore being proposed that in the first phase of the project, procedures for the preparation of guidelines for the National Integrated Development Plan are to be developed.

The framework and methodology for the preparation of National Integrated Development Plan is to be developed through the active participation of the public and private sector as well as community based groups.

The strategy for the development of the process envisages on going consultation, coordination and collaboration among all participants so that there is a clear understanding of how the strategy will be developed and so that all participants in the process can identify with the programmes and proposals which will be developed.

Project Outputs

The main outputs of the project are expected to be:

• A planning mechanism and processes for the coordination and integration of national, sectoral and local level development initiatives

• A conceptual framework within which pertinent and effective policies of environmental protection and sustainable development can be formulated

• Adequate capacity and structure for the design and implementation of policies and strategies in an integrated manner to meet the country's development needs

• All elements of planning (namely social, economic and physical and environmental) will be fully integrated into the overall planning process.

The Proposed Process

The entire process will be documented and one of the major outputs of the project will be the development of the mechanism for the preparation of a the National Integrated Development Plan.

The following is the general operating strategy for the development of the project:

• An overall coordinating group comprised of ministers and senior technical persons will provide policy guidance and direction for the project.

• A project technical working group - The Integrated Planning Committee will be established. The group will be comprised of representatives of government agencies, the private sector and non-governmental organizations. This group will be the planning team for the project and will be expected to work together to develop the framework and methodology for the preparation of National Integrated Development Strategy.

• Committees, working groups etc. will be set up to provide information and develop strategies and policies to inform the development of the process and the plan.

• This mechanism for the coordination and development of the strategy will be documented.

• Guidelines for the operation of the process to develop the strategy will be prepared

   

The following are the areas which will be considered in the preparation of the strategy:

• Development of the conceptual framework and detailed methodology for the preparation of the plan
• Data Review
• Data Analysis
• Compilation of existing policies and proposals
• Development of Policies
• Public Consultation
• Preparation of the plan strategy

Project Coordination

The project will be coordinated by a management team under the Head, Development Planning Unit. This team will consist of:

The Chief Physical Planning Officer
The Head Conservation & Fisheries
The Head Social Development Department

The United Nations inputs will be coordinated by the Physical Planning Project Manager/Planner in coordination with the Head of the Development Planning Unit.

Implications of the Process
Ministries, Government Departments

Staff of Government Departments will be required to participate in the development of the proposed planning process as well as in preparation of the National Integrated Development Strategy.

This will imply that time and personnel will have to be allocated to this project in keeping with time frames set by the Project Management Group. Ministries and Departments will have to be committed to the project and be prepared to provide the necessary resources and participate in the process so that the project can be completed in a timely manner.

The Private sector and Non-Governmental Organizations

The process as proposed will involve the participation of the private sector and Non-Governmental Organizations so that their concerns will be fully incorporated into the development of the proposed process for the development of the National Integrated Development Plan.