The British Virgin Islands want to be a winning player in the Information Age and we would like to be successful in the world’s digital economy. As a consequence of our aspirations, we have come to understand that our human and natural resources are the most critical components in our development strategy. In this connection, our national management strategy seeks to ensure full integration of economic, social, environment and physical concerns in a sustainable way. In essence, the National Integrated Development Strategy (NIDS) represents the long-term goals, strategies and objectives of the British Virgin Islands.

Planning is not entirely new to the British Virgin Islands. We have had economic, physical development and environmental plans of various lengths and details. However, co-ordinated and integrated planning was never really institutionalized in the Government machinery until the early 1970’s.

From its inception in the early 1970's, the British Virgin Islands planning has developed to include political, bureaucratic and private sector dimensions. From a system concentrated solely on project management, the British Virgin Islands Planning System today is structured to facilitate meaningful private sector participation, to accommodate full consultative process within the government machinery and take advantage of windows of opportunities for national development.

Earlier plans were produced by specialist foreign consultants sometimes with very little input from the private sector and the general population. Most plans and planning activities were initiated with assistance from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP). Recently though, with some UNDP assistance, the BVI decided that Sustainable Development could only be achieved if integrated planning was adopted as a long-term strategy.

The National Integrated Development Strategy is intended to be an umbrella strategy under which detailed economic, social and environmental strategies are developed. The Medium Term Economic Strategy (MTES) identifies quantitative and qualitative objectives and proposes economic strategies that is intended to be realized within 1- 3 years. The Operating and Capital Budget (OCB) prescribes the short term financial objectives which are consistent with the medium and longer term goals of National Integrated Development Strategy and The Medium Term Economic Strategy. The Operating and Capital Budget reflects the Central Government Expenditure Programme for a calendar year.

Sectoral plans such as the National Tourism Development Plan (NTDP) spell out the goals and the main strategies, both developmental and operational, which are to be pursued in the short, medium and long terms, up to the next 10-15 years. On the other hand, the Public Service Development Programme (PSDP) represents reform and development strategies for the Public Service to ensure that it is prepared and equipped to play its critical role in the development of the British Virgin Islands.

The Speech From the Throne (SFTT) details the measures and objectives for a legislative session of Parliament, and can typically run across financial years. Generally, the SFTT concentrates on legislative measures to ensure that the legislative framework for development is in place. However, SFTT also contains details of projects and programmes to be implemented during the legislative session.

In addition to domestic strategy plans, the Government of the British Virgin Islands has entered in special agreements with countries on development strategies. Prominent among those governments and inter-governmental organizations are the United Kingdom, the Organization of East Caribbean States (OECS), the Caribbean Community (CARICOM) and the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC). Because of the special political relationship between the United Kingdom and the British Virgin Islands, a Memorandum of Co-operation and Partnership (MCAP) was signed on 9 September 1998 spelling out development objectives and targets. Included in this agreement are domestic social and economic development targets and international obligations consistent with those of the United Kingdom.

There are other planning and development commitments to which the British Virgin Islands have aspired and agreed such as the OECS Economic Development Strategy, the OECS Education Strategy and the CARICOM Citizens Charter. While these documents have no legal basis in the British Virgin Islands, the Government of the British Virgin Islands was part of their development and we whole-heartedly support their aspirations and objectives.

As an associate member of ECLAC, the British Virgin Islands have participated in a number of world conferences, which resulted in agreements among countries and states to seek to meet certain development goals and objectives. Among these conferences were the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED) the International Conference on Population and Development (ICPD, 94) and the Beijing Conference on Women. The BVI has produced and tabled in Parliament national papers on Sustainable Development Strategy,  Population and Development and Women in Development. These document form the basis of the BVI umbrella strategy elaborated in their respective sections of NIDS. Please visit the Women’s Desk.

The documents referred to above do not represent the entire planning and development framework but are the most comprehensive and informative ones on the British Virgin Islands. Of course, no development strategy is complete unless the physical attributes are part and parcel. How and where we place our physical assets are critical to the success or failure of our development ultimately. In this connection, our commitment to integrated and ecologically sustainable development dictates that we must employ a sensible physical development strategy.

Our Physical Development Plan of 1997 (PDP, 97) seeks to ensure that the social and economic development strategies are consistent with good spatial planning and the long-term aspirations of the people of the BVI for better management of our environment. Concentrating on the legal/regulatory framework, the PDP, 1997 brings with a comprehensive Physical Planning Act, which empowers regulators to ensure that the enforcement policies of the Government are realized.

The development of any participative democracy such as BVI depends upon and is guided by the policies and philosophies of the elected administration. The policies of the Government are handed down or developed in collaboration with the private sector and the state machinery for implementation and post-implementation analysis. While the Virgin Islands Party (VIP) has been the ruling party for the past twelve year until 2003, the National Democratic Party (NDP) is the ruling party since then. The most recently policies and strategies of the NDP are found in its manifesto published in June 2003.  This document forms the basis for any changes or adjustments in implementation strategy of the political directorate of the British Virgin Islands.