CDB giving over US$300,000 for Caribbean development database

The Caribbean Development Bank (CDB) is to provide the equivalent of US$399,165 to the CARICOM Secretariat for implementation of DevInfo in Anguilla, Barbados, Grenada, Montserrat and St. Lucia and the OECS Secretariat.

DevInfo is a system developed by the United Nations Children’s Fund (UNICEF). It provides methods to organise, store and display data and metadata in a uniform way with simple and user-friendly features for producing tables, graphs and maps for inclusion in reports, presentations and advocacy materials. The latest version allows for information to be presented at the smallest geographic level available, such as communities and villages. It is also web-enabled, so that data can be easily disseminated via the Internet.

The five borrowing member countries of the CDB will benefit from financing from the Bank for the DevInfo database system, which is expected to harnesses the power of advanced information technology to compile and disseminate data related to human development, as reflected in the Millennium Development Goals.

This will constitute Phase 1 of the collaborative intervention involving CDB, UNICEF and CARICOM. The lessons learnt from this phase will inform Phase 2 for the remaining CDB borrowing member countries, according to a release from the bank.

UNICEF will focus on data capture data analysis and the compilation of indicators within the Ministries and agencies which feed the DevInfo application. CDB and CARICOM will address technical challenges to DevInfo implementation by supporting training in each country and regionally. The Bank will focus on three key areas – advocacy and ownership, planning, and training.

Details

Date Posted

June 04 2012