TERMS OF REFERENCE

1. Background and Justification

1. In the Budgetary Proposals of 2022, it was announced that the National Insurance Department would assume responsibility for the processing and payment of public sector and statutory corporations’ pensions commencing January 2024.  The Office of the Accountant General is responsible for the calculation of pensions for employees of State-Owned Enterprises and Statutory Boards. However, outdated technology and operational processes exacerbate the bureaucratic processing cycles and hinder efficiency.
   1. The Office of the Accountant General and the National Insurance Office met on several occasions, commencing March 2023, to discuss the pension procedures, legislative provisions, technical requirements and personnel composition of the pensions unit. Of critical importance was the transfer of the requisite knowledge and staff to ensure uninterrupted payment to the existing 11,000 pensioners, and the processing of new applications beginning in 2024. 
   1. In 2023, the NIS underwent a transition to become the National Insurance and Social Security Service (NISSS). This transition consolidated the responsibilities for both private sector employees and civil servants under NISSS, necessitating the integration of services. As a result, there is a need to assess the current administration processes and redesign them to align more closely with NISSS’s ongoing digitalisation efforts. Specifically, a clear roadmap is required to reengineer and digitalise the administration of the public sector pension scheme.
2. Objectives

• The main objective of this consultancy assignment is to assess and reengineer the administration of the public sector pension scheme in Barbados. This includes developing a roadmap for digital transformation, with a focus on automation and customer centricity, and providing recommendations and strategies for the technological upgrade of the current system.

• Scope of Services

• The consulting firm will review the working documents provided to understand the current situation of the public sector pension solution, in the context of the current information systems and processes. The firm will propose a strategy, including its scope, the solution architecture, the processes involved, and how the public sector pension digitalisation solution will be integrated and amalgamated with the existing digital roadmap of the NISSS. As a minimum scope of the assessment, diagnosis, analysis, and proposed solution, the following areas must be assessed:
• Identify the current “as-is” processes of the public sector pension solution.
• Analyse digitalisation opportunities, “digital first” solutions, self-service formalities, and alignment with the new fourth industrial revolution technologies, and the extent to which the current public sector pension IT solution integrates these “digital first” requirements.
• Propose “to-be” processes, as well as a solutions architecture, with options and recommendations about functionalities, key actors and institutions, interoperability requisites, and integration of the solution into the current administrative SAP system utilised by the NISSS and the planned modules and information systems of the NISSS’ digital transformation roadmap.
• Ensure that the planned activities are carried out in a timely manner and in compliance with Government of Barbados’ policies and procedures.

• Key Activities

• Assess the current processes utilised in the public sector pension solution as follows:
• Review and consider all existing documents.
• Analyse the current NISSS digital roadmap, its impact and priorities to validate it against the current and proposed public sector pension digital ecosystem.
• The assessment should include information systems, “as-is” processes, the level of automation and digitalisation, customer care channels, data quality, data governance, security, infrastructure, interoperability with other entities, transaction volumes, the number of people operating the system and their digital readiness, the number and state of devices, branches, connectivity and other domains as applicable.
• The assessment should also include a feasibility analysis of its capability to operate with the current administrative system of the NISSS, including harmonization of the analysis with any parallel consultancy on the matter. It should also examine options to improve services to customers, increase compliance, improve data quality, digitalise processes and implement or strengthen information systems. It should also identify opportunities to strengthen infrastructure, staff readiness, self-service channels, security, interoperability with other entities, and any other relevant or applicable areas.
  • Design a solution that is aligned to the digital transformation roadmap of the NISSS and will encompass all domains, options, recommendations and specifications, including at a minimum:
  • “To-be” processes configured in a process tool.
  • The interoperability requirements of the proposed processes.
  • A financial budget to implement the proposed approach/solution.
  • An integration plan with the NISSS.
  • A data quality and data governance plan.
  • A migration and digitalisation strategy for paper-based processes.
  • A time schedule.
  • A risk analysis and mitigation plan.
  • A talent development and readiness plan.
  • Options to integrate/not integrate the solution into the current administrative system, including harmonized plans with any related parallel consultancies.
  • Recommendations around infrastructure, security, and overall digitalisation.
  • Participate in and report to a regular meeting of the Project Steering Committee to ensure the best possible output from this consultancy, to provide input for the on-going digital transformation.
  • Align the meetings and deliverables with the Digital Transformation Office, which is in the process of being established. 
  • Make short-, mid-, and long-term recommendations on the solutions, in order to ensure that the NISSS can effectively and consistently meet its strategic goals. 

• Expected Outcome and Deliverables

• The following deliverables must be produced by the consultancy. All deliverables must be approved by the Project Steering Committee to be considered final. 

•  Deliverable 1 – Inception Report:

An inception report detailing the assessment work plan with timelines.  This will be due two (2) weeks after the commencement of the contract.

• Deliverable 2 – Progress Report 1:

A report detailing the findings of the assessment and analysis, including but not limited to the following areas:

1. The current information systems.
2. “As-is” processes.
3. The level of automation and digitalization.
4. Customer care channels.
5. Data quality analysis results.
6. Data governance maturity.
7. The current security and infrastructure.
8. The current interoperability with other national entities (manual or automated).
9. Transaction volumes.
10. The number of people operating the system and their digital readiness.
11. The number and state of devices, branches, and connectivity.

The analysis should include:

1. The feasibility of operating with the current NISSS administrative system, including harmonization of the analysis with any related parallel consultancy.
2. The options to improve services to customers, increase compliance, improve data quality, digitalize processes and implement or strengthen information systems.
3. The opportunities to strengthen infrastructure, staff readiness, self-service and other channels, security and infrastructure.
4. Interoperability with other entities.
5. Any other areas as applicable.

This deliverable will be prepared based on the results of the analysis of Activity 4.1. and is due within ten (10) weeks of the commencement of the contract.

5.4.      Deliverable 3 –  Progress Report 2:

Solutions and recommendations.

1. “To-be” processes developed or documented in a process tool.
2. Interoperability requirements of the proposed processes.
3. Financial plan/budget to implement the proposed solution.
4. Plan for integration with the NISSS´ current systems and customer care channels, banking and financial integrations for payments, data intelligence tools, compliance tools and others identified. The recommendations must be harmonized with any consultancy related to the administrative system.
5. A data quality and data governance plan
6. A migration and papers digitalization strategy
7. A project time schedule/plan
8. A risk analysis and mitigation plan
9. A talent development and readiness plan
10. Options to integrate/not integrate the solution(s) into the current administrative system
11. Recommendations around infrastructure and security
12. An overall digitalization plan

Project chart definition drafts each containing at a minimum:

1. Name, scope, objective
2. Main milestones
3. Timeline
4. Required resources and acquisitions:
   1. Consultants: number and roles
      1. Licenses: type and description
      1. Core infrastructure: Servers, data centre, business continuity
      1. Device infrastructure: laptops, printers, cameras, fingerprint readers, self-service stations
      1. Access infrastructure: Internet access
      1. Network infrastructure: Core and in related agencies
      1. Security devices:
      1. Developments, information systems, interoperability activities and entities
      1. Channels options
      1. Risks and mitigations
5. Dependencies
   1. Interoperability requirements
      1. Government resources (digital identity, digital signature)
6. Measurable indicators (KPI) of the project

This deliverable will be prepared based on the results of Activity 4.2. and is due within ten (10) weeks of the submission and acceptance of Deliverable 2.

• Deliverable 4 – Final Report

The final report of all activities, final project description charts, and a virtual presentation on the findings of the assessment and the recommendations. The final report is due within two (2) weeks of the submission and acceptance of Deliverable 3.

• Qualifications, Experience, Knowledge, Skills and Abilities

• The assignment will require the services of a consultancy firm with experience in the diagnosis, analysis, and recommendation of technological and non-technological components of business processes with recognized experience in solutions for Pension systems or equivalent.

• The Firm shall have:
  • At least three (3) years of experience analysing and recommending Pension administrative or similar ecosystems, and other digital transformation initiatives.
    • Experience in at least one project that utilised the SAP platform.
    • Extensive experience in process assessments and the use and documentation of “as-is” and “to-be” charts using process design tools.

• Key Personnel
• The consulting firm must offer a multi-disciplinary work team to execute the assignment, specifying the training, experience, skills, position, functions, and time allocation of each of the experts in the relevant forms, which have been provided in the tenders package.
• All key team members must be certified professionals or adequately trained in the position assigned. Members of the team must meet the minimum academic and experience requirements:
• Project Manager: Internationally recognised certification in project management (PMP, SCRUM, etc.) with at least three years of experience including ICT projects.
• Solutions Engineer: A Bachelor’s degree in computer science, systems, telecommunications, or similar engineering degree with at least three years of related experience, including systems interoperability.
• Pensions Specialist: A Bachelor’s degree in business, accounting, actuarial science or a related field. At least three years of experience with pensions systems, including the design and implementation of retirement plans and pensions for organisations.
• Process Design Expert: A Bachelor’s degree and at least three years of experience in business process analysis and design. Business process certification is preferred.
• Infrastructure Engineer: A Bachelor’s degree in computer science or a related field with at least three years of experience.
• The team’s competencies shall include experience in digital transformation projects and at least one successfully completed or substantially completed project utilising the SAP platform.

• Experts may be assigned multiple roles within the project team to meet the minimum requirements detailed above. The Consultant Firm must ensure that the experts have the appropriate profiles to ensure that the projects and developments can be conducted in parallel without affecting the schedule in the work plan, the SLAs, and the quality of the products established for the contract.

• To comply with the obligations arising from the contract and the schedule defined in the work plans, the consulting firm must have professional, technical, and assistance resources in addition to the minimum defined in these Terms of Reference.

• Report Formatting Requirements

7.1.   Reports shall be submitted electronically. Each report should include the cover, main document, and all annexes.

• Payment Schedule

• Supervision and Reporting

9.1.    The consulting firm will report to the Project Steering Committee, which is comprised of representatives of the NISSS, the Accountant General and the Auditor General. The Project Steering Committee will provide comments relating to any reports, approve all reports, documents, and work, and give comments or any instructions for changes. It shall be the consulting firm’s responsibility to ensure that such reports are submitted to the NISSS. The frequency of communication will depend on the need for comments and approvals agreed upon at the beginning of the consultancy. It will be the responsibility of the Firm to ensure that such meetings take place and reports are submitted to the NISSS.

9.2.    The Project Steering Committee is authorised to accept the Consultant’s deliverables.

1. Characteristics of Consultancy

Type of Consultancy: Firm

Procurement Method: Quality and Cost-Based Selection

Duration: 6 months

Place of Work: Barbados

Type of Contract: Lump Sum

EVALUATION PROCESS AND CRITERIA

Evaluation Process

The NISSS shall compare and evaluate all submissions based on the proposal’s compliance with the services required and a cost assessment.

Technical Evaluation

The technical evaluation will be evaluated in two stages:

1. Proposal Assessment
2. Presentation

The assessment of the proposals will be conducted to determine the firms’ experience, knowledge, and approach to the assignment, as well as the suitability of the proposed teams as detailed in the Evaluation Criteria.

Firms will also be required to make a presentation before the Evaluation Committee and the Board of Directors of the NISSS. It should be noted that the presentation is to reiterate the suitability of the firm’s technical approach and methodology for the assignment and to allow for clarifications through a questions and answers period at the end of the presentation.

Each firm will be given two (2) hours to make its presentation and answer any questions. The time and location of the presentations will be arranged with each firm. Presentations will be conducted at the firm’s expense.

Financial Evaluation

Cost Proposals will be evaluated in accordance with Section 30 of the Public Procurement Act, 2021 and weighed with the technical score to determine the overall score for each submission. Where arithmetic errors are found, the corrected price will be used in the evaluation.

The following calculation will be used to integrate value for money in the evaluation of the submissions:

The lowest evaluated Financial Proposal (Fm) is given the maximum financial score (Sf) of 15 points.

The formula for determining the financial scores (Sf) of all other Proposals is calculated as following:

Sf = 15 x Fm/ F, in which “Sf” is the financial score, “Fm” is the lowest price, and “F” the price of the proposal under consideration.

Technical Proposals will be evaluated using the following criteria:

Criteria

• Experience of the Firm:
  • The firm should have:
    • At least three (3) years of experience analysing and recommending Pension administrative or similar ecosystems, and other digital transformation initiatives.
    • Experience in at least one project that utilised the SAP platform.
    • Extensive experience in process assessments and the use and documentation of “as-is” and “to-be” charts using process design tools.
• Technical Approach and Methodology:
  • The approach is clear, detailed, and suitable for the assignment.
• Project Timeline & Work Plan:
  • The timeline meets the requirements of the TOR and the work plan shows how the key experts will contribute to the completion of the assignment.
• Qualifications & Experience of Key Personnel:
  • The team includes the experts outlined in the Terms of Reference. The firm may include additional team members and must demonstrate their roles in completing the assignment.
• Presentation:
  • The presentation clearly demonstrated the strengths of the firm’s technical approach and methodology.
• Cost Proposal (Value for Money)

PROPOSAL SUBMISSION GUIDELINES

Additional Requirements

Consulting firms shall assume all costs associated with the preparation and presentation of their proposals. The NISSS does not assume any responsibility to reimburse the consulting firm for costs incurred in the preparation of proposals in response to these solicitation documents.

Firms should be aware that the Labour Clauses (Public Contracts) Act, Cap. 349 (the “Act”) shall in so far as is applicable to the tender, apply to any contract made in respect of the tender.   Full details of the conditions of the act may be obtained from the Chief Labour Officer, 2^nd Floor East Warrens Complex, Warrens, St. Michael.  Firms should submit the certificate required by paragraph 3 of the schedule to the act with their proposal.

All firms must upload to their Vendor Profile or include with their submission a copy of the company’s Certificate of Incorporation / Articles of Incorporation as evidence of the fact that the company is an existing registered company as at the date of the application.  The certificate must be in the name of the firm submitting the proposal. 

Where the company is registered under the Companies Act of Barbados, firms are required to provide the following:

1. Barbados Revenue Authority Tax Clearance Certificate;
2. National Insurance and Social Security Service Clearance Certificate;
3. Certificate of Good Standing

Firms incorporated in Barbados are advised that the Certificate of Incorporation referred to in the paragraph above means a Certificate of Incorporation issued under the Companies Act, Cap. 308 of the Laws of Barbados or where applicable a Certificate of Continuance and/or a Certificate of Amalgamation or a Certificate of Amendment. Certificates must be dated after December 31, 1984. The Certificate of Good Standing referred to in the paragraph above means a Certificate issued by the Registrar of Corporate Affairs and Intellectual Property Office under the Companies Act, Cap.308 of the Laws of Barbados.  

A complete set of the required documents in English may be obtained at: https://gov-bb.bonfirehub.com through the Open Public Opportunities section under the View Opportunities tab. Firms must submit all standard forms that were provided for this procurement opportunity to be deemed to have made a complete submission.

The completed Form of Tender and all other documentation must be uploaded to: https://gov-bb.bonfirehub.com on or before Wednesday, June 18, 2025, 11:30 p.m AST.

Firms must submit a combined Technical and Cost Proposal. The Form of Tender must be submitted with the Proposal.

No submission will be considered unless it complies with the conditions set out in the Tender Notice and in this Request for Proposals.

Enquiries

All enquiries concerning this RFP should be submitted via the messaging feature in the Barbados Government eProcurement Portal by June 4, 2025. Queries submitted after the deadline date for clarifications will not be answered.

Proposal Closing Date

Proposals must be submitted via the Barbados Government eProcurement Portal no later than Wednesday, June 18, 2025. Late submissions will not be accepted. No proposals will be allowed to be modified or substituted after the deadline for submission has passed. Detailed instructions for registration are available at: https://procure.gov.bb/home.