Evolution of the Governance Arrangement It is important to note that the governance of the implementation of the National ICT Plan will evolve over time, as the ICT experience of the government and the country expands over time, and as the implementation of programmes and projects proceed. As such the initial project management arrangement proposed will need to be reviewed after one year and a more relevant structure put in place as necessary. The key functions and how these typically evolve will now be considered. ICT Governance Policy & Strategic Planning Investment Prioritization & Budgeting Project & Programme Management ICT Operations /Monitoring & Evaluation Technology Refresh & Renewal Policy & Strategic Planning The Policy and Strategic Planning function is needed to coordinate the establishment of the five year implementation plan for the policy statements (outlined in Annex 2) at the institutional and organisational levels, in line with the National ICT Strategy. The implementation plan would include the requirements to develop/update the appropriate policies and legislation to support the enhancement of the ICT sector, and to promote ICT uptake in St. Lucia. Accordingly, Policy and Strategic Planning would be charged with the implementation of the planning approach outlined in Annex 1 for the development of the ICT Policy and Action Plan. This approach is based on the eVolution© methodology, which begins with the development of a national ICT policy and vision that support all sectors of the country. This function would continue to ensure at all existing policy, legislative and regulatory frameworks that underpin each sector, for instance policies on data sharing and adoption of ICT by the various Government agencies, are updated and refreshed in accordance with requirements of the ICT Policy and Action Plan. Furthermore, the Policy and Strategic Planning function would collaborate with the National Telecommunications Regulatory Commission (NTRC) for the rollout of the implementation plan and the scheduling of the required activities in the telecommunications arena. Some collaboration with other regional legislative and policy initiatives like the Eastern Caribbean Telecommunications (ECTEL) Authority and the Caribbean Telecommunications Union (CTU) would also be considered based on the ICT Policy and Action Plan. ‐2‐