Saint Lucia is among four Eastern Caribbean countries that can now access specialised technical support to help governments overcome implementation challenges and move climate-resilient infrastructure projects towards completion.
The support is being provided through the newly operational Caribbean Resilient Infrastructure Implementation and Skills Exchange (RIISE) Facility, which aims to help governments address bottlenecks that can delay infrastructure projects.
Dominica, Grenada, Saint Lucia and Saint Vincent and the Grenadines are the facility’s initial participating countries.
For Saint Lucia, the support can be requested for projects in areas including water and sanitation, transport, energy, coastal protection, public buildings, disaster recovery, health, education and housing.
RIISE can assist in areas such as project management, procurement, contract management, engineering and technical reviews, and financial management. It can also provide expertise in climate resilience, environmental and social safeguards, gender equality and social inclusion, stakeholder engagement, communications, monitoring and reporting, and risk management.
Governments can access the support through two options: short-term technical advice to address specific challenges or temporary deployments of specialists to strengthen local teams.
Ministries and public institutions in the four participating countries can request assistance through their designated National Focal Points by submitting an online request outlining the project, the implementation challenge and the expected outcome.
The RIISE Secretariat will then assess the request and work with the institution to determine the scope of assistance and the expertise required.
The facility is funded by the Government of Canada and hosted by UNOPS, with a Secretariat based in Barbados. It is governed by participating Caribbean countries, with technical guidance from an independent panel of experts.
Canadian High Commissioner to Barbados and the Eastern Caribbean Brenda Wills said resilient infrastructure is important to economic development, climate adaptation and the well-being of Caribbean communities.
“Canada is pleased to support RIISE as a regionally led facility that will help governments access the expertise and support needed to deliver priority infrastructure investments,” she said.
UNOPS Caribbean Director Giuseppe Mancinelli said the organisation’s role was to provide governments with additional capacity, expertise and implementation support.
“Governments across the region have set a bold vision for more resilient infrastructure; our role is to help turn that ambition into results by providing national institutions with the additional capacity, expertise and implementation support they need to deliver for their people,” he said.
RIISE was officially launched on September 14 at a side event of the Caribbean Infrastructure Forum in Miami.
Saint Lucia’s Minister for Infrastructure, Ports Services and Energy Shawn Edward was among the participants at the launch.
Beyond providing immediate implementation support, RIISE also aims to strengthen and retain technical expertise in the Caribbean. Over time, this could include opportunities for specialists to work alongside public-sector teams and for countries to share knowledge and experience.
While the four Eastern Caribbean countries are the initial focus, RIISE is designed to potentially expand to other countries as government needs emerge and additional partnerships and resources are secured.
