Espírito Santo Digital Acceleration Project

active

The Project will interconnect and integrate the data management, administrative, and strategic platforms of the State of Espirito Santo to ensure better access to information and optimize the provision of services to citizens. The Project Development Objective is to strengthen digital infrastructure resilience, to modernize emergency management, and to improve digital public infrastructure in the State of Espirito Santo.The project will comprise four components: a) Construction of a green and resilient data center and provide technical assistance to improve a state backbone connectivity network; b) Strengthen Digital public infrastructure by improving data sharing and authentication mechanisms, c) implementation of an Emergency Operations Center, and d) project management.Component 1 – Resilient data infrastructure (US$19.167 millions of which US$13.467 million IBRD). This component will strengthen the data infrastructure resiliency of Espirito Santo providing the state with a state-of-the-art publicly owned green data center. The increasing use of digital solutions, and generation and usage of data requires the establishment of modern storage facilities that meet the appropriate cybersecurity standards and provide the storage and computing power required to analyze and obtain insights from those data. This component will also provide training on digital skills together with the private sector to better equip individuals to adapt to the digital economy and strengthen the innovation and entrepreneurial ecosystem. The project will finance the construction of a green certified data center that will be owned and managed by PRODEST based on a series of feasibility studies which will assess the (a) the demand, (b) technical characteristics of the identified location, and (c) data center’s design options. Additional studies will focus on other topics such as data protection based on the existing legislation, legal and regulatory frameworks, and cybersecurity.Component 2 - Strengthening of Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) to improve service delivery to individuals, businesses, and government (Estimated cost: US$15.2 million of which US$7.95 million IBRD). This component will finance the acquisition of hardware, software, and consulting services for the Secretarriat of Management and Human Resources (Secretaria de Gestão e Recursos Humanos, SEGER) to develop the unique portal of services of Espirito Santo. The project will support the state to expand access to digital services to individuals, businesses, and government by establishing an interoperability platform and a services portal. This component aims to enhance the resiliency and preparedness of the state’s community by providing individuals and businesses with resilient personalized end-to-end digital public services from all government entities in a single platform that ensures service access and continuity in case of climate events or disasters. All goods and services acquired for this component will meet international energy efficiency certification requirements at least one level above Brazilian standard set by the Brazilian Steering Committee of Indicators, such as Energy Star.Component 3 - Modernize Emergency Management System. (US$39.0 million of which US$37.0 million IBRD). This component will support the expansion and modernization of the operational management processes of the emergency response and preparedness system in the State of Espirito Santo through the construction of the “Integrated Center for Social Defense (Centro Integrado de Defesa Social ,CIDES)” and the development and integration of all the systems and procedures for the management of emergency calls. The construction of a new emergency center will allow the state to improve physical and technological infrastructure, enhance its response to crises, and respond to emergency calls from all 78 municipalities in the state (currently CIODES is responding to calls from just 25 municipalities), while allowing the integration of additional agencies, including SUMA 192 (emergency medical services) and full integration of the GBV Line 180. The digital transformation of this sector should provide best practices to further develop digital transformation use cases by the state. The proposed activities would serve to improve the critical capacity and infrastructure for emergency planning and response through the implementation of a single response system for emergency calls which will allow the population to access the Centralized Emergency Response Center more quickly and will consequently increase the efficiency on the provision of the emergency service while reducing the time of response.Component 4. Project Management. (US$3.0 million of which US$2.646 million IBRD). This component will provide support for the management and implementation of the project, including: (a) project coordination; (b) procurement and financial management (FM); (c) implementation of E&S risk management measures; (d) Monitoring and Evaluation (M&E); (e) support of training and advisory / audit services needed; and (vii) public information, citizen engagement, and communication. Special attention will be devoted to promoting equal participation of women in all decision-making bodies under the project and contributing to tackling barriers to recruitment, retention, and promotion.