Anguilla 
Antigua and Barbuda 
Grenada 
Bahamas 
Barbados 
Belize 
Dominica 
Guyana 
Haiti 
Jamaica 
Montserrat 
St. Kitts and Nevis 
St. Lucia 
St. Vincent and the Grenadines 
Suriname 
Trinidad and Tobago 
Turks and Caicos 
A Modernised and Results-Based ICT Framework to Strengthen Institutional Governance, Administration, Productivity, Outreach, Visibility, and Engagement
Adele O. Ramos
Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) Secretariat
Princess Margaret Drive, Belize City, Belize
mail: This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.
ABSTRACT
Since its inauguration in 2003, the Caribbean Regional Fisheries Mechanism (CRFM) has placed high priority on Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) for effective institutional governance and stakeholder engagement. During the initial period (from its official establishment by CARICOM Heads of Government in 2002 to 2012), the CRFM’s focus—notwithstanding the limitations of the technologies that then existed—was on information dissemination and data services to support the programs of the CRFM and to enhance its impacts on the fisheries and aquaculture sector, with a focus on the fishing industry and fisherfolk organizations in Members States. The strategic growth in the CRFM’s ICT framework reached its pinnacle during the 2013-2021 period, with direct benefits redounding to those CRFM Member States which also benefited from capacity strengthening in ICT through the CRFM’s alliances with institutional partners. It was during this period that the CRFM finalized its Communications and ICT strategies to address the needs of the Secretariat, Member States and other stakeholders; deployed a new website and the CRFM Data Portal; as well as mainstreamed the use of teleconferencing for electronic meetings and virtual stakeholder engagements, resulting in significant cost savings and enhanced efficiencies to the organization, while ensuring its continued effectiveness even during the mobility restrictions of the COVID-19 pandemic. The rising influence of social media platforms during this era also provided further impetus for the CRFM to disseminate information through different channels. This monumental shift in the CRFM’s ICT landscape positioned the organization closer to fulfilling its core functional objective of ‘Effective collaboration with member states and stakeholders.’ This third period (2022-2030) focuses on addressing key constraints and harnessing opportunities through a results-based approach to ICT and the further modernization of the CRFM’s ICT framework to serve its growing regional and international audiences.
HOW TO CITE: Ramos, A.O., 2026. A Modernized and Results-Based ICT Framework to Strengthen Institutional Governance, Administration, Productivity, Outreach, Visibility, and Engagement. Contribution 8.7, p588-605 IN CRFM, 2026. Volume I: Technical Papers. Presented at the CRFM 20th Anniversary Scientific Conference, 28-31 August 2023. CRFM Special Publication No. 37, CRFM Secretariat https://www.crfm.int/index.php?option=com_k2&view=item&id=951
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