CARICOM Centre for Development Administration
Barbados
Stephanie Astaphan, 2010
Following the customary introductions and procedural matters, my intern supervisor, Mrs. Andrea Symmonds, assigned me to a specific objective of (Key Result Area) KRA 1 – Administrative Changes of the DFID Project. The Department for International Development (DFID) is an external funding agency with the mandate to provide specialized regional institutions such as CARICAD with the monetary resources required to fulfill its own responsibilities within key development areas. This two year funding program with the DFID is geared towards preparing the public services for the implementation of the Free Movement of Persons (FMP) Regime and participation in the CARICOM Single Market and Economy (CSME). As determined by the CARICOM Secretariat, the successful implementation of the CSME and especially the FMP Regime requires systematic action among a range of public sector agencies at the national level throughout the Region. This means that CARICAD, with its broad based regional membership, its mandate for Public Sector Modernization, its responsibility for transforming and modernizing public service administrations of CARICOM Member States as well as its reputation and expertise, is ideally placed to support the Public Sector administrative changes that are necessary for the implementation of the FMP regime.
The major issue to be addressed under KRA 1 – Administrative Changes is the inadequate and overly bureaucratic administrative systems and procedures that have served to hinder the free movement of persons. The specific objective of this KRA to which I was assigned is to streamline administrative procedures in Immigration Service to facilitate the free movement of persons. The target groups for this objective are selected immigration officials at various levels, senior public officials and their relevant support staff and would be achieved through collaborating with the CARICOM Implementation Agency for Crime and Security (IMPACS) in executing a training program for border officials that culminates in regionally recognized certification. As such, the first item on the agenda was to convene a meeting of stakeholder (Regional Representatives from Immigration and Customs, Representatives from the Trinidad and Tobago Immigration Department, IMPACS and CARICAD) to discuss the key factors to be considered when developing a regional training program for immigration officials geared towards the harmonization and standardization of policies, practices and procedures utilized by Immigration Agencies across the region. Coming out of the meeting of stakeholders, an official proposal for such a training program was to be prepared for submission to the meeting of the Standing Committee of Chiefs of Immigration and Comptrollers of Customs on January 29th – 30th, 2009. Following the development of the proposal for the training program, a Service Delivery Survey was to be designed as a mean of gauging the impact of training on the level of service delivery of the Immigration Departments throughout the region.
Developing the Service Delivery Survey and accompanying documents (justification and Field Interviewers Guide) took me to the end of the four week internship. Both the proposal for the training program for immigration officials and the survey were submitted by Mrs. Symmonds to the Standing Committee of Chiefs of Immigration and Comptrollers of Customs on January 29th – 30th, 2009 in Paramaribo, Surinam. After leaving Barbados, Mrs. Symmonds informed me that the proposal was accepted and is to be implemented in the coming months.
Mrs. Symmonds, along with two senior members of the CARICAD team had been working on the DFID project for several months prior to my arrival. Therefore, and considering the short time that I would be spending at CARICAD, it was determined that focusing my efforts on a specific objective of a larger KRA and far larger DFID Project would be most beneficial to myself and the institution. This approach proved successful. While I was able to observe the inner workings of CARICAD and develop an appreciation for its role as a regional institution and to obtain a solid grasp of the DFID Project and its importance to the region, I was also able to contribute specifically and effectively to a defined and encompassing objective.
The internship was extremely well organized, challenging and highly engaging from beginning to end. I was well received by the institution as a whole, not just by my internship supervisor and as such, I felt welcomed, comfortable and able to perform within the working environment. I would wholeheartedly recommend this internship position to any interested, highly motivated Middlebury student.
Contact the Career Services Office for more information on this internship!