E T Consultant

At the World Bank, a member of the World Bank Group (WBG), you’ll join a diverse, global community working across cultures, disciplines, and borders to address the world’s most pressing development challenges. With 1.2 billion young people reaching working age in the decade ahead, the challenge of job creation has never been greater. Through partnerships across 145 countries and more than 182 offices worldwide, we work with governments, private sector, development partners and other stakeholders to invest in people, strengthen markets, and deliver scalable, data-driven solutions that generate more and better jobs and improve lives. For more information, visit https:// www.worldbank.org/en/who-we-are/ibrd VPU Context: Digital technologies offer a unique opportunity to transform development through digital solutions. The Digital and AI Vertical Vice Presidency and its global and regional teams support client countries in building their capacities for digital transformation and AI use. The WBG Digital and AI Vertical is led by a Vice President and was established in July 2024. WBG recently published its Digital and AI Strategy which includes four pillars: access, affordability, ecosystem and AI readiness. The strategy identifies the priorities that WBG will engage across the client segment over the next five years. The implementation plan is currently under preparation. The Vertical will deploy a range of products, services, and partnerships to advance global knowledge across the four pillars of the Strategy through: Supporting World Bank regions that provide financing to governments in the form of grants, loans, guarantees, and risk management products to support digital investment projects and implement policy reforms. Supporting World Bank regions that provide advisory services including targeted policy guidance, technical assistance, and capacity building. Knowledge products include data and diagnostics to provide actionable insights at regional, country, and local levels, research and thought leadership to expand the global knowledge base, as well as thematic operational toolkits. Convening services that bring together key stakeholders, from both public and private sectors as well as international and non-governmental organizations involved in advancing global digital transformation. For more information: https://www.worldbank.org/en/topic/digitaldevelopment. Unit Context: The Policy and Regulations unit under the Digital and AI Vice Presidency helps World Bank teams identify, design, and deliver high-impact digital and AI policy reforms and programs across clients. The team develops and delivers frameworks, diagnostics, analytical tools, market intelligence and industry trends, and operational guidance to support policy dialogue, inform client engagement, and help replicate and scale effective solutions across a range of digital sectors, including digital infrastructure and connectivity, affordability, digital public infrastructure and government services, data governance, AI adoption, cybersecurity, digital sector applications, and more. The DigitalBase project is a strategic initiative aimed at developing standard indicators, datasets, and tools to benchmark and track progress in different areas of a country Digital Transformation journey. The project focuses on six critical pillars: Artificial Intelligence (AI), Digital Industry, Data Protection, Cybersecurity, Digital Public Infrastructure (DPI) and government services, and Connectivity and Affordability. By curating and analyzing indicators across these pillars, the project seeks to provide actionable insights to policymakers, researchers, and stakeholders to enhance digital transformation efforts globally. The project also emphasizes the use of advanced technologies, such as AI, to streamline data collection and analysis processes, ensuring efficiency and accuracy. Duties and accountabilities: The primary objective of this consultancy is to support the development of the DigitalBase project by identifying, curating, and organizing indicators and datasets across the six pillars. The consultant will also contribute to the automation of data collection processes using AI tools, validate AI-generated results, and prepare dashboards to visualize the curated data. This assignment will ensure that the DigitalBase project achieves its goal of providing a robust framework for benchmarking and tracking digital progress. In addition, the consultant will support geospatial analysis of digital infrastructure and provide demand-driven analytical support to regional and country teams, drawing on DigitalBase indicators and frameworks. Scope of Work The Extended Term Consultant (ETC) will be responsible for the following tasks: 1. Identifying and Curating Indicators: Research and identify relevant indicators for each of the six pillars (AI, Digital Industry, Data Protection, Cybersecurity, DPI and government services, and Connectivity and Affordability). Ensure that the indicators are aligned with global standards and best practices. 2. Literature Review: Conduct a comprehensive review of existing literature, indexes, and similar projects to gather insights and ensure alignment with international benchmarks. 3. Data Collection and Organization: Collect, organize, and structure datasets related to the identified indicators. Ensure data quality, consistency, and relevance. 4. Dashboard Preparation: Design and develop dashboards to visualize the curated data, enabling stakeholders to easily interpret and utilize the information. 5. Automation and AI Tool Development: Develop and implement AI tools to automate the data collection process, ensuring efficiency and scalability. Validate the outputs generated by AI tools to ensure accuracy and reliability of the data. 6. Geospatial Analysis: Support geospatial analysis of digital infrastructure, connectivity, and digital adoption. Process and harmonize subnational spatial datasets, construct spatial indicators, and produce maps that feed into related research and analytical products. 7. Regional and Country Support: Provide timely, demand-driven support to regional and country teams on cross-support requests, drawing on DigitalBase indicators and frameworks. Tasks may include country digital diagnostics, benchmarking against comparator countries, and data and analytical inputs to country reports and operations. Deliverables The consultant is expected to deliver the following outputs: 1. A comprehensive list of curated indicators for each of the six pillars. 2. Organized and structured datasets for all identified indicators. 3. Interactive dashboards visualizing the curated data. 4. Automated AI tools for data collection, along with documentation on their functionality and usage. 5. Geospatial datasets, spatial indicators, and maps prepared for assigned analytical tasks. 6. Data and analytical input delivered in response to regional support requests. The consultant is expected to participate in team meetings and maintain regular communication with the DigitalBase project team and other task teams as assigned. Duration and Terms of Appointment This is an Extended Term Consultant appointment with an initial duration of one year, renewable subject to satisfactory performance, business needs, and availability of funding. Compensation and benefits will be in accordance with World Bank Group policies for Extended Term Consultants.