Terms of Reference

for

a Consultant who will provide IT supportforState Geodetic Administration on Real Property Registration and Cadastre Project

  1. Background

The objective of Croatia Real Property Registration and Cadastre Project is to build efficient land administration systems with the purpose of contributing to the development of better efficient real property markets. This will be achieved by addressing aspects of the supporting infrastructure, especially the real property registration system in the municipal courts, the cadastre system that is operated by the State Geodetic Administration (SGA) at the regional and branch office levels, the academic institutions and the private sector support professionals. The project will:

  • Accelerate registration in both the cadastre and real property registration systems;
  • Streamline both systems and the associated transaction processes;
  • Harmonize data between the two systems and ensure that they match with reality by undertaking cadastre re-survey where necessary, and land book registration correction and renewal in a systematic manner in selected areas of the country;
  • Improve customer relations and service provision, as well as organize awareness campaigns among stakeholders, aimed at supporting professionals, financial institutions, and real property holders;
  • Address impediments to the operation of an efficient mortgage system.

A full description of the Project is provided in the document Borrower's "Project Implementation Plan" (PIP) and the World Bank's "Project Appraisal Document" (PAD). The PIP and the PAD are considered a part of the necessary background materials to be understood by Consultant.

The Project is conducted according to the Information and Communication Strategy (eCroatia) of the Government of Republic of Croatia, as well as business and IT strategies of Ministry of Justice (MoJ) and SGA. It is necessary to take into account the usage of the system from the end-user perspective (state administration bodies, companies, citizens). It is also necessary to reconsider the Information and communication development strategy of the Ministry of Justice.

The bearer of activities on e-Croatia strategy is the Central State Office for e-Croatia (eHrvatska). This office is responsible for creating an environment of electronic information dissemination within the Croatian Government. Its responsibilities include:

  • National policies on electronic government
  • The implementation of a national government communications infrastructure and service provision upon it
  • Centralized purchasing of ICT equipment
  • Centralized negotiation over software licenses for common tasks, e.g. Microsoft office products and operating systems
  • Formulation of national security and other procedures to ensure high standards of IT administration.

Both MoJ and SGA have created IT Directorates (Sector for Informatics and Department for Land Data Base at the Land Registry Management Sector/MoJ and Sector for Information System/SGA). Both sectors are understaffed. SGA's Sector for Information System has 4 employees directly involved in IT core business and additional 6 employees in other Sectors at SGA's Central Office as well as 10 employees in major Regional Cadastre Offices. 10 experts are employed in Sector for Informatics in MoJ. Additional employment of IT experts in both institutions is planned.

A Project Implementation Unit (PIU) has been established to manage the project. Its policy and operational matters are directed by a Steering Committee, established by the Government of Croatia. The PIU has one IT specialist.

Detailed information for the Cadastre and Land Registration IT systems is available in the Information and Communication Technology Report, developed during the Project Preparation period by Mr. Neil Smith and Mr. Robin Waters. It has to be emphasized that information systems have significantly improved in both institutions since the abovementioned report. The most obvious examples are establishment of e-Land Book service as part of an eJustice framework and Browser of Cadastral Data as part of e-Cadastre framework.

The intensive development of information and communication technology and information management infrastructure in SGA's Central Office as well as in Regional Offices, establishment of modern GIS databases and WWW sales system and finally the impending establishment of the Joint Information System which is comprised of Land Data Base (LDB) and Data Base of Digital Cadastral Map (DBDCM) with MoJ led to increased demand for IT support. A close coordination is required between the various experts involved. The contractor under this Project is required to coordinate his/her work with these specialists. Special attention has to be paid on the coordination with the PIU IT specialist and the SGA's assistant director in Sector for Information System.

  1. Objectives

The main task objective is provision of expert IT support to SGA's Sector for Information System during the establishment of the Joint Information System (JIS) between MoJ and SGA (Land Data Base and Data Base of Digital Cadastral Map) (responsible consultant for this task), as well as on the GIS databases and WWW sales establishment and other secondary projects.

  1. Scope of Work and Tasks

The consultant will:

Review

  • Loan Agreement between Republic of Croatia and International Bank for Reconstruction and Development for the Real Property Registration and Cadastre Project, September 2002;
  • Information and Communication Technology Report, developed by Mr. Neil Smith and Mr. Robin Waters with special attention to:
  • Technical (minimum) requirements for the harmonization of the different databases and IT-applications
  • Recommendations for possible solutions in respect of future development of the ICT systems;
  • Recommendations for required staffing;
  • Final Report: Development of the National Spatial Data Infrastructure Study, April 2005;
  • Program of State Survey and Real Estate Cadastre for the period 2001 – 2005;
  • Agreement on Establishment and Operations of LDB of the Republic of Croatia;
  • Rulebook on Establishment and Operations of LDB of the Republic of Croatia;
  • The Inception Phase Study Report of the LDB/JIS, October 2005;
  • Information Management / Information and Communication Technology Strategy Report for the LDB/JIS, November 2005.

The documents listed above will be provided by the PIU upon signing of the contract.

Provide support to

SGA's Sector for Information System employees and PIU IT specialist during:

  • Primarily:
  • Preparation of implementation documents and monitoring of activities related to JIS (LDB+DBDCM) establishment according to ICT/IM Strategy;
  • Establishment and monitoring of communication infrastructure quality for JIS (LDB+DBDCM);
  • Planning, procurement, delivery and inspection of ICT equipment for JIS (DBDCM)in SGA's offices;
  • Further enhancement of functionality design and development for SGA's official web pages;
  • Consultancy, support and monitoring of committee's work related to his/her primary tasks;
  • Preparation of technical documentation for training and educational purposes.
  • Secondarily:
  • Establishment of GIS databases WWW sales system;
  • Completion and upgrade of BMS system;
  • Upgrade of katastar.hr service;
  • Implementation and maintenance of Monitoring & Evaluation System.

Suggest

  • Necessary actions to be taken so that the project of JIS (LDB+DBDCM) establishment follows the time schedule (implementation plan) presented in the ICT/IM Strategy, including the procurement of adjoined equipment.
  • Possible improvements and changes to the ICT/IM Strategy, if any drawbacks are observed during the implementation of JIS (LDB+DBDCM) project.
  1. Language

Official language for this assignment is Croatian. All materials and reports that consultant will produce as part of this contract will be available to the Client in Croatian language in paper and digital form, and as per need on English language.

  1. Work Products
5.1. Mandatory reporting

Consultant will prepare and deliver during the last day of each calendar month:

  • monthly report stating his/her achievements as a result of the consultant's work according to defined phases of task objectives for that month;
  • prepare and deliver the general plan of activities for the next month;
  • prepare and deliver the detailed plan of activities for the primary projects (activities of committees, working groups and responsible persons related to the projects).

All reports must be delivered to the PIU IT specialist, and approved by the contract coordinator - The assistant director in Sector for Information System - Zoran Vujić.

  1. Period of Performance

The consultant will perform his tasks from October2007until September 2008.

  1. Professional Expertise Required

Consultant will have the following qualifications:

  • university degree from information and communication technology or computer science field
  • minimum 3 years of experience with information systems and databases
  • minimum 3 years of experience with web applications
  • very good knowledgeof LAN/WAN/Intranet network infrastructure
  • very good knowledge of Croatian and English language, both in writing and speaking
  • working experience with international consultants, including work in 'virtual' teams
  • working experiencein “multi-task” teams (teams who perform several simultaneous tasks)
  • energetic and dynamical approach to the work and problem solving
  • expressed communication skills
  • creativity, flexibility and innovativeness
  1. Other Provisions

The Client will provide office space, standard computer equipment, telephone line and Internet access.

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