REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST
(CONSULTING SERVICES - FIRMS SELECTION)
Palestine
Digital West Bank & Gaza Project (P174355)
Grant number: (TF0B5236)
Assignment Title: Unified Data Hosting Strategy - Cloud Hosting Strategy
Reference No.: GZ-MTIT-478919-CS-QCBS
The Palestinian Liberation Organization has received a grant from the International Development Association (IDA) for USD 20 million for the benefit of the Palestinian Authority (PA) to finance the Digital West Bank & Gaza Project (the Project). The Project will seek to produce concrete and tangible results for the Palestinians by enhancing access to high-speed broadband services and increasing access to selected e-services for citizens and businesses. The Project will focus on key points to unleash digital transformation in the Palestinian territories, addressing some of the bilateral challenges that prevent digital transformation from achieving its full potential. It will strengthen the Palestinian territories' digital resilience and the PA's ability to respond to shocks such as COVID-19.
The project takes a multi-disciplinary approach to support the digital transformation and resilience of the West Bank and Gaza. The project is being implemented and overseen by the Ministry of Telecommunications and Digital Economy (MTDE); Formerly, Ministry of Telecom and IT (MTIT) until the project completion.
The Ministry of Telecommunication and Digital Economy (MTDE) of Palestine is establishing a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) as a cornerstone of its ambitious digital transformation agenda. Central to this initiative is the Cloud-First Policy, a strategic commitment to transitioning government operations to a unified, scalable, and secure cloud ecosystem. This policy seeks to address key challenges such as inefficiencies, fragmented workflows, and reliance on outdated legacy systems, all of which impede innovation and collaboration across government entities.
By prioritizing a Cloud-First approach, the CCoE will serve as the central authority to streamline government operations, eliminate redundancies, and optimize resource utilization. This initiative will empower government entities to adopt modern, data-driven solutions that enhance their capacity to deliver agile, citizen-centric public services. It will also introduce robust governance structures and advanced security protocols, ensuring the protection of sensitive data and adherence to international compliance standards.
The CCoE will not only provide a centralized framework for cloud adoption but also act as a hub for innovation and continuous improvement. By adopting cross-departmental collaboration and integration with private sector partners and international technology providers, the CCoE will drive the adoption of emerging technologies and promote a culture of innovation. This unified strategy aims to modernize government operations, position Palestine as a leader in digital transformation, and deliver cost-efficiency, resource optimization, and improved public services.
Through the establishment of the CCoE and the implementation of the Cloud-First Policy, the MTDE envisions creating a future-ready government that is secure, collaborative, and responsive to the evolving needs of its citizens. By enabling seamless cooperation among government departments, private sector stakeholders, and global technology providers, the MTDE aims to ensure Palestine remains at the forefront of digital innovation and governance.
The primary objective of this consulting services is to engage a qualified consulting firm to develop a national cloud strategy and institutional framework, including the establishment of a Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) for the Government of Palestine. The CCoE will serve as the central governance body, ensuring structured, secure, and cost-efficient cloud adoption across government entities while promoting best practices, innovation, and compliance with international standards. This initiative will enable the Palestinian Government to leverage cloud technologies effectively and sustainably, with a strong emphasis on governance, data sovereignty, operational resilience, and strategic alignment with national priorities, fostering Public-Private Partnerships (PPPs) to Support Cloud Adoption & Data Center Investments.
The consultancy will focus on the following key activities:
- Conduct a Cloud Readiness and Data Hosting Infrastructure Assessment
- Evaluate the current state of cloud readiness at both Government and agency levels (Focus on Key ministries and key data centre operators) to identify gaps in infrastructure, adoption capabilities, and regulatory frameworks.
- Conduct a data hosting infrastructure assessment, analysing existing data centres, cloud providers, and hosting capacities to ensure alignment with the national cloud strategy.
- The World Bank’s Cloud Readiness Assessment Framework, currently under development, will be leveraged for this evaluation.
- Develop a National Cloud Strategy and Institutional Framework
- Formulate a Nation-wide cloud strategy that outlines the vision, policy framework, and governance mechanisms for cloud adoption.
- Establish an institutional framework for cloud implementation, including the structure and operational model of the Cloud Center of Excellence (CCoE) to drive governance, compliance, and adoption across ministries and agencies.
- Provide Costed Options for Data Hosting and Implementation Roadmap
- Develop costed scenarios for various data hosting models, including on-premises, hybrid, and multi-cloud approaches.
- Provide a structured implementation roadmap for each option, detailing technical feasibility, financial considerations, and risk assessments to support decision-making.
- Guide Ministries in Cloud Migration & Establish Governance Best Practices
- Develop a structured migration planning methodology to assist government ministries in transitioning workloads to the cloud while minimizing risks and disruptions.
- Establish a prioritization model based on security, technical feasibility, cost-benefit analysis, and operational requirements.
- Define Standard Operating Procedures (SOPs) for cloud security, cost management, disaster recovery, and incident response.
- Ensure Knowledge Retention & Continuous Improvement
- Establish a centralized knowledge repository to document policies, governance frameworks, operational templates, and best practices for cloud adoption.
- Provide training roadmap and operational guidelines to support long-term government-wide cloud literacy and sustainability.
- Develop a continuous improvement framework that allows ministries to adapt to emerging cloud technologies and evolving security standards.
- Conduct final stakeholder engagement and knowledge-sharing workshops to ensure all government entities are prepared for cloud adoption.
These services are expected to be finished within a period not exceeding 12 months.
The Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment can be found at the following link
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1H1rX5uU5OlGG-LlNv4s-rcNWLzQrC_Vy/edit?usp=drive_link&ouid=115500106320192007881&rtpof=true&sd=true
The Ministry of Telecom and Digital Economy (MTDE) now invites eligible consulting firms (“Consultants”) to indicate their interest in providing the Services. Interested Consultants should provide information demonstrating that they have the required qualifications and relevant experience to perform the Services.
The shortlisting criteria of the firm is: core business and years in business, relevant experience, technical and managerial capability of the firm. Key Experts will not be evaluated at the shortlisting stage.
The attention of interested Consultants is drawn to Section III, paragraphs, 3.14, 3.16, and 3.17 of the World Bank’s “Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers” dated November 2020 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest.
Consultants may associate with other firms to enhance their qualifications but should indicate clearly whether the association is in the form of a joint venture and/or a sub-consultancy. In the case of a joint venture, all the partners in the joint venture shall be jointly and severally liable for the entire contract, if selected.
A Consultant will be selected in accordance with the Quality and Cost Based Selection (QCBS) procurement method set out in the Procurement Regulations.
Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours: Sunday – Thursday (09:00 AM – 01:00 PM) (Local Time GMT +2)
Eng. Wedad Malak - Procurement Specialist
e-mail: procurement.pmu@mtde.gov.ps
Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form to the address below (in person, or by e-mail) by April 10th, 2025
- Ministry of Telecommunications and Digital Economy
- Attn: Eng. Wedad Malak - Procurement Specialist
- Postal code: P6140389
- Al-Bireh – Al-Mobadeen St.
- Tel: +970-2-2943333 ext 344
- Mobile: +970-598725251
- E-mail: procurement.pmu@mtde.gov.ps
Dr. Abdulrazak Natsheh
Minister of Telecommunications and Digital Economy