Priority Upstream Feasibility – Directorate General of Civil Status eServices Digitisation

REQUEST FOR EXPRESSIONS OF INTEREST (CONSULTING SERVICES – FIRMS SELECTION) Lebanon GFPP for Lebanon Digital Acceleration Project (LDAP) - P181954 Loan No./Credit No./ Grant No.: TF-C8895 Assignment Title: Phase 1: Priority Upstream Feasibility – Directorate General of Civil Status eServices Digitisation Reference No . (as per Procurement Plan): LB-OMSAR-568786-CS-QCBS The Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR) has received financing from the World Bank toward the cost of the Preparation Grant for the Lebanon Digital Acceleration Project (LDAP) , and intends to apply part of the proceeds for consulting services. The consulting services (“the Services”) include undertaking a rapid, practical and evidence-based assessment of the institutional, technical, operational, legal and readiness conditions required to digitise priority DGCS services and preparing the foundation for subsequent use-case design and the civil registration platform build. The assignment is expected to be completed within a maximum of three months (approximately 12 weeks) from contract signature. The detailed Terms of Reference (TOR) for the assignment is attached to this REOI . The Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR) 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 are: • At least 10 years of demonstrated experience in civil registration, digital government, public-sector service transformation, identity systems, or closely related fields. • Demonstrated experience in assessing and designing digital transformation programmes involving decentralised government service networks. • Proven experience in civil registration, identity, interoperability, workflow digitisation and/or government information systems. • Demonstrated field-assessment capability, including experience surveying or assessing local government offices and operational readiness. • Strong understanding of digital identity, API-based interoperability, electronic signatures/digital trust and cybersecurity/privacy principles. • Experience preparing feasibility studies, investment roadmaps, business requirements or procurement documentation for government digital projects. • Experience working on World Bank or other international development-financed projects is highly desirable. • Strong stakeholder-management and facilitation skills, including the ability to work across multiple government institutions. • Fluency in English is required. Arabic proficiency is required within the core assignment team, with sufficient Arabic-speaking capacity to conduct field visits, interviews and consultations with Mukhtars, CSQ staff and other local stakeholders and to review relevant Arabic-language documentation. Previous experience undertaking comparable assignments in Lebanon or the wider MENA region is an advantage. 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 September 2025 (“Procurement Regulations”), setting forth the World Bank’s policy on conflict of interest. In addition, please refer to the following specific information on conflict of interest related to this assignment: In accordance with World Bank Procurement Regulations regarding Conflict of Interest, the consulting firm selected for this Phase 1 feasibility and design assignment will be disqualified from subsequently bidding on or providing goods, works, or non-consulting services for the downstream implementation phases (Phases 2 and 3). 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) method set out in the Regulations method set out in the Procurement Regulations. Further information can be obtained at the address below during office hours (09:00 AM to 04:00 PM, Beirut Time). Expressions of interest must be delivered in a written form to the address below (in person, or by mail, or by e-mail) by COB 5 October, 2026 . Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform (OMSAR) Technical Unit – Preparation Grant for Lebanon Digital Acceleration Project Attn : Ms. Mirvat Hammoud – Procurement Specialist Address : STARCO Building, Bloc A, 5th Floor Omar Daouk Street, Mina El Hosn Sector Beirut, Lebanon Tel : +961 (1) 371 505; ext. 160 E-mail : mhammoud@omsar.gov.lb Terms of Reference PREPARATION GRANT FOR LEBANON DIGITAL ACCELERATION PROJECT (P181954) Phase 1: Priority Upstream Feasibility – Directorate General of Civil Status eServices Digitisation Background Lebanon is facing a protracted, multidimensional crisis that has impaired state institutions and public service delivery. Fragmented digital systems, reliance on paper-based processes, and limited trust in electronic transactions continue to hinder efficiency, transparency, and accountability across the public and private sectors. These challenges are compounded by gaps in digital governance, incomplete regulatory activation, and limited institutional capacity to operationalize key digital enablers. In response, the Government of Lebanon, with support from the World Bank, as part of the Lebanon Digital Acceleration Project (LDAP), is undertaking a strategic investment aimed to modernize Lebanon’s public sector through digital transformation, stimulate private sector growth, and accelerate the development of a robust digital economy is under preparation with World Bank support. The Lebanon Digital Acceleration Project (the “Project”) will establish secure, scalable, and resilient digital infrastructure including cloud services, data platforms, and cybersecurity systems that are essential for attracting investment and fostering innovation. By strengthening digital ID, e-signature capabilities, and the legal framework for digital transactions, the Project will improve the ease of doing business and enable trusted, efficient engagement between the public and private sectors. In parallel, the Project will advance key regulatory reforms in telecom, data protection, e-signature, and artificial intelligence (AI), while investing in Lebanon’s digital talent pool. Together, these measures will lay the foundation for a more competitive, dynamic, and inclusive economy. The World Bank’s Grant Facility for Project Preparation (GFPP) has been extended to OMSAR to support Project preparation. The GFPP grant will be implemented by a Technical Unit (TU) housed within OMSAR. Within this broader digital transformation agenda, the modernization and digitization of civil registration services represents an important priority and a key enabler for trusted digital service delivery. The Directorate General of Civil Status (DGCS), under the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MoIM), is the national owner of Lebanon’s civil registration and National ID databases. Civil registration operations are centrally governed but highly decentralised, with Civil Status Qalams (CSQs), Mukhtars and other actors playing critical roles in registration, certification and issuance of civil status documents. The digitization level of CSQs is quite low with the Beirut Qalam slightly higher where a portion of the archived documents are scanned or microfished. A June 2026 Directorate General of Civil Status – eServices Digitisation Priorities assessment identified significant opportunities to improve citizen-facing services and internal workflows through digital processes, interoperability, digital identity, electronic signatures and secure exchange of official information. It also identified important prerequisites, including assessment of existing systems and data sources, readiness of local civil status offices, digital skills of key actors, legal and institutional constraints, and transaction volumes. The assessment proposes a phased procurement approach in which Phase 1 provides the upstream evidence needed to sequence and cost subsequent use-case design and the downstream civil registration platform. Phase 1 is intended to be implemented rapidly under the World Bank Grant Facility for Project Preparation (GFPP) during 2026. It is deliberately focused on cross-cutting readiness and feasibility questions rather than detailed use-case-specific solution design, which will be addressed under the subsequent phases. The assignment will therefore establish an evidence base for investment decisions, confirm critical dependencies and constraints, and provide a prioritised roadmap and requirements for the downstream phases. Assignment and Objectives The objective of this assignment is to undertake a rapid, practical and evidence-based assessment of the institutional, technical, operational, legal and readiness conditions required to digitise priority DGCS services and to prepare the foundation for subsequent use-case design and the civil registration platform build. The specific objectives are to: • Establish a reliable baseline of existing DGCS/CR systems, data sources, interfaces, workflows and information flows relevant to the proposed digitisation programme. • Assess digital readiness of a representative sample of local Civil Status Qalams and other relevant service points, including connectivity, equipment, operating practices and basic technology readiness. • Assess the digital skills, roles and capacity of key actors, including CSQ staff and Mukhtar, and identify priority capacity-building requirements. • Assess options and prerequisites for digitising the DGCS and CSQs logbook and connecting those to DGCS workflows. • Assess options and prerequisites for digitising the Mukhtar local logbook and connecting authorised Mukhtars to DGCS workflows. • Assess the feasibility and high-level requirements for a wider Civil Registration administrative workflow capability. • Assess options for digitally recording and managing the transfer of physical documents that remain legally or operationally necessary. • Confirm the need and high-level implementation options for digitising previously identified Civil Status processes within the boundaries of applicable law and institutional mandates. • Assess options for electronic signatures and digital proofs as trust mechanisms for exchanging official civil-status documents. • Identify key legal, institutional, operational, interoperability, cybersecurity, privacy, procurement and sustainability dependencies that could affect downstream investments. • Produce a prioritized, sequenced and cost-informed implementation roadmap for subsequent phases. • Confirm the critical preconditions, access arrangements, stakeholder decisions and dependencies that must be in place to enable timely execution of the downstream phases. Scope of Work and Deliverables The Consultant shall undertake the following tasks. Activities shall be conducted in parallel whenever possible in close coordination with DGCS/MoIM and relevant government stakeholders and shall respect applicable institutional mandates. Task 1: Current Systems, Data and Integration Landscape • The terms data, database and system in this section refer to both digital and analogue or paper-based systems, as well as partially digitalized systems with paper or analogue components. • Inventory and assess existing centralized DGCS systems, including civil registry, e-ICSE/e-FCSE capabilities, , any other relevant databases, and relevant portals or workflow components. • Identify relevant external systems and data sources that may need to exchange information with DGCS, including hospital systems, Mukhtar records, and other relevant government systems. • Document, at a high level, key data flows, interfaces, integration dependencies, data ownership/stewardship considerations and known coverage or data-quality issues, including the digitization status of existing records and any major data cleansing or migration requirements that may affect downstream implementation. • Identify opportunities for reuse or extension of existing platforms and digital building blocks, avoiding unnecessary duplication. • Assess the readiness of existing systems and data sources to support APIs, secure data exchange and downstream workflow digitisation. • Assess, at a high level, the existing business continuity, backup and disaster recovery arrangements for critical DGCS systems and data, including major gaps that could affect the availability and recovery of civil registration and services. Task 2: Local Office Digital Readiness Assessment • Develop a representative sampling approach for CSQs and other relevant local service points, taking account of geographic, operational and workload diversity. The sample should be representative of the CSQs in Lebanon and include geographically distributed set of CSQs from urban, rural, and remote locations. • Assess internet connectivity (type, availability, quality, stability), workstations/devices, local networking, power/availability considerations, scanning/printing and other equipment required for digital processing. • Assess current operational practices for recording vital events and carrying out basic transactions, workflow maturity and constraints affecting adoption of digital processes. Capture, where available, basic service-level information such as transaction volumes, processing times, service demand, and key citizen-facing constraints to inform downstream prioritization and design. • Evaluate staffing at CSQs, including the number of employees, list of key titles and roles, level of educational qualifications, and digital skills (test or questionnaire). • Identify minimum technical and operational readiness requirements for participation in future DGCS digital workflows. • Produce a prioritized gap assessment and indicative requirements for the digitization of local offices and civil registration data. Task 3: Data Readiness Assessment • Conduct a thorough assessment of the state of civil registration archives in the selected CSQs. • Assess storage media (e.g., digital database, microfiche, paper registers), evaluating the completeness/coverage for each medium, and noting any gaps and the likely causes for them. • Inventory of registers/records, flagging any missing registers and cataloguing periods (not) covered, noting in particular any incidents of loss, theft or destruction of registers. • Estimation of the number of CS records held by each CSQ. • Assessment of state of conservation of existing paper registers, rating registers according to their likely ability to be digitized (good condition / some data may not be legible / impossible to digitize); • Assessment of the quality of paper records given data quality standards, digitalization pre-requisites, noting any issues with consistence or quality that could impeded automated digitization using optical character recognition or similar tools. • Assess the conformance of paper records with any applicable legal and regulatory requirements. Task 4: Digital Skills and Institutional Capacity • Assess the qualification ands digital skills and capabilities of a representative sample of key actors, such as CSQ staff involved in civil-status processes. • Identify roles, responsibilities and change-management considerations associated with future digital workflows and potential adoption challenges.. • Identify priority training, support and institutional-strengthening needs. • Recommend an initial capacity-building approach that can be incorporated into downstream investments. Task 5: Digitisation of the Mukhtar Local Logbook • Assess current local-logbook practices, information captured, custody arrangements and legal/administrative significance. • Evaluate feasible options for digitisation, including minimum data requirements, authentication, auditability, offline/online considerations and integration with DGCS workflows. • Recommend a preferred high-level approach and identify prerequisites for a pilot or downstream implementation that covers diverse digitization levels. • Assess the qualifications and digital skills and capabilities of key actors, such as Mukhtars involved in civil-status processes. Task 6: Business Process Analysis • Map out key business processes related to registration of vital events (with priority given by the DG during implementation) and issuance of civil status extracts, using previous analytical work on this topic as an input, recognising that religious-court processes are outside the scope where they are not within government jurisdiction. • Produce structured As-Is process maps for each in-scope process, using swim-lane or equivalent notation that captures actors, systems, data inputs and outputs, decision points, triggers, and end states in sufficient detail to support downstream solution design. • Identify dependencies within each process, including human actors (Mukhtars, CSQ staff, DGCS central functions, notaries, and other relevant parties), systems and processes (digital and paper-based, e.g. signatures), data sources, and handoffs between actors. • Assess where physical documents are still legally or operationally required,how they move between Mukhtars, CSQs and other entities and the volume and frequency of these transfers. • Investigate options for digitally logging, tracking and managing the transfer and receipt of physical documents as part of an overall workflow. • Define high-level requirements for traceability, chain of custody, notifications, exceptions and audit trails. • Capture indicative process metrics where available, including transaction volumes per step, average and peak processing times, error and rejection rates, and known backlogs, to provide a quantitative baseline for prioritisation and roadmap costing. • Document exception and escalation paths for common non-standard cases, such as late registrations, lost or incomplete documentation, disputed records, etc. • Identify fraud, integrity, and corruption risks inherent in current process designs, noting where manual steps, lack of audit trails, or unclear accountability create vulnerability. • Assess the trust, identity, certificate, validation and audit requirements for exchanging official digital documents and verifiable digital credentials. • Assess options for using legally recognised electronic signatures, cryptographic proofs and/or verifiable digital credentials in civil-status workflows. • Produce a lightweight roles-and-responsibilities mapping (RACI or equivalent) for each in-scope process to inform the change-management and capacity-building requirements identified under Task 3. Task 7: Business Process Reengineering • Building on the As-Is maps, metrics and dependency analysis from the preceding task, develop indicative To-Be process designs for priority processes, identifying the steps, actors, decision points and system interactions that would change under digitisation. • Identify re-engineering opportunities beyond simple digitisation, including consolidation or elimination of redundant steps, removal of unnecessary intermediaries, replacement of physical document transfers, deploying electronic signatures, replacing human verification with automated verification, or automation of routine validations. • Assess the need and feasibility for a government-wide or DGCS-specific administrative workflow capability connecting authorised actors such as Mukhtars, CSQs and central DGCS functions, hospitals, and other government institutions. • Identify common workflow capabilities required across birth, death, marriage, divorce and other civil-status processes, without undertaking detailed use-case design. • Define high-level functional, interoperability, security, audit and workflow requirements that should inform Phase 2 and the Phase 3 RFP. • Distinguish process changes achievable under existing law from those requiring regulatory amendment or legislative reform, and indicate the sequencing implications of each. • Define the compensating controls, audit trails and segregation-of-duties requirements needed in redesigned processes to address the fraud and integrity risks identified in the As-Is analysis. • Identify the organisational, staffing and change-management implications of the To-Be designs, including workload redistribution between Mukhtars, CSQs and central DGCS. • Provide indicative benefit estimates for redesigned processes in terms of processing time, citizen touchpoints, cost to serve and error rates, sufficient to support prioritisation under the roadmap task. • Define high-level functional, interoperability, security, audit and workflow requirements arising from the To-Be designs to inform Phase 2 and the Phase 3 RFP, flagging areas requiring further feasibility assessment in Phase 2. Task 8 : Cross-Cutting Feasibility, Dependencies and Investment Roadmap • Consolidate findings from Tasks 1–8 into a cross-cutting feasibility assessment. • Identify legal, policy, institutional, technical, cybersecurity, privacy, data-quality, interoperability, procurement, operational and financial dependencies, including business continuity, disaster recovery and resilience requirements for critical systems and services. • Identify critical assumptions, risks and decisions that must be resolved before Phases 2 and 3 proceed. • Prioritize activities according to citizen impact, feasibility, dependency, readiness and implementation value. • Prepare a high-level sequencing and implementation roadmap for downstream phases, including recommended pilots where appropriate. • Identify volume and demand modelling based on historical and current transaction metrics to help identify additional cost savings / service improvements. • Provide indicative cost drivers and resource requirements and propose estimates for subsequent procurement phases.. • The future state of civil record digitization must transcend mere paper automation to become a modern, interoperable, legally robust, and secure Digital Public Infrastructure that is person-centric, user-friendly, and designed for universal, inclusive coverage under real-world conditions. Deliverables The Consultant shall produce concise, decision-oriented deliverables suitable for use by DGCS/MoIM, OMSAR and the World Bank in preparing subsequent investments. All deliverables shall be submitted in editable formats together with PDF versions. Commencement Date: The Commencement Date of the contract to start the assignment shall be the contract signature date by both parties. Deliverable Content Indicative timing (from contract signature) D1 – Inception Report and Work Plan Methodology, sampling approach, stakeholder engagement plan, data/information collection instruments, detailed work plan, risks and quality-assurance approach. Week 2 D2 – Upstream Readiness and Baseline Assessment Consolidated assessment covering systems/data, local-office readiness, skills/capacity, key findings, dependencies, gaps, risks and priority recommendations. Week 9 D3 – Priority Feasibility and Downstream Investment Roadmap Final cross-cutting feasibility assessment; prioritisation and sequencing; high-level target requirements; legal/institutional and technical dependencies; validation Workshop summaries; recommended pilots; indicative cost drivers; procurement inputs and roadmap for Phases 2 and 3. Week 12 Key Stakeholders and Consultation Requirements – Access facilitated by MoIM • DGCS and relevant MoIM departments. • Civil Status Bureaus and a representative sample of Civil Status Qalams (CSQs). • Mukhtars and representative local service actors. • Relevant MoIM technical teams. • OMSAR / Grant Technical Unit, as relevant to digital-government architecture, interoperability and shared digital foundations. • Relevant government entities whose systems or mandates affect the assessed processes, including, Ministry of Public Health/hospital stakeholders, and other agencies identified during inception. • World Bank team, as required, for methodological and procurement-readiness alignment. Approach and Methodology • Use a rapid, evidence-based approach combining desk review, targeted stakeholder interviews, structured questionnaires, field visits and technical validation. • Different workstreams may advance in parallel whenever possible • Use a representative sample rather than attempting a full census of all local offices, while ensuring sufficient geographic and operational coverage. • Build on June 2026 DGCS eServices Digitization Priorities assessment and avoid duplicating detailed use-case feasibility work reserved for Phase 2. • Use international good practices as reference points while adapting recommendations to Lebanon’s legal, institutional, infrastructure and capacity realities. • Validate findings with DGCS/MoIM and relevant stakeholders before finalization. • Use a flexible work-planning approach that enables activities to be undertaken in parallel where feasible, while respecting necessary sequencing and dependencies across tasks. • Integrate relevant legal and regulatory analysis across activities where required to inform the assessment, recommendations and proposed solutions. • Prior to mobilisation, DGCS/MoIM and the Project Coordinator shall, to the extent practicable, secure the administrative arrangements required to avoid implementation bottlenecks. These shall include (i) initiating and, where feasible, obtaining the necessary access authorisations for sensitive systems, data and relevant documentation, particularly the civil registration and National ID environments upon the formal approval of the DG; and (ii) establishing a streamlined mechanism for authorising the Consultant’s agreed field visits to selected Civil Status Qalams (CSQs), Mukhtar offices and other service points. Access shall remain subject to applicable security, privacy and institutional controls. Qualifications and Experience The selected advisory firm should demonstrate the following minimum qualifications: • At least 10 years of demonstrated experience in civil registration, digital government, public-sector service transformation, identity systems, or closely related fields. • Demonstrated experience in assessing and designing digital transformation programmes involving decentralised government service networks. • Proven experience in civil registration, identity, interoperability, workflow digitisation and/or government information systems. • Demonstrated field-assessment capability, including experience surveying or assessing local government offices and operational readiness. • Strong understanding of digital identity, API-based interoperability, electronic signatures/digital trust and cybersecurity/privacy principles. • Experience preparing feasibility studies, investment roadmaps, business requirements or procurement documentation for government digital projects. • Experience working on World Bank or other international development-financed projects is highly desirable. • Strong stakeholder-management and facilitation skills, including the ability to work across multiple government institutions. • Fluency in English is required. Arabic proficiency is required within the core assignment team, with sufficient Arabic-speaking capacity to conduct field visits, interviews and consultations with Mukhtars, CSQ staff and other local stakeholders and to review relevant Arabic-language documentation. Previous experience undertaking comparable assignments in Lebanon or the wider MENA region is an advantage. Team Composition and Key Personnel Qualifications: The Consultant shall deploy a multidisciplinary team with the appropriate expertise to deliver the assignment within the required timeframe. The team must be composed of core members who possess the technical, operational, and institutional knowledge necessary to conduct rapid assessments across Lebanon’s decentralized civil registry system. The following key positions are required for the duration of the assignment. The Consultant may propose additional supporting staff as necessary. 1. Team Leader / Senior Digital Government Expert Role: The Team Leader will serve as the primary point of contact for the Grant Coordinator and the Technical Committee. This individual will oversee the entire assignment, ensure the quality and timeliness of all deliverables, manage the team’s work plan, and lead stakeholder engagement at the senior government level. Minimum Qualifications: • Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Public Administration, Information Technology, Digital Government, Law, or a related field. • A minimum of 15 years of progressive professional experience in the design and implementation of digital transformation projects in the public sector. • Demonstrated experience (at least 5 years) in leading feasibility studies or large-scale digital reforms for government service delivery. • Proven expertise in civil registration, identity management, or e-Government. • Experience working in politically complex, post-conflict, or crisis-affected environments. • Prior experience working with the World Bank or other international financial institutions is strongly preferred. 2. Senior Civil Registration / Identity Systems Specialist Role: Responsible for the technical assessment of the existing DGCS systems (civil register, National ID), and for defining the requirements for interoperability, workflow digitisation, and National ID verification services (Tasks 1, 5, 6). Minimum Qualifications: • Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Computer Science, Information Systems, or a related field. • A minimum of 10 years of experience in the design, implementation, or evaluation of civil registration, national ID, or large-scale government database systems. • Demonstrated knowledge of digital identity standards, API-based integration, PKI, and e-signature frameworks. • Experience in assessing legacy systems and defining migration or integration strategies. • Fluency in English is required; Arabic proficiency is preferred. 3. Public Sector Digital Transformation / Business Process Expert Role: Responsible for the analysis of current workflows (As-Is) and the design of target operating models. This role leads the assessment of digital skills, institutional capacity, and the digitisation of Mukhtar and marriage registration processes (Tasks 3, 4, 8). Minimum Qualifications: • Advanced university degree in Business Administration, Public Policy, Engineering, or related field. • A minimum of 10 years of experience in business process re-engineering (BPR) within the public sector. • Proven experience in change management, capacity-building needs assessments, and skills gap analysis. • Experience with decentralised service delivery networks (e.g., local offices, field agents) is required. • Fluency in English and Arabic is mandatory. 4. Digital Readiness and Field Assessment Specialist Role: Responsible for the design and execution of the representative sample survey, conducting field visits to CSQs and Mukhtar offices, assessing connectivity, equipment, and operational practices (Task 2 & Task 7). Minimum Qualifications: • University degree (Bachelor’s or Master’s) in Social Sciences, Information Technology, or related field. • A minimum of 7 years of experience in conducting field assessments, surveys, or readiness assessments for ICT infrastructure projects. • Experience with data collection tools and methodologies for remote or physically challenging locations. • Strong understanding of local government administrative structures. • Fluency in Arabic is mandatory; English proficiency is required. 5. Legal / Institutional Framework Expert Role: Responsible for identifying legal, regulatory, and institutional constraints affecting the digitisation of civil registration processes (Cross-cutting dependencies, e-Signatures, Data Protection, Task 9 & 10). Minimum Qualifications: • Advanced university degree (Master’s or equivalent) in Law (preferably with a focus on Public Law, Data Protection, or Digital Commerce). • A minimum of 8 years of experience in legal advisory related to digital transformation, information and communications technology (ICT) law, or public sector governance. • Experience in reviewing and analyzing legislative frameworks relating to personal data protection, electronic transactions, and digital identity. • Fluency in English and Arabic is mandatory. Additional Team Requirements: • Support Staff: The Consultant must ensure adequate administrative, logistical, and translation/interpretation support to facilitate field visits and stakeholder consultations. • Gender Balance: The Consultant is encouraged to propose a gender-balanced team. • Local Knowledge: Substitution of international experts with local Lebanese experts holding equivalent qualifications is encouraged to ensure contextual understanding and sustainability. • The Consultant is required to submit the Curriculum Vitae (CVs) of all proposed key personnel and support staff to the Grant Coordinator and the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities (MoIM) for comprehensive due diligence and review prior to any project involvement. To prevent mobilization delays, the MoIM shall complete this review and issue formal written acceptance (or objection) within five (5) business days of receiving the CVs. No proposed personnel or support staff shall commence work, access sensitive civil registration environments, or otherwise participate in the assignment until this explicit acceptance is granted by the MoIM and communicated via the Grant Coordinator. Compliance, Data Protection and Environmental and Social Requirements The Consultant shall perform all services in accordance with: • Applicable Lebanese laws, regulations, and administrative frameworks relevant to electronic transactions and digital services. • World Bank procurement, integrity, and operational policies applicable to the assignment. • Any applicable data protection, confidentiality, and information security requirements. In addition, the consultant must comply with the following Environmental and Social (E&S) requirements aligned with the World Bank Environmental and Social Framework (ESF) and the Project commitments: • All personnel must sign and follow a Code of Conduct (CoC) covering data confidentiality, respectful conduct, non-discrimination, and zero tolerance for SEA/SH. • The firm must ensure fair labor practices and safe working conditions and provide an internal worker grievance mechanism for its staff. • The firm must enforce zero tolerance for SEA/SH and ensure staff follow appropriate conduct and reporting procedures when engaging with stakeholders. • Stakeholders’ consultations must be inclusive and accessible, with all feedback documented. Stakeholders must be informed that complaints can also be submitted through the Project’s Grievance Mechanism that will be shared. • All information accessed during the assignment shall be treated as confidential and shall be used solely for the purposes of the assignment. • Any personal, civil-registration or identity data accessed shall be handled using privacy-by-design, least-privilege access, secure storage and secure transfer practices. The Consultant shall avoid copying production personal data wherever possible and shall use anonymised or synthetic data for analysis and demonstrations. • Any actual or suspected data breach or security incident shall be reported immediately to the designated government counterpart and handled in accordance with applicable project procedures. • Any equipment or storage media used for the assignment shall be securely managed, including appropriate data wiping and environmentally responsible disposal. The Consultant shall comply with the World Bank’s 'Procurement Regulations for IPF Borrowers' and the 'Guidelines on Preventing and Combating Fraud and Corruption in Projects Financed by IBRD Loans and IDA Credits and Grants'. Please note: In accordance with World Bank Procurement Regulations regarding Conflict of Interest, the consulting firm selected for this Phase 1 feasibility and design assignment will be disqualified from subsequently bidding on or providing goods, works, or non-consulting services for the downstream implementation phases (Phases 2 and 3). Project Oversight, Reporting, and Contract Management A Technical Committee (TC) will be established to provide strategic direction, oversight, and effective management of the engagement. Chaired by the Grant Coordinator and composed of members from DGCS/MoIM, OMSAR and other relevant government representatives, as appropriate. The Consultant shall report to the designated Grant/Project Coordinator and shall work closely with the DGCS focal point. The Consultant shall submit brief progress updates and participate in periodic review meetings. Any issue that may materially affect scope, schedule, cost or downstream procurement readiness shall be escalated promptly. The TC Approval Gate/ Grant Coordinator and Deliverable Acceptance The Grant Coordinator, in consultation with the TC and relevant public entities, is the sole authority empowered to formally accept and approve project deliverables. The following administrative process applies to every milestone: • Submission: All deliverables listed in the TOR are subject to formal review. The Consultant shall submit each deliverable and a summary progress report to the TC Chairperson. • Validation: For each milestone, payment cannot be processed without written validation or sign-off from the Grant Coordinator, based in the TC’s recommendation. • Formal Acceptance: A "Certificate of Acceptance" or formal written notice signed by the TC Chairperson is a mandatory prerequisite for the release of payment. Payment Schedule and Invoicing Payments will be made upon the satisfactory acceptance of the deliverables specified in the below Timeframe table. To initiate payment, the Consultant must submit an administrative phase containing the Official Invoice, evidence of delivery, and the Acceptance Notice delivered by the TC Chairperson. Payments will be processed within thirty (30) days after the submission of the official invoice along with the formally accepted deliverable. Intellectual Property and Confidentiality • Ownership: All documents, data, analyses, and materials produced shall become the exclusive property of Government of Lebanon represented by the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities. The Consultant shall not publish, reuse or disclose assignment materials without prior written approval from the Ministry of Interior and Municipalities. Final payment is contingent upon the transfer of all such intellectual property. • Confidentiality: The Consultant shall maintain strict confidentiality of all information accessed during the assignment and ensure no information is disclosed outside the scope of this contract. Indicative Schedule and Payment Milestones The assignment is expected to be completed within a maximum of three months (approximately 12 weeks) from contract signature. The Consultant shall undertake the ten tasks in parallel, with D2 targeted for Week 9 to provide sufficient time for fieldwork, stakeholder consultations and technical assessments. Approximately three weeks shall then be reserved for consolidation, prioritisation, sequencing, validation and preparation of D3. Milestone Deliverable Target Indicative payment 1 D1 – Inception Report and Work Plan Week 2 20% 2 D2 – Upstream Readiness and Baseline Assessment Week 9 40% 3 D3 – Priority Feasibility and Downstream Investment Roadmap Week 12 40%