Events

SALISES GenAI4D Observatory

PROJECT BRIEF

SALISES GenAI4D Observatory and Dashboard for the Caribbean

Inclusive, Ethical, and Evidence-Driven GenAI for All

Background and Rationale

The digital Information and Communications Technology for Development (ICT4D) revolution in Small Island Developing States (SIDS) in the Caribbean have not yet delivered the equitable growth once promised. This earlier ICT4D movement, spanning the 1990s through 2020, expanded connectivity and profits for many big tech companies, consultants and firms, but failed to ensure meaningful inclusion or measurable development outcomes for many residing across the SIDS. Many initiatives lacked baseline data, readiness assessment, evaluation frameworks, and reliable metrics, resulting in fragmented progress and widening inequalities. Data for development was fragmented and, in some instances, inaccessible (because of a lack of awareness of its existence). As Generative AI (GenAI) reshapes development strategies, and as many international agencies and governments promote GenAI as a development tool (GenAI4D), there is an urgent need for a rigorous, transparent evidence system that ensures AI’s benefits are inclusive, ethical, and sustainable. The Sir Arthur Lewis Institute for Social and Economic Studies GenAi4D Observatory for Readiness, Baseline Intelligence, and Transformation or the SALISES-ORBIT initiative for short is a GenAI4D Observatory and Dashboard will fill this gap by systematically collecting data, monitoring, evaluating, and forecasting GenAI’s impact across the Caribbean. It will serve as a policy and investment intelligence hub, guiding governments, private sector actors, and development partners toward equitable and data-driven AI adoption.

Purpose and Objectives

Goal:
Enable inclusive, ethical, and evidence-driven GenAI adoption across the Caribbean, by institutionalizing baselines, readiness diagnostics, continuous Monitoring and Evaluation and Learning, risk safeguards, and open accountability so that GenAI investments improve development outcomes and do not widen the digital divide.

Core Objectives:

  • Establish a Regional Evidence Baseline and Readiness Index: Design and publish a Minimum Baseline Dataset and a SIDS GenAI Readiness & Equity Index for 12 Caribbean countries within Year 1, updated annually with documented quality checks.
  • Institutionalize Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL): Require all Observatory-supported projects to have baselines, SMART indicators, and regular mid-term and end-line evaluations, producing public learning reports for transparency.
  • Map Barriers and Enablers for Action: Develop national dashboards and “what-to-fix-next” policy memos covering affordability, compute access, skills, regulation, and data governance — guiding governments and donors toward evidence-based reform priorities.
  • Operationalize Ethics and Accountability: Implement a SIDS GenAI Ethics Toolkit (aligned with UNESCO/ABAS) adopted by at least 10 public bodies and 50 organizations; integrate bias testing, privacy safeguards, and fairness metrics across pilots.
  • Embed Risk Management and Responsible AI Safeguards: Maintain a live Risk Register and Public Risk Dashboard; conduct Algorithmic Impact Assessments and annual “red-teaming” of AI systems; enforce due diligence and independent audits of vendors and models.
  • Build Human Capacity and Communities of Practice: Train 500 practitioners (with ≥50 % women and meaningful youth participation), develop 5 toolkits, and sustain 3 communities of practice linking government, private sector, and civil society.
  • Forecast Outcomes and Guide Investment: Produce quarterly metrics, early-warning notes, and annual forecasting reports; issue investment briefs to help international organizations and donors de-risk and prioritize high-impact initiatives.
  • Operate an Open Evidence and Transparency Hub: Launch an Open Data Portal and GenAI Project Registry featuring scorecard dashboards and an annual State of GenAI4D in SIDS Report, allowing governments, firms, and donors to track progress.
  • Coordinate Regionally and Scale What Works: Convene at least two regional stakeholder meetings per year; sign MOUs with national and international institutions; replicate five successful models across additional SIDS by Year 3.
  • Mainstream Inclusion, Equity, and Climate-Smart Design: Disaggregate all indicators by gender, age, disability, and location; demonstrate measurable gap-narrowing in affordability, skills, and participation; and promote low-compute, green, disaster-resilient approaches.

Beneficiaries & Geographic Focus

  • Primary beneficiaries: Ministries of Digital Transformation, Education, Health, Tourism and Finance; regulators; statistics offices; disaster agencies; MSMEs; sector associations.
  • Secondary beneficiaries: Civil society organizations, universities, youth and women networks, disability groups, local innovators, media.
  • Geographic coverage: Caribbean SIDS in years 1–2; expansion to Atlantic, Indian Ocean, Mediterranean and Pacific (AIMS) SIDS by year 3.
  • Inclusion focus: Ensure participation of women, youth, persons with disabilities, indigenous peoples and migrants through quotas, accessible formats (WCAG), local languages and targeted scholarships

Strategic Relevance for Funding Agencies and International Partners

For funding agencies, the Observatory offers tangible impact and long-term value:

  • Evidence before investment: It replaces anecdotal decision-making with reliable data, reducing financial and reputational risks.
  • Alignment with global frameworks: The project operationalizes the Antigua and Barbuda Agenda for SIDS (ABAS 2024–2034) and UNESCO AI Ethics principles, ensuring donor alignment with established UN priorities.
  • Regional scalability: Comparable indicators across SIDS enable regional benchmarking and replication of best practices.
  • De-risking development finance: Forecasting models and readiness indices help donors and investors channel funds toward evidence-ready, high-impact initiatives.

For the Caribbean, the benefits are immediate and structural:

  • The country becomes a Caribbean innovation leader in responsible AI governance.
  • Local researchers, public institutions, and entrepreneurs gain access to training, data, and international partnerships.
  • The Observatory strengthens Caribbean country’s global competitiveness while ensuring that AI contributes to jobs, productivity, and equity.

Why SALISES Mona

The Sir Arthur Lewis Institute of Social and Economic Studies (SALISES), UWI Mona, is uniquely positioned to host the Observatory because of its:

  • Academic excellence and policy credibility – over 20 years of ICT4D leadership and evidence-based research across SIDS.
  • World-class expertise – home to the region’s top scholars in ICT4D and GenAI4D. SALISES recently completed Jamaica’s National Knowledge, Attitudes, and Practices (KAP) Study on GenAI and is launching multiple sectoral studies.
  • Experienced leadership – under Professor Lloyd Waller, Professor of Digital Transformation, who has managed major ICT4D and UN-system projects and led over 100 studies globally.
  • Regional and international networks – partnerships with CARICOM, OECS, ITU, UNESCO, UNDP, IDB, and the World Bank ensure strong collaboration and policy uptake.
  • Operational capacity – SALISES has robust financial systems, governance protocols, and experience managing multi-partner, multimillion-dollar programs.

Project Activities

This design deliberately avoids ICT4D’s past mistakes by hard-wiring baselines, readiness diagnostics, ethics, and accountability into every step of GenAI adoption in SIDS, with SALISES anchoring a neutral, region-rooted platform that links credible metrics to policy action, capacity building, and open public reporting and the Caribbean acting as the pilot. It follows a closed-loop cycle, measure - diagnose - act - learn & scale, through four components:

Component 1: Measurement & Analytics (Observatory Core)

  • GenAI4D Readiness Index: A composite index assessing governance readiness, data and infrastructure, skills, inclusion, digital public infrastructure (DPI), safety and ethics. Benchmarking will draw on ITU and Oxford Insights indicators.
  • Project & Policy Registry: A dynamic map of GenAI initiatives, capturing project details, funding, populations served, inclusion and risk metrics.
  • Pulse dashboards: Near real‑time connectivity, affordability and skills metrics using data from the SIDS Global Data Hub and national statistics.
  • Forecasting models: Bayesian and scenario‑based tools to project costs, benefits, employment shifts, energy/carbon impacts and social inclusion outcomes of GenAI portfolios.

Component 2: Country Diagnostics & Policy Support

  • Deep‑dive: Analyses of 10 countries covering legal/regulatory gaps (data protection, procurement, IP), DPI status, language resources, compute access, skills, and inclusion barriers.
  • Action plans: 18–24‑month prioritized reforms; donor investment notes.
  • Standards alignment: Practical implementation guides for UNESCO AI ethics and procurement guardrails.
  • Learning from ICT4D: Each diagnostic will document past ICT4D projects’ outcomes, identifying where lack of baseline and evaluation impaired success.

Component 3: Capacity & Adoption Lab

  • Training programmes: GenAI literacy, prompt engineering, evaluation methods, ethics, DPI, cybersecurity. Uses train‑the‑trainer (ToT) models embedded in national institutions.
  • Pilots and challenge fund (30 projects): Low‑bandwidth AI assistants for health workers and teachers; MSME productivity tools; tourism resilience analytics; hurricane/disaster information services; culturally relevant creative‑industry applications. Pilots will include baseline surveys, mid‑term reviews and final evaluations to avoid ICT4D mistakes.
  • Local‑language models: Support for Caribbean creoles and indigenous languages; open datasets and lexicons for low‑resource languages.

Component 4: Knowledge, Advocacy & Community of Practice

  • Annual Observatory Report: Synthesis of readiness scores, project results, lessons learned and policy recommendations.
  • Knowledge products: Toolkits, open datasets, policy briefs and sector playbooks.
  • Regional convenings and donor roundtables: Share findings, coordinate investments, ensure accountability.
  • Communications: Donor‑compliant visibility; social media campaigns; community radio segments for rural audiences.

Core Outcomes of the SALISES GenAI4D Observatory and Dashboard

  1. Enable Evidence-Based Investment and Policy Planning
    The dashboard will provide real-time, standardized data on Jamaica’s GenAI readiness, inclusion, and equity. This empowers international organizations, investors, and government agencies to:
    • Identify high-impact sectors (education, tourism, MSMEs, health) ready for GenAI investment.
    • Align programs with national baselines, avoiding duplication.
    • Forecast social, economic, and environmental returns before funding.
  2. Strengthen Accountability, Monitoring, and Risk Management
    The Observatory will track ongoing GenAI projects and provide a transparent view of outcomes, funding flows, and impacts. It will:
    • Flag risks related to bias, ethics, or inequality early.
    • Enforce Algorithmic Impact Assessments and red-teaming mechanisms.
    • Ensure compliance with UNESCO AI ethics and Jamaica’s digital transformation strategy—reducing reputational and fiduciary risks for funders.
  3. Facilitate Collaboration and Inclusive Growth
    The platform will serve as a knowledge and coordination hub, connecting government ministries, private firms, academia, and international partners. It will:
    • Build communities of practice linking MSMEs, civil society, and youth innovators.
    • Enable multi-sector partnerships through shared data and resources.
    • Expand digital inclusion and equitable access to AI-related opportunities.
  4. Institutionalize Learning, Evaluation, and Ethical Standards
    The Observatory will embed continuous Monitoring, Evaluation, and Learning (MEL) and ethical governance into all GenAI4D projects. It will:
    • Require all funded projects to establish baselines and SMART indicators.
    • Publish regular mid-term and end-line evaluation reports.
    • Operationalize a SIDS GenAI Ethics Toolkit aligned with UNESCO and ABAS standards, ensuring transparent, bias-aware implementation.
  5. Build Regional Resilience and Scaling Pathways
    By 2028, the Observatory will establish a Caribbean-wide GenAI4D Readiness and Equity Index, replicated across multiple SIDS. It will:
    • Produce annual “State of GenAI4D in SIDS” reports and open evidence dashboards.
    • Coordinate regional policy alignment and capacity building across ministries and private sectors.
    • Scale successful pilot projects across additional SIDS, embedding sustainability, low-carbon computing, and disaster-resilient designs.

Project Design and Sustainability

The Observatory will operate through four integrated components:

  1. Measurement and Analytics: Readiness Index, dashboards, and forecasting tools.
  2. Country Diagnostics and Policy Support: Legal, ethical, and infrastructure gap analyses with actionable reform plans.
  3. Capacity and Adoption Lab: Training, safe-to-fail pilots, and inclusion metrics.
  4. Knowledge and Advocacy: Toolkits, playbooks, open data, and regional convenings.

Sustainability will be secured through integration into ABAS and national digital strategies, revenue from training and analytics services, and partnerships with donors and the private sector.

Project Principles

The project will be guided by the following development principles

  • Equity and the Inclusion of ALL Social Groups (particularly vulnerable groups)
  • Environmental sustainability & Climate Resilience
  • Human Rights & Leave
  • No One Behind
  • Digital Responsibility
  • Communications and visibility.

Timeline

36 Months (6-12 Month Milestones)

Investment and Value

Total Estimated Cost: USD 7.5 million (36 months)

  • Funding will support readiness assessment, pilot programs, data dashboards, training, and regional scaling.
  • Co-financing from UWI, cloud providers, and development agencies will supplement donor contributions.

Value to Donors:

  • Economy: Shared procurement and open-source tools.
  • Efficiency: Regional data systems with reusable methodologies.
  • Effectiveness: Targeted reforms and safe pilot programs.
  • Equity: Measurable inclusion outcomes (gender, youth, disability, and location).

By hosting the GenAI4D Observatory at UWI’ SALISES Mona Data Bank, Caribbean countries will lead the globe in shaping a future where Generative AI serves all, responsibly, inclusively, and empirically. For international development partners, this initiative offers a strategic, data-driven platform to ensure that AI investments deliver sustainable, equitable growth across SIDS.