On Wednesday 22nd, March 2023, the World Bank’s Caribbean Physical and Financial Resilience
Building (CPFRB) technical assistance project, in collaboration with the Ministry of Housing and Urban
Development and CREAD, hosted a pilot Training of Trainers (ToT) Program for building professionals.
Well planned and durable infrastructure remains one of the core focus areas in the CRRP. The
Government of the Commonwealth of Dominica through the establishment of CREAD will ensure that
Dominicans construct safe and resilient infrastructure thereby saving lives, protecting the vulnerable,
creating jobs, spurring local economies, and providing a cost-effective and long-term solutions to the
qualitative housing deficit that countries throughout the world are currently experiencing.
This capacity-building programme under the CPFRB Project was an important opportunity for building
professionals to gain valuable knowledge and understanding of the OECS Building Code 2015 and its
implementation and covered the following: Module 1 – Understanding and Applying National Building
Codes, Module 2 – The Hazard-Housing Nexus, Risk Mitigation: The Three C’s and Risk Mitigation
through Code Compliance and Module 3 – Risk Communication and Stakeholder Engagement. The
training, which will be conducted over three days was facilitated by the Institute for Building Technology
and Safety (IBTS). Sessions commence on Wednesday 22nd March 2023, and concluded on Friday
24th March 2023.
Permanent Secretary in the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development, Dr. Kyra Paul stated that this
initiative provides Dominica with one additional score point in the delivery of the Climate Resilience and
Recovery Plan (CRRP). She continued, that it was a pleasure for Dominica to be chosen as the country
for the pilot.
CREAD’s CEO, Francine Baron expressed that the programme is just one cog in the wheel, of what is
a comprehensive approach to building greater resilience of Dominica’s built infrastructure. “We have
taken the task of building resilience seriously, and we are approaching it from every angle. We are
adjusting our practices, we are tightening our laws, regulations, and policies to ensure alignment to our
resilience agenda.” said Ms. Baron.
World Bank Representatives Mr. John Bryant, Sector Leader for Sustainable Development for the
Caribbean and Dr. Rashmin Gunasekera Senior Disaster Risk Specialist and Technical Team Leader
for the CPFRB Project also delivered remarks at the opening of the Training of the Trainers session.
Both expressed the commitment of the Bank to work with Dominica in the achievement of its resilience
goals and in building capacity in Dominica and the region, particularly in areas of risk management and
financial and physical resilience. They emphasized the role that training participants need to play in
imparting the knowledge gained over the three days to their community and others.
The Caribbean Regional Capacity Building Program for Building Professionals aims to enhance the
technical knowledge of the public and private sector in Dominica on the implementation of risk-informed
building codes, strengthen relationships between public officials and private sector professionals for
greater compliance with building codes and to develop a culture of building safety throughout Dominica.
CREAD is pleased to have collaborated with the World Bank, the Institute of Building Technology and
Safety, and the Ministry of Housing and Urban Development to deliver the training session to twenty
five participants from the public and private sector. It has served to deepen their knowledge of the
OECS Building Codes and empower them to share that knowledge with others, to improve
implementation of a more resilient approach to construction in Dominica.
