Trade Ministry wins best online public service award

The Ministry of Trade and Industry has been awarded the best online public service award for its TTBizLink platform.

The award was presented at the Ministry of Public Administration’s (MPA) Public Service Excellence Awards at the Hyatt Regency Hotel on June 20.

The award recognises ministries, departments, or agencies demonstrating excellence in delivering online services to citizens.

TTBizLink is Trinidad and Tobago's national Single Electronic Window (SEW) for trade and business facilitation. It provides access to various government services related to trade and business.

Since its launch in 2012, TTBizLink has offered 36 government e-services from 22 departments across seven ministries, including the Tobago House of Assembly and the TT Chamber of Industry and Commerce.

Over 4,800 companies and 45,000 individuals use TTBizLink for transactions involving licences, permits, certificates and regulatory approvals.

TTBizLink offers features such as detailed guides, pre-populated fields, multi-format document uploads, internal comment sharing, performance data access, electronic signatures, approved document receipt and online payments.

It has undergone significant developments in recent years. The Trade and Business Information Portal (TBIP) was launched in May 2022, providing resources such as guidance on importing/exporting goods, regulatory requirements for investments and market intelligence tools.

The enhanced application software, introduced in July 2023, improved the platform's agility, scalability and user-friendliness.

TTBizLink collaborates with other government ministries, including Agriculture, Land and Fisheries, Digital Transformation, Energy, Finance, Health, Labour, National Security and Works and Transport.

The award adds to TTBizLink’s list of recognitions, including:

- Winner for Innovation in Institutional Coordination at the 2019 Inter-American Award in Innovation (OAS).

- Second place at the 2018 IDB President’s Award for Service Excellence and Innovation in the Public Sector.

- Winner for Improvement of Public Services at the 2016 Awards of Excellence in Electronic Government (excelGOV).

- Diamond Standard Certification (2015) from the MPA for excellence in public sector service delivery.

- Finalist in the 2014 CAPAM International Innovation Awards for Innovation in Government Services and Programmes.

- Winner for Promoting Whole-of-Government Approaches in the Information Age at the 2013 UN Public Service Awards (UNPSA).