The United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS) has rolled out a Request For Information (RFI) in which it solicits information from the blockchain industry to identify potential partners/suppliers for the future work in the area of international humanitarian, development, or peacekeeping assistance.

The UNOPS has formed and maintained UN Blockchain Group – a multi-UN agency group on blockchain technology, consisting of UNOPS, the UN Development Programme (UNDP), UN Women, the UN Children's Fund (UNICEF), WFP, the UN Development Group (UNDG), and the UN High Commissioner for Refugees (UNHCR). It has identified the potential of the technology to significantly improve the efficiency, transparency, and accountability in the humanitarian, development, or peacekeeping assistance.

The latest RFI will support ongoing market research to identify firms capable of providing blockchain-based solutions and conceptual blockchain-based framework for international assistance. In addition, it also seeks to identify firms that are interested in pursuing the potential use of blockchain technology for the international assistance with the multi-UK agency group.

The RFI seeks responses in areas including tracking of fund, tracking of goods and products, AML/KYC, identity management, self-auditability, data storage, regulations, interoperability, and distribution of value, among others.

Interested respondents have until June 4, 2017, to submit the information. While the RFI does not require registration with the UN Global Marketplace (UNGM), registration is mandatory to be able to do business with the UNOPS in the future.

“In close collaboration with World Bank (WB) and Inter-American Development Bank (IDB), we are working on to organize the information received in the way to cater the needs of the multinational development and humanitarian community”, the UN Blockchain said in an online post.

Responders may be required to give a presentation to UNOPS and multi-UN agency group for the information provided as a response to this RFI, the official announcement said.