At the invitation of the Medical-Assistance Department of the Lebanese University (LU), SUNY/CLD experts from the Municipal Geographic Information System (MGIS) team organized a working session on May 18, 2009 for students and faculty affiliated with the Office of Social Work established by Chiyah Municipality at the initiative of a LU faculty member. UNDP team members from the Youth Program Office established in the Municipality also participated in the session.

Developed by SUNY/CLD under a comprehensive reform initiative funded by USAID, the MGIS is a powerful tool that supports enhanced municipal taxation, inspection, auditing, and planning capacities. Implemented in Chiyah as well as 19 other relatively large municipalities in Lebanon, the MGIS component complements a number of other activities implemented by SUNY/CLD to modernize work processes and organizational structures, to improve efficiency and fairness in the delivery of citizen services, and to expand the municipal revenue base.

Within the medical-social assistance curriculum, the LU students are encouraged to understand the interplay between municipal performance and social development, and the potential they can offer in sustaining overall community development through informed and appropriate use of municipal tools and resources to leverage social awareness and health.

The MGIS facilitates improved administrative, financial, and engineering practices, and specifically offers a mechanism for better visualization and understanding of social data that can contribute to enhanced planning and decision-making.

Following a general presentation regarding the SUNY/CLD project and a live demonstration of the MGIS (using 'masked' municipal data and maps), a question and answer session was conducted. Topics covered included SUNY/CLD experience related to the practical benefits from the use of the MGIS in terms of municipal performance followed by an exercise to 'mirror' this experience with municipal social work.