Year
2020 - Present
Saida
The Technical Office at the Municipality of Saida is a project established to enhance the municipality’s effectiveness in serving the local community by providing technical assistance and ensuring the proper implementation of municipal projects throughout planning, design, and implementation. The office was established and operated by UN-Habitat from 2018 until 2020, later operated by Hariri Foundation up to this day. The office is an administrative unit within the Municipality of Saida mandated to complement the work of existing municipal departments through technical operations and community engagement in the planning and execution of municipal projects. The office works closely with stakeholders to identify needs and develop solutions while avoiding duplication and overlapping. Its scope of work covers engineering, disaster risk management, socioeconomic development, and the prevention of violent extremism. The Technical Office is responsible for designing a comprehensive database of up-to-date municipal files and analyzing existing data to inform evidence-based policies, plans, and programs. The office is specialized for digitizing available files, developing state-of-the art geospatial maps and technical plans, and preparing concept notes for potential projects and activities. The office is also responsible for monitoring and evaluating the implementation of local strategies and plans and developing regular reports on the status of local development.
Amidst the socioeconomic crisis and the COVID-19 pandemic in 2020, Hariri Foundation partnered with the Disaster Risk Management Unit at the Lebanese Presidency of the Council of Ministers, the Federation of Municipalities of Saida-Zahrani and the Lebanese Red Cross to establish a legal crisis and disaster risk management unit at the local level. The unit aimed at consolidating the efforts of the 16 municipalities in Saida-Zahrani in managing crisis and disaster risks and to align them with the National Strategy for Disaster Risk Management. Hariri Foundation collaborated with national and local partners to equip and support the unit and its operations room, linking local pre-established sectoral networks with local authorities to enhance preparedness for disasters and adopting scientific indicators in disaster risk reduction and disaster risk management. To this day, Hariri Foundation supports the unit through data management and geographic information system services, informing the unit’s strategic decisions for preparedness and multi-agency response. The foundation works with the unit to promote partnerships and tools for data-driven decision-making as well as community-based disaster risk management through outreach and joint planning with the local community.
