In line with Decision 72/2005 issued by the Prime Minister, the National ICT Strategy Coordinator proposes policies, develops action plans, and establishes partnerships. He raises awareness and organizes national conferences. He monitors and evaluates policies and progress by establishing indicators. In brief, the National ICT Strategy Coordinator can be thought of as the Chief Information Officer (CIO) of the Government of Lebanon. In brief, his/her Main Role is to:

1- Propose Policies: Coordinate Policies – Propose Changes – Review Legislation – Advise – Highlight Internet Governance Issues
2- Develop Action Plan: Use Focus Groups – Best Practices – Identify Priorities – Strategic Projects – Push and Coordinate Implementation
3- Establish Partnerships: National Advisory Board – Stakeholders Inter-ministerial Committee – Donors PPP - Private, People Academia
4- Raise Awareness and Advocate: Secure Support – Build ICT Coalition – National Conferences
5- Monitor, Assess and Evaluate: Policy Monitoring and Assessment – Activity Reports – Statistical Indicators.

The National ICT Strategy Coordinator advises the President of the Council of Ministers on the best policy to adopt for moving Lebanon towards its strategic goals. While many policies are generated from individual ministries, the job of the Coordinator is to keep every policy maker informed and aware of all the happenings and the moves, with the aim of reaching alignment between the various policies reaching the Council of Ministers for discussion and approval.

The National ICT Startegy Coordinator has a major role in implementing priority projects, or overseeing the implementation of priority projects. While all work is good, priority projects are those believed to best serve Lebanon’s advancement at this time towards accomplishing its goals according to the strategy set forth. The priority projects seek to encourage the developing new technologies to boost the country’s economy as well as the citizen’s everyday life.
Not all priority projects are implemented by the National ICT Strategy unit. For more information, check Our Priorities section.

First and foremost, the National ICT Strategy Coordinator’s main function is to remain close to all ICT stakeholders, and coordinate the various efforts and initiatives being implemented here and there. The dialogue and exchange of ideas, best practices, and lessons learned must remain open between the public sector, the private sector, academia, and the public at large.

a. Within the Public Sector, not one entity has a direct mandate over Information Technology. As a matter of fact, many entities have partial ICT functions as part of their mandate. These include:

• Ministry of Telecommunications
• Telecommunications Regulatory Authority
• Office of the Minister of State for Administrative Reform
• Ministry of Economy and Trade
• Ministries of Finance, Interior, Health, Education
• Ministry of Industry – Industrial Research Institute (IRI) and LIBNOR
• Centre National de Recherche Scientifique (CNRS)
• Investment Development Authority of Lebanon (IDAL)
• Higher Council of Privatization.

b. Within the Private Sector the stakeholders include:

• Kafalat
• Representatives of the ICT Sector (PCA and ALSI)
• Technology incubators (Berytech, BIAT, SOUTBIC)
• Technology accelerators (Sequence)

c. Within Civil Society, several NGOs are players in the ICT realm. These include

• The Internet Society
• Women in IT
• Social Media Exchange
• Baldati
• Saradar Foundation e-caravan

d. International Organizations are active players in the ICT field and most have ICT mandates, divisions, and programs targeting ICT For Development. These include

• United Nations Development Program
• ESCWA
• The World Bank / InfoDev
• The European Delegation

e. Last but not least, Universities and Academia form an integral part of the ICT ecosystem.

The National ICT Strategy Coordinator is the major advocate for ICT as an enabler for economic and social development. For that, he/she must always ensure that the facts are known and that the various stakeholders groups are informed. Technology is a very fast moving field, a fair amount of explaining and raising awareness about the various happenings is always needed.

Using indicators and other scientific tools, the National ICT Strategy Coordinator monitors and evaluates the advancement of Lebanon towards its ICT Goals by measuring the policies enacted by the Government. On the other hand, the Coordinator also assesses the Level of Implementation of the ICT Strategy.