Syposium 2015 Booklet

Presentation 3

GIS in Social Development – by Mr Amit Seeram, PRERPU, Ministry of Social Development and Family Services

Abstract

In Trinidad and Tobago there are a number of social safety net services geared toward assisting the poor and vulnerable in securing an increased standard of living and ultimately a thrust toward social development for all. A major component to the effective delivery of these services is the integration of GIS, however, in the past, the Ministry of Social Development (MSD) has not fully utilised this very important tool and as a result its services do not fully benefit from the advantages that GIS has to offer. At its simplest, knowledge of the locations of the Ministry’s clients, can aid in accountability and transparency, give insights into the poor and vulnerable communities, which supports the decision making and resource allocation by the Ministry. In October 2014, The Poverty Reduction and Eradication Research and Policy Unit (PRERPU) has incorporated GIS into its operations to take advantage of all the benefits it has to offer. This presentation will describe how PRERPU and by extension, the MSD has taken advantage of GIS with the aim of fostering further integration and collaboration with both the public and private GIS sector.

Bio

Amit Seeram is the Vice President of the Geographic Information Systems Society of Trinidad and Tobago. Having graduated in 2010 with a BSc in Geomatics Engineering and in 2014 with a MSc Geoinformatics at the Department of Geomatics Engineering and land Management, University of the West Indies, St Augustine; He is currently working at the Ministry of Social Development and Family Services, Poverty Reduction & Eradication Research & Policy Unit as a GIS Officer to integrate GIS within their projects and alongside other disciplines.