Strategies and programmes

On 24 April the Higher School of Economics held its latest meeting of students and teachers, devoted to the country's Social and Economic Development Strategy to 2020, as part of the Spring Dialogue: Politicians and Students project. On this occasion, students could put their questions on Strategy-2020 to Alexei KUDRIN, minister for finance from 2000 to 2011 and honorary professor at HSE.

On 14 February, Skolkovo Moscow School of Management hosted the conference New potential for the Skolkovo Fund as Operator of the Intergovernmental Programme for Innovative Collaboration between member states of the CIS until 2020. Rossotrudnichestvo [Federal Agency for the Commonwealth of Independent States, Compatriots Living Abroad and International Humanitarian Cooperation], a client and coordinator of the Programme, organised the conference together with the Skolkovo Fund.
The conference attracted representatives of the CIS Executive Committee, specialist committees of the State Duma and Russian Federation Council, the Russian Economic Development Ministry, the Russian Foreign Ministry, the Russian Education and Science Ministry, the Russian Academy of Science, the Higher School of Economics, national public customers and national developers of the Programmers and representatives of the Skolkovo Fund.

On 10 December, the Higher School for Economics held the first meeting of the International Consultative Council (ICC) on the strategy for Moscow's socioeconomic development until 2025.
The capital's government appointed a research team, representing the Russian Presidential Academy of the National Economy and Public Administration and NRU HSE, to elaborate the strategy for Moscow's socioeconomic development until 2025.  Work got underway at the two institutions of higher education in the summer of 2011 and it was decided to bring in foreign experts, too.
The ICC's objective is to assess the suggestions of the Russian experts from the standpoint of international experience of developing major cities.

The vital issue, raised at the recent meeting of the Presidium of the State Council as to which system should be used to assess the work of regional heads and whether or not, to this end, a new "synthetic" indicator of "modernisation success of the regions" should be introduced, which, according to Dmitry Medvedev, would be linked with "the governor's personal success and with his ultimate fate", is a matter of concern for the vast minority of the population. That said, this minority is extremely influential: the governors themselves, Dmitry Medvedev and the current acting head of the Finance Ministry Anton Siluanov,' writes Kommersant Dengi in its article entitled Federation on Subsidies. The matter of regional differentiation that this article raises was the subject of comment by Nadezhda SIVASHEVA and Vladimir ELISEENKO, experts from the Centre for Regional Programmes to Enhance Public and Municipal Administration at IPAMM NRU HSE.

On 15 November 2011, a meeting was held of committee heads from the Russian Chamber Commerce and Industry, dedicated to a discussion of key aspects of Russia's socioeconomic development, as set out in the Strategy-2020 project. The event was opened and hosted by President of the Russian CCI Sergei KATYRIN.
The expert reports to the meeting were preceded by a brief welcoming address by NRU HSE Rector Yaroslav KUZMINOV. Reports were also presented by head of the expert group Optimising the state's presence: reducing regulatory functions, ensuring transparency and feedback in relations with civilians and business Andrei KLIMENKO, head of the expert group Strengthening market institutions. Ensuring stable conditions for ownership and development of competition and stimulating small business Andrei YAKOVLEV and head of the expert group Human health and habitat Sergei SHISHKIN. 

On 18 October in St Petersburg, the Council of the Heads of the Commonwealth of Independent States adopted the intergovernmental programme for innovative collaboration until 2020, elaborated by the HSE. Deputy Director of the Institute for Public and Municipal Management Vladimir KOROLEV talks about the essence and the principal objectives of the programme.

On 18 October, St Petersburg hosted the 58th meeting of the Council of CIS Government Heads, where the key events involved the members' signing of the CIS Free Trade Area Agreement and adoption of the Intergovernmental Programme for Innovative Cooperation of the CIS member states for the period until 2020.
The leading developer of the Programme, the National Research University - the Higher School of Economics is assuming the role of coordination and technical centre for supporting and organising cooperation on a comprehensive scale between the national contact centres.

Experts from the Centre for Regional Programmes to Enhance Public and Municipal Administration at IPAMM NRU HSE have set about development of the Strategy for the Socio-economic Development of Moscow up to 2025.