12 Regions of Russia Will Implement Best Practices Offered by the Smolensk Region at the Relevant Solutions Store
The number of regions implementing best practices for social and economic development that are shared within the Relevant Solutions Store has increased to 53. Chief executives of 21 constituent entities of the Russian Federation have signed agreements with CEO of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives Svetlana Chupsheva on participation in the project at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum. Another 11 regions have expanded the list of proposed best practices. The project has been delivered for three years already and is in high demand. Currently the Relevant Solutions Store contains information about 77 best practices, represented in 5 groups.
“We have selected about 42 best practices of the regions, that are already described as typical ready-made solutions. They have already passed expert review procedure performed by the federal authorities and are ready for replication. These practices cover urban improvement, involving the citizens in the problem-solving process and implementing regional programmes, as well as introduction of new social and educational projects. This platform was used to sign a number of agreements with 32 regions of our country aimed to implement and replicate this successful experience within these regions,” underscored Svetlana Chupsheva, CEO of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives.
It is worth noting that under the signed agreements 12 regions are going to implement the practice offered by the Smolensk Region related to retrofitting street lighting based on the energy service agreement. For the first time these practices were successfully implemented in the Sychyovka District of the Smolensk Region in 2016. The Amur, Astrakhan, Lipetsk, Penza, Pskov, Tambov, Ulyanovsk, Kaliningrad and Novgorod Regions, Republic of Tuva, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Area and Altai Territory expressed their readiness to implement the project.
Energy service agreement is one of the most progressive forms of public and private partnership, providing the municipal entity with an opportunity to save the budget funds by improving the energy efficiency. According to the energy service agreement concluded with Rostelecom PJSC, 750 LED luminaires have been installed in 67 streets of the Sychyovka District, that allowed to increase the number of street lighting facilities in operation by 15 percent. Average intensity of street illumination has risen by more than three times. The agreement is performed using private investments, without involving the budgetary funds. Costs spent for the electrical power supplied to street luminaires have been significantly reduced – energy saving amounts to more than 70 percent.
Apart from the Sychyovka District, the project is being implemented in cooperation with Rostelecom PJSC in the Tyomkino, Monastyrschina, Vyazma, Kadymovo, Elnya, Dorogobuzh Districts.
As noted by Vera Emelyanova, Head of Department of the Best Social and Economic Practices at the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, more than 90 projects were implemented in the regions last year. Following the agreements, signed at the St. Petersburg International Economic Forum, 235 best practices will be implemented.
FOR REFERENCE
In February 2017 the Agency for Strategic Initiatives has presented the Relevant Solutions Store to the regions at the Russian Investment Forum in Sochi – the store is an online platform which collects examples of successfully implemented best practices aimed at rendering public services to the citizens, which were revealed by the results of the All-Russian Competition of Best Practices and Initiatives for the Social and Economic Development of the Regions of the Russian Federation.
All the practices are presented as ready-made solutions and contain detailed information on their implementation within the region, legal reasoning, organizational and business model for the project execution, as well as a typical roadmap.
For more information about best practices offered by the Smolensk Region and related to retrofitting street lighting based on the energy service agreement please visit the website of the Agency for Strategic Initiatives.