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The pilot regions implementing PRIOR's strategy are North West federal district (federal district level); Tatarstan Republic, Stavropol Kraj, Kaliningrad, Novgorod, Perm, Tula, and Chelyabinsk regions, Khanty-Mansi autonomous region, and Saint Petersburg (subject of the federation level); and city of Magnitogorsk (municipal level). These regions were most active in forming the regional e-development partnerships, creating regional strategies of Information Society development, and establishing regional gateway portals. The Partnership will continuously put forth its best efforts to develop its activities in other 'subjects of the federation' and federal districts.
PRIOR will expand its work to other regions of the country, taking into account the experience of project implementation in the pilot regions. This approach will allow PRIOR to:
- Take into account the specific conditions in different Russian regions while organizing informational and investment services within PRIOR;
- Adjust and append the model for the creation of national gateways within the global Development Gateway Program; and
- Create an extensive network of representative offices within the PRIOR organizational structure.
Approaches to PRIOR's Regional Outreach Policy
One of PRIOR's primary tasks is to provide assistance for the regions in preparing and implementing their e-Development programs in close collaboration with local governmental authorities, private sector, civil society organizations, research and education community, sponsors and investors.
The major aspects of the regional outreach policy will correspond to PRIOR s goals and objectives while also taking into account the specific conditions of policy implementation in each region. PRIOR will assist regions in identifying the main factors hindering their dynamic advancement towards the Information Society as well as recommend the basic policy framework and methodology for creating the regional e-Development concepts and programs.
Accumulating the experience of the global Development Gateway and information on e-Development activities in various countries, PRIOR can provide regions with the necessary know-how, technologies, and knowledge banks on specific aspects of development. PRIOR possesses its own substantial expert, consultative, and methodological resources to develop documents and solutions meeting international standards. The global Development Gateway brand and the special status of a nonprofit development initiative give PRIOR the right to request consulting services from the leading world experts and companies.
On the one hand, PRIOR provides assistance in attracting sponsor support and investments to the regions, on the other hand, it represents regional interests for participating in federal or international programs.
The Partnership plans to continue facilitating the monitoring of e-Development in the Russian regions and providing public access to the results of this analysis. PRIOR can also assist in the organizing of awareness and preparedness campaigns in the regions, targeted specifically for the decision-makers or for the general population.
Supporting Regional Activities
PRIOR supports regional activities through the partner organization, the Regional Coordinating Organization (RCO), which possesses a number of important qualities:
- Knowledge of the major development issues of the region;
- Strategic vision of the regional paths and strategies of advancing towards the evolving Information Society;
- Openness to a dialogue, new ideas, and recommendations;
- Public interest approach and willingness to invest in the future; and
- Leadership qualities combined with a proven ability for partnership collaboration.
The RCOs have the following tasks:
- To form a coalition of partners consisting of representatives of regional administrations, businesses, civil society organizations, research and education institutions, sponsor and investment organizations;
- To assist in working out a common vision and 'rules of the game' that would suit all of the partners;
- To take into account the specific conditions in a region, identifying the sectors of growth and developmental gaps;
- To create a regional development web portal based upon consolidation of existing regional information resources and generating new ones, as a part of the , and to provide services that are most in demand;
- To facilitate in preparation and/or implementation of an e-Development strategy and program for the region relying on the national and international experience;
- To foster horizontal development of the projects initiated by non-governmental organizations, private enterprises, and/or individuals; to hold consultations with representatives of all societal groups interested in the region's e-Development;
- To support the establishment and functioning of such services as e-Government, e-Learning, e-Commerce, Digital Library, and others as part of the regional development gateway portals;
- To facilitate search for partners and clients, as well as to provide the channels for online consultations, e-Transfers, online communities building, etc. through the support of the regional development portal;
- To provide incentives for the regional partners to offer their contributions in the form of content development, technologies, ideas, financial support; and
- To initiate regional projects aimed at bridging the digital divide and development through the ICT, to coordinate and/or manage these projects.
It is important for an RCO to gain the trust of local authorities and to bring the activities of the Partnership in line with the provisions of the regional policies. Participation of authorized representatives of the authorities in PRIOR's regional governing bodies can become an important factor of success.
An organization can obtain the RCO status either with a recommendation from the local authorities or through its own initiative supported by the local partners and approved by the Coordinating Board of PRIOR.
The RCO recommends candidates for the positions of the Regional Coordinator and the Regional Representative who can subsequently become PRIOR staff.
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