PRIOR is a volunteer association of organizations and individuals putting together their efforts and resources in order to provide mutual informational, technological, consulting, financial, organizational, and other types of support to reach common goals.

PRIOR's major goal is to facilitate dynamic and comprehensive development of an Information Society and to build the Knowledge Economy in Russia.

Through its work PRIOR strives to facilitate:

• Developing the legal and economic environment that would enable Russia to utilize its human power, scientific and cultural advantage, and the modern information and communication technology to effectively compete with the developed world;
• Forming the new public culture, which would entail active citizen participation in adopting and implementing the crucial decisions regarding the societal life;
• Bridging the socioeconomic divide through widespread public access to relevant information resources and public services; and
• Improving the citizens standard of living by expanding the production and consumption of higher value products and services of the modern information technology industry.

In order to achieve the aforementioned goals, it is necessary to:

• Form effective partnership between the key development players for the purposes of designing and implementing the national strategy of Russia’s advancement towards the Information Society as well as the relevant programs and policies at the regional and local levels;
• Assist in developing (1) the legal base of the Information Society, (2) the infrastructure of information processing and communications channels, (3) an effective national system of applying innovations, (4) the strategy for educating and training qualified knowledge workers, and (5) relevant local informational content and services;
• Promote and implement such concepts of the information society as e-Governance, e-Government, e-Business, network society, distance learning, digital libraries, etc.;
• Actively diffuse innovations and acquire knowledge and experience in development work at the national, regional, and local levels;
• Attract investments and gain attention of the international organizations for resolving developmental issues in Russia and its regions; and
• Strengthen the international, national and local projects and initiatives through effective dissemination of best practice knowledge and experience in the development field.

PRIOR aims at achieving the following specific objectives

• Promote the national and international dialogue on developing Information Society and build the Knowledge Economy through traditional and electronic media, online forums, conferences and other professional meetings, etc.;
• Assist in the implementation of partnership-based programs and projects aimed at development through ICT;
• Assist in self-organization of development groups, in knowledge integration and sharing experience regarding the sphere of e-Development;
• Organize public activity to foster the development of an Information Society;
• Establish a unified methodological and terminological base regarding the fields of Information Society and Knowledge Economy;
• Implement projects and events directed at engaging socially disadvantaged population groups in active use of existing wealth of knowledge and information for their development. This includes creation of the public access centers providing basic training for users;
• Carry out activities necessary to raise public awareness of the benefits of ICT use for development. This includes organizing awareness raising campaigns and implementing projects, which demonstrate the ICT potential for everyday life and work, etc.;
• Organize consulting services dealing with opportunities for development through the use of knowledge and ICT for various groups of users (decision-makers, managers and specialists from different organizations, representatives of small and medium size enterprises (SMEs), individuals, and others);
• Provide incentives for the content development of the Russian information resources available online;
• Accumulate and disseminate of expert knowledge dealing with e-Development;
• Provide access of the Russian users to the best practice solutions and know-how regarding development;
• Assist the Russian companies in entering the international markets for information products and services;
• Offer the expertise and assistance for the Russian companies to develop effective and efficient business models for ICT use as well as organizing pilot stations for testing and implementation of innovative solutions;
• Provide potential investors and donors as well as potential grant applicants with comprehensive and well-coordinated information regarding the relevant programs, projects, and initiatives in the field of e-Development.

In addition to the above, the following systemic objectives are set out:

• Creation of an effective coordination system for PRIOR activities, which would guarantee active involvement of participants from all spheres, including representatives of government, business, civil society, research and education community, and donor organizations;
• Promoting the role and functional focus of the Russia Development Gateway Portal as an interactive and collaborative environment for all the key players facilitating e-Development and as an effective means of integrating the expert knowledge in the sphere of development;
• Creation of a project-based funding system for initiatives applying ICT for societal development in Russia . The system would also include fundraising and attracting investments for implementing specific PRIOR projects and events; and
• Development of a public support system for PRIOR activities.

Successful accomplishment of PRIOR's goals and objectives will significantly complement the total of the existing initiatives in the country, which are directed at promoting the Information Society and the Knowledge Economy and supporting the new types of activities demanded by the modern society.

 e-Governanceis a process whereby organizations, companies and population groups formulate their needs and wants, realize their rights, obligations, and capabilities, and settle emerging controversies. This process requires a search for ways of implementing more effective, transparent, and participatory forms of governance in the knowledge societies at the local, regional, national, and global levels.

 Electronic business (e-Business) is conducting business using the paperless office and electronic transactions through the Internet. E-Business includes publishing a website on the Net, establishing an e-Commerce site, forming electronic company management, and using the electronic advertisement, marketing, and B2B and B2C models.

 Electronic government (e-Government) is a term used to describe the interaction between the governmental bodies and the public with the use of the ICT.

 Digital library (e-Library)is a distributed information system, which allows to store and to effectively use heterogeneous collections of digital objects (text, graphics, audio, video, etc.) through the global data transmission networks in the format convenient for the end-user.

 Distance learning is a new way of providing education, based upon the use of the modern ICT, which allow executing the educational process across distances without direct personal contact between a teacher and a student.

 The Information Society is defined as the current development stage of the modern civilization, which is characterized by the increased role of the information and knowledge in the life of the global society, by the growth of the telecommunications and information products and services share in the gross domestic product (GDP), by the formation of the global information infrastructure enabling effective interaction and information exchange among people, providing their access to the global knowledge, and satisfying social and individual needs for information products and services.

According to PRIOR's definition, the concept of Information Society development includes the following:

• Increasingly widespread utilization of information and knowledge in the economy and social sphere;
• Change in the relative weight of the national economy sectors in the combined employment and in the structure of the gross national product (GNP) towards escalating role of the third sector; and
• Shift to the more advanced and politically neutral social state, wherein the new kinds of resources are required for efficient economy functioning, the influence of professionals and intellectuals expands, and the traditional social structures undergo substantial modification.

 There are a number of various definitions for Knowledge Economy used by the researchers and practitioners. We use the definition suggested by one of the leading specialists in this area - Program Director of the Knowledge Programs and Outreach Division at the World Bank Carl Dahlman: The economy, where innovation - the creation, acquisition and dissemination of knowledge - is the major driving force of economic and social development.

 Knowledge worker of the 21st century is, essentially, any worker who cognitively applies knowledge to their job. They are not just doing repetitive work, they are applying their understanding to a task. This could be in the form of a critical analysis of data, making decisions, innovating and communicating interpreted data to others. They operate in a fully networked and integrated world. They can take data generated by integrated systems, make sense of the data, and use and apply it for the benefit of the enterprise and/or society. Shaun Lake, Content and Technology Director, Global Trade Training, South Africa.

 Network society is a society in which the major part of informational transactions and interactions is performed with the use of the information and communication networks.