Abstract:

The role of science and education, represented primarily by universities, has always been important in the economic development of regions. Some universities in Russia become centers for training qualified staff for industry, as well as for scientific, cultural and social development of their regions. Such universities receive the official status of "Flagship University" of the region.

One of important tasks of a Flagship University is cooperation with local governments and business.

Petrozavodsk State University (PetrSU) is a good example how Flagship University interacts with the local government in Republic of Karelia.

Regional authorities are interested in finding joint solutions as well as in getting ready-made solutions from the academic community. In particular, the most acute and frequent is the issue of assistance in conducting research on improving socio-economic development strategies.

Analysis of the current strategies in Karelia Republic municipalities reveals their rather poor level. The reasons include the lack of clear recommendations from federal or regional levels on how to develop them, as well as the lack of qualified staff. Moreover, strategies lack the resource part, based on which this strategy should be implemented; lack risk-management and results assessment parts.

To cope with these problems, PetrSU has elaborated clear guidelines for the development and implementation of Strategies for Local Governments with a new approach to the content of recommendations. It includes:
• Three sections with different levels of complexity according to users proficiency;
• Finances recovery program of the municipality as an integral resource part of its Strategy;
• The forecast of socio-economic development of the municipality;
• Risk management for Strategy implementation;
• Results evaluation;
• Staff motivation and empowering.

Nowadays the guidelines await final acceptance by the Government of Karelia – by the Ministry of Finance and Ministry of Economic Development.

It’s a really vital issue, because the current situation in municipalities is complicated. Resources are highly limited alongside ambitious challenges. That’s why it is important to determine the directions of development and consolidate decisions and resources based on cooperation between university, industry and government.

So, developed Recommendations for clear and reasonable design of the Strategy for Social and Economic Development is a necessary tool for the development of municipalities with consideration of the business and industry interests.

At the same time, the main barrier for interaction between the university and the Government is the lack of clear guidelines for spending funding for research from regional budgets. In addition, conducting state-funded research for the need of regional industry is hampered by the legal norm that federal budget cannot be directly used for benefitting private enterprises.

The paper suggests mechanisms for overcoming this barrier, including establishment of a private equity fund and implementation of complex programs.

Keywords:

Strategies of socio-economic development, municipalities, industry, flagship university.