November 2007

NEW PROJECTS

The CFP launched a new project in Stavropol. Center for Fiscal Policy has been working with the Ministry of Finance of Stavropol Krai since 2000, introducing new budgetary techniques and improving systems of intergovernmental fiscal transfers in the region. In total, the CFP implemented more than 20 projects there positioning as the first place consultant for the regional Ministry of Finance. In November 2007 the CFP over again won the tender for updating a system of intergovernmental fiscal relations in Stavropol Krai and adjusting it to the new Budget Code.

CURRENT PROJECTS

Incorporation of performance-based budgeting mechanismsm in Social Protection, Education, Culture and Health Sectors in Lipetsk Oblast. Optimization of the managerial systems in order to improve financial sustainability of public services provision Finance Department of the Lipetsk Oblst Administration approved the CFP methodology on wage system in education in the region as the one that was more affordable and in line with the federal legislation.

Technical assistance to the Department of Finance and Treasure of the city of Vladikavkaz The CFP experts V. Dalin, N. Barbashova and A. Konkov met with the chiefs of the Vladikavkaz Administration to agree on the main directions of the municipal finance reform program in the city and to start drafting the program.

Technical assistance to the North Caucasus regions The CFP organized and facilitated round-table discussion between chiefs of the finance departments of the Northern Caucasus regions, the CFP experts and federal officials. The second round-table discussion proved to be an important milestone in the implementation of the USAID/CFP Technical Assistance to the Northern Caucasus Regions Project. The first Round Table held in December 2005 not only provided the participants with an opportunity to share the problems they faced, but allowed them to put their ideas on the table to see how those problems might be resolved within the project’s framework. CFP held the second round-table discussion on the 22nd – 23rd of November 2007 to present the mid-term outputs of the project to regional policy makers and to determine the venues where USAID/CFP assistance would contribute the most to the improvement of budgetary operations and public services delivery in one of the most complicated provinces of Russia. Nine chiefs of the NCR finance departments, including ministers and deputy ministers, of the eight Northern Caucasus regions, CFP experts and federal government officials representing the RF Ministry of Regional Development, RF Ministry of Economic Development and Trade, RF Ministry of Finance, and RF Accounting Chamber posed questions and commented on fiscal policy-related issues arising in real-life situations. The outcomes of the discussion provide the USAID/CFP project with a fundamental base for its further implementation.
Mid-term project results (in Russian)

The USAID/CFP Technical Assistance in Implementation of Fiscal and Administrative Reforms in Local Governments Project preserved the momentum it gained this past fall. After CFP held a training workshop for the Primorsky Krai municipal officials, administrations of the cities of Ussurijsk and Artiom applied for the USAID/CFP technical assistance in 2007 – 2008. To begin this new stage of the project CFP held a training workshop in Ussurijsk on the 21st of November 2007. The workshop was attended by 87 Ussurijsk and Artiom officials and representatives of public sector service delivery entities. The training was held in an interactive form so that local specialists could practice newly gained knowledge while the CFP experts were there to facilitate the training and provide the participants with ‘hand-to-hand’ help.

The CFP implements Transition to the Performance-based Budgeting in Nizhniy Novgorod Region project by the direct request from the regional administration. This project became a rather new experience for the CFP as it includes such innovative techniques as development of public services standards, development of methodology for public sector restructuring, incorporation of performance-based budgeting techniques in the budget process, training of specialists of all regional budgetary entities, and it all at once. Numerous materials on the related issues, developed by the CFP, were presented to the regional officials, and numerous training seminars were conducted for the regional specialists. On the 19th of November 2007 Dr. Kovalevskaya, Director for Business Development, conducted the last training seminar in that series that was attended by more than 200 people from throughout region

CONFERENCES, SEMINARS AND MEETINGS

Galina Kurlyandskaya, Director General, and Gleb Pokatovich, Lead Consultant, participated in the 4th International Conference on Federalism being held in Deli, India on the 5 – 7 November, 2007. The conference that brought together over 1,000 delegates from different parts of the world, was opened by Dr. Manmohan Sing, Indian Prime Minister stating that “federalism as a concept cannot be static”. To all appearance, the statement was widely shared as the conference gathered such top officials as Presidents and Ministers as well as Think Tanks from all over the world. Dr. Kurlyandskaya spoke at the How do Devolved Systems Deal with Autonomy session presenting the Russian case, and Dr. Pokatovich participated in the Are Federations Moving Towards More Rational Forms of Equalizations? As one of the participants, Major Dalbir Singh noted, “the conference has been designed in such a way so as to facilitate learning among each other, and is a culmination of efforts of numerous experts from diverse disciplines.”

Dr. Derugin, Deputy Executive Director, spoke at the Committee of the Council of Federation on Federal Affairs and Regional Policy on the 19th of November. Agenda for the meeting included discussion of the Report on the State of Federal Affairs and draft scope of the Committee’s work for the coming year.

Dr. Kurlyandskaya, participated in the first meeting of the Public Council of Local Self-Government for the Chairman of the State Duma. The Council unites politicians as well as experts in order to provide assistance to the State Duma in implementing principles of federalism in the Russian fiscal policy on national, regional and local levels, and in revising federal legislation so that declared improvement of public services becomes true not only in metropolises but throughout Russia. In particular, the November 20 meeting is devoted to the issues of regional and local government performance monitoring and evaluation, i.e. to the area where the CFP has gained expertise through the USAID/CFP Technical Assistance to the North Caucasus Regions project.

PUBLICATIONS

The CFP publicized results of the Incorporation of IT in Budgetary Operations on Local Level project that was supported by the Open Society Institute.
Read the report (in Russian)

The CFP developed a special chapter for the monograph of the All-Russian Council on Local Self-governance “Local Self-governance as a Resource for the Country Development”. The monograph was presented to Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation, at the All-Russian gathering of the councils of local self-governance of the Russian regions.
Read the monograph (in Russian)
Read the CFP chapter (in Russian)