2007: The CFP in Brief

PROJECTS


In 2007 the CFP implemented 27 projects, including:



SEMINARS AND CONFERENCES


In 2007 the CFP conducted 26 training seminars, including 5 seminars in the NIS countries (Kazakhstan, Moldova, Turkey - for Tadzhik specialists) and Laos. In addition the CFP organized and conducted annual seminar on fiscal policy and intergovernmental fiscal relations for all Russian regions (April Seminar) and annual seminar for the Russian expert community (December Seminar). The CFP experts participated in 7 interregional and international conferences, including seminar of the Council of Federation, annual meeting of the heads of the regional finance departments and in the 4th International Forum on Federalism (held in India).


NEW RESEARCH INTERESTS


In 2007 the CFP approached the following top issues of the current fiscal policy:



  • Methodology of monitoring and evaluation of regional governments performance (Team leader Valeriy Dalin)

  • Methodology of budgetary and socio-economic outcomes of the children welfare reform (both in mid- and long-term outlook) (Team Leader Elena Andreeva)

  • Quality standards of public services delivering (Team Leader Antonina Kovalevskaya)

  • Public services delivering in remote and rural areas (Team Leader Viktoria Semerkhanova)

  • Transformation budgetary services providers in other organizational forms, including non-governmental ones (Team Leader Antonina Kovalevskaya)

  • Implementation of innovative budgetary techniques on regional and local levels, including such techniques as performance-based budgeting, mid-term financial planning and strategic planning (Team Leader Leonid Bogdanov)

  • Budget audit and evaluation system (Team Leader Leonid Bogdanov)

GEOGRAPHICAL SCALE


In 2007 the CFP worked in the following regions:



  • Southern Federal District (10 regions and 2 municipalities)

  • Primorsky Kray, Far East (2 pilot municipalities)

  • Krasnoyarsky and Stavropolsky Krays

  • 8 Oblasts (Amur, Chita, Leningrad, Nizhny Novgorod, Lipetsk, Vologda, Irkutsk, Tomsk)

  • 6 countries (Moldova, Ukraine, Tadzhikistan, Kazakhstan, Laos, Armenia)

PEOPLE


In the past year the CFP Lead Consultant Gleb Pokatovich got his well-deserved Ph.D.!


Almost all CFP experts got promotion, i. e., Consultants became Senior Consultants, Senior – Lead, Lead – Deputy General Director, etc. General Director was satisfied by the other’s successes.


Viktoria Semerkhanova, Senior Consultant, and Elena Andreeva have completed their studies, and as it turned to be findings were interesting for both Russian and international expert communities.




Findings of the CFP/USAID project on evaluation of the children’s services reform in Tomsk oblast presented at the UNICEF workshop on Positioning Social and Economic Policy in the CEE-CIS Region. Elena Andreeva, Academic Director of the CFP, was invited to join the consortium team for this event and to speak on Public Finance Management, Budgeting and Fiscal Equalization: Children’s Services in the Tomsk Region. This event is an ‘integral part of the UNICEF agenda on strengthening the interface between policy development, public finance management, and governance systems.’ The CFP/USAID project appeared to be the first approach to the developing of the methodology of evaluation of budgetary and socio-economic effects of children’s services reform in long-term outlook.


The CFP’s research on Public Services in Rural Areas has been awarded among the ten best in the Global Development Awards and Medal Competition. In 2007 researches from developing countries and countries with transition economies competed in the five sections and the CFP participated in the Fragile States: Addressing Vulnerability section. Over 500 competitors will meet at the final conference to be held in Australia in late January 2008 where Valeria Semerkhanova, Team Leader of the CFP’s research, will present the main findings of the project that was implemented in rural districts of Vladimir oblast and Leningrad oblast.


Galina Kurlyandskaya, Director General, continues contributing to the work of the Working Group for Federalism and Local Self-governance under the auspices of the President of RF and, in addition, became a member of the Public Council on Local-Self-governance attached to the State Duma.


READING


The following papers are published on the CFP web-site:



PLANS


Technical Assistance


In 2008 the CFP will continue implementing the USAID/CFP Technical Assistance to the Northern Caucasus Regions and Implementation of the Fiscal and Administrative Reforms on Local Level projects.


As for the first in the list the CFP has trained over 500 specialists through 6 training seminars and delivered technical assistance to the two pilot regions (Rep. of Dagestan and Rep. of Kabardino-Balkaria). Beginning from 2008 the CFP will shift to the new pilot regions. For now only one is selected (Rep. of Adyhgeya), the second one will be selected before February. Right now the CFP considers Rep. of Northern Osetia (Alania) to follow up a request of the Prime-minister of the Republic.


Speaking of the next project, in 2007 the CFP trained and assisted the two pilot municipalities in the Far East that were cities of Ussuriisk (Primorsky Kray) and Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky (former Kamchatskaya Oblast). In 2008 the CFP will continue assisting Ussuriisk (at the special request from the City Administration) and begin working with the new pilot municipality – city of Artiom (Primorsky Kray).


The CFP will also continue assisting Ministry of Finance in the issues of intergovernmental fiscal relations and, of course, will assist Russian regions and municipalities to meet their training and consulting services needs


Training (draft timeline)


February



  • interregional training seminar for the regions of the European part of Russia

  • Training seminar in Adyhgeya

March



  • interregional training seminar for Far East municipalities

April



  • The CFP April Seminar on fiscal policy and intergovernmental fiscal relations

  • Training seminar in the city of Artiom (Primorsky Kray, Far East)

May



  • interregional training seminar for the Southern Federal District regions