Strategic planning for socio-economic development of communities as a tool of regional policy implementation

Abstract

At present, considerable attention is being paid to substantiating and deepening the conceptual framework for the implementation of public regional development policy. The modernization of the public administration system entails redistribution of tasks, powers and resources at the central, regional and local levels, which will promote efficient cooperation between regions and communities, increase initiative and responsibility of public authorities in the region. 
 In this context, the necessity and importance of strategic planning becomes of high priority, which is stipulated by the possibility of using it as an efficient tool for coordination and cooperation of governmental institutions, business structures and civic organizations, optimal use of available territorial resources. 
 Strategic planning is an integrating force that organizes and directs the process of developing strategic goals and creates the basis for the distribution of resources at the level of regional authorities [1, с.221].
 At the regional level, public policy is implemented by selecting priorities and substantiating the strategy for the development of long-term and current forecasts of the socio-economic development of the region; forming a regional budget; coordinating the work of local authorities in resolving interregional issues; ensuring environmental protection and rational nature use; equalizing the living standards of the population of administrative territorial units of the region; creating highly developed social infrastructure; developing and managing recreational economy; regulating the energy consumption in the territory; encouraging foreign investment and etc. 
 The formation and implementation of public regional policy is based on an integral approach, which involves a combination of the following components: sectoral – increasing the level of competitiveness of regions by optimizing and diversifying the structure of the economy, ensuring effective specialization of regions with the prioritized use of the own resource potential; territorial (spatial) – achieving even and balanced development of territories, developing interregional cooperation, preventing intensification of socio-economic disproportions by forming “growth poles”, activating local economic initiatives and strengthening rural potential, ensuring the socio-economic unity and evenness of regional development in order to create equal conditions for human development; managerial – applying single approaches to forming and implementing regional development policy, creating a single system of strategic planning and forecasting of the development of the State and regions, optimizing the system of territorial organization of power [2, с.11].