Social Development Strategy Research Articles

Family Life Cycle: Implementing the Strategy of Social and Economic Development (Based on Subjects of the Southern Federal District)

Migration flows in the Russian Federation are intensive in recent years. People go to the places where they can have better conditions for work and solutions of social problems. The purpose of this article is studying such opportunities in the strategy of regional social and economic development of 2030. The methodology of the research consists in the solution of a number of questions. The concept “life cycle of family” is debatable. The paper gives its treatment and presents the cognitive map of requirements of different stages of the life cycle. The authors give the analysis of the strategy of regional social and economic development. The empirical base of the research is the strategy of social and economic development of Volgograd region, Rostov region, Krasnodar Krai, the Republic of Kalmykia, the Republic of Adygea. The article characterizes the specifics of satisfying needs for services of health care, education, culture, sport, the possibility to receive housing, the requirement to human resources in the specified regions. It allowed to define characteristics of individuals interested in accommodation on a certain area and to offer directions of their rebranding. The article provides assessing competitiveness of the strategy of regional social and economic development for 2018–2030 in terms of the family life cycle. The following indicators are used for this purpose: climate attractiveness, unemployment rate, population share with incomes below the subsistence rate, infantile mortality on 1 thousand births, mortality on 100 thousand people of the working population, average monthly salary, share of the employed in small and average business from the total number of the population. The authors conclude that the developed strategies of socio-economic development of territories taking into account the competition between regions do not fully contribute to overcoming the negative trends of their development. In addition to working out the strategy of a particular subject of the Russian Federation, the analysis of the provisions planned by neighboring regions is necessary.

Smart Specialization of Russian Regions: Prospects and Limitations

The article deals with the possibilities of integrating the concept of smart specialization into regional development policies in the Russian Federation. Strategies of smart specialization are being actively and successfully developed in the regions of the European Union. Smart specialization implies setting priorities for economic development based on local strengths and resources. The strategy assumes the ‘entrepreneurial discovery process’, during which promising market niches are identified along with technologies and innovations that a region can develop in order to gain competitive advantages in those niches. The article analyzes the required institutional framework for smart specialization implementation. Propositions are made on how Russian institutions in the fields of innovations and regional development can adapt to further the smart specialization agenda. The article concludes with the analysis of the draft strategy for social and economic development of the Irkutsk oblast from the point of view of its conformity with the criteria of smart specialization. Specific guidelines are outlined for the improvement of the strategy in this respect.

Key Trends in Designing Strategy of Social and Economic Development in the Municipal Body ‘Namskiy Ulus’

Designing strategy of social and economic development of the municipal body implies the analysis of the effective norm-creative base, quantitative estimation of feelings and needs of the population in order to develop efficient methods of goal-setting in its implementation. The article provides findings of the sociological survey within the frames of the project of designing the Strategy of social and economic development of the municipal body 'Namskiy Ulus' for the period 2019-2021 and up to 2030. This Strategy includes shaping the mission, priorities, strategic goals and lines in the social and economic development of the municipal body, key investment projects, resource sources necessary to achieve the system of strategic goals and objectives of the long-term social and economic development. It was underlined that the principle task of the Strategy is to integrate bodies of self-government, state power of the Saha Republic (Yakutiya) in order to create comfortable conditions for cooperation between state and society aimed at implementation of strategic goals of social and economic development of the municipal body 'Namskiy Ulus'. The authors investigated issues of the budget process in the municipal body 'Namskiy Ulus'.

EVALUATION OF THE INFLUENCE OF FACTORS OF THE REGIONAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT ON THE GROSS REGIONAL PRODUCT

The problem of economic growth has always been central to the discussions not only of professional economists, but also of politicians and public figures. This issue is of particular urgency for Russia in the period of geopolitical turbulence, which is strengthened by the tendencies of protectionism in international trade. In addition, there is a different dynamics of economic growth, its quality, both in the sectoral and regional sections. In this regard, the analysis of the influence of the main factors contributing to economic growth, qualitative change in the structure of gross domestic product (GDP), gross regional product (GRP), has a significant applied value. Priorities of innovative quality of growth that require large-scale investments are stated in Strategy-2020 and in “Strategy of Social and Economic Development of the Republic of Tatarstan until 2030”.Without assessing the role of the investment resource, it is impossible to determine the strategies for the country's social and economic development, to develop and implement general state, sectoral and regional programs. One approach that makes it possible to quantify the degree of influence of such key factors of economic growth as investments and incomes of the population, including the average monthly wage, is based on the use of econometric models and economic interpretation of the coefficients of the models obtained

Brazilian potential for circular fashion through strengthening local production

Textile and garment industry ranks among the world’s dirtiest sectors. The long-term success of the sector will depend on the control of social and environmental resources in the entire product life cycle. The “circular economy” (CE) concept is fast becoming a new model for resilient growth. However, CE continues to be understood largely as a waste management and recycling strategy, but the economic opportunities are far broader and more diverse. The success of the CE in developing countries will be critical to global efforts to ensure sustainable growth. Brazil’s textile and garment industry is the largest complete textile chain in the West and ranks among the world’s top producers of textiles and apparel. This sector is also the second largest generator of manufacturing jobs in Brazil. On the other hand, of the 8 million workers that are estimated, 6.5 are irregular ones. The objective of this paper was to provide a comprehensive review of research efforts encompassing aspects of CE as value network, local production, economic benefits and Brazilian fashion market. By this, it is expected to bring new contributions to neglected issues, the manufacturing base as CE strategy and the social performance. The two main contributions of this research are to highlight Brazilian focus and to find how circular approaches align with and support the already existing domestic industrial and social development strategies.

SOCIAL ENTREPRENEURSHIP

Throughout the centuries, the business and success of people and organizations has moved in the direction of improving the tools for work, as well as the knowledge and skills of organization and management. In this way, the quality of life reflected the degree of development, both in the field of improving the means of work and the management ability in work and social systems. From the perspective of the present, people and their associations are facing a new challenge, both in the age of knowledge and in the ever-changing technological changes and innovations, to ensure the survival and development of the system. The answer to this question is not easy because we are witnessing strong market dynamics and a large number of changes, which are reflected, both in the field of work and in the field of business of each organization. A measure of the ability to adapt to the changes that emerge and adapt to the challenges will be a condition for the success of individuals, organizations and society as a whole. Social entrepreneurship as a social science and economic and social development strategy has been occurring in the past few decades. The very emergence and development of social entrepreneurship, the fact that it is receiving increasing attention in social theory, as well as being increasingly accepted as an essential component of sustainable development strategies, can be taken as one of the reliable indicators of how modern capitalist societies are changing dynamically and how profound these changes are. Practice confirms that the degree of social entrepreneurship development in every society is directly proportional to the degree of the national economy development, the degree of human rights development, the degree of democracy development and all other achievements of modern civilization. That is why the state of social entrepreneurship can be treated as one of the reliable indicators of the overall political, economic and social situation in a society, or in other words the extent to which the political, economic and social system of a society is based on moral values. Entrepreneurship is a complex, multidimensional framework that emphasizes the individual, the environment, the organization and the entrepreneurial process itself. An entrepreneur is the initiator of a new business venture, that is, an individual who takes over a business venture to provide products and services to the market for profit. Entrepreneurship, whether it is external entrepreneurship in small and medium-sized businesses, corporate entrepreneurship, social entrepreneurship, youth entrepreneurship, women or rural entrepreneurship, entrepreneurship in public institutions, involves the use of innovation as a tool for change, which brings added value to the entrepreneurs and beneficiaries of these change. Social entrepreneurship is an innovative way for people to solve various economic, educational, health and environmental problems in their community through their work by joining together and using sustainable business models. Social entrepreneurship is part of the social economy and thanks to it, social problems are solved through the use of entrepreneurial principles.

DEVELOPMENT OF DIGITAL ECONOMY AS AN ELEMENT OF THE SOCIAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY IN UKRAINE

The article deals with the basic concepts and basic tendencies of the digital economy. The state and prospects of the development of the digital economy in Ukraine are analyzed. These processes contain both risks and prospects. Therefore, the development of the digital economy should be seen as an element of a social development strategy that needs due attention from academics and experts. In January 2018, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the Concept of Development of the Digital Economy and Society of Ukraine for 2018-2020 and approved a plan of measures for its implementation. The document emphasizes that the path to the digital economy and digital society of Ukraine lies through the domestic market for the production, use, and consumption of information and communication technologies and digital technologies. Currently, in Ukraine, the market of information products and services is at the stage of formation. At the same time, the tasks of identifying specific practical legal, regulatory (organizational), economic and financial infrastructural mechanisms for the development of the «digital society» that would facilitate the rapid development of the digital economy remain unresolved.Keywords: digital economy, digital society, information economy, state administration, Ukraine.JEL Classifications: P21, L86, L88DOI: https://doi.org/10.32479/ijefi.8606

SOCIO-ECONOMIC ASPECTS OF THE DIGITAL ECONOMY DEVELOPMENT IN UKRAINE

The article deals with the basic concepts and tendencies of the digital economy. The current state of the digital economy and prospects for its development in Ukraine are analyzed. It is proposed to consider the digital economy development as an element of the social development strategy. The research methodology includes neo-institutional and systemic approaches, as well as analysis of statistics and data from social studies. The work concerns equally the theoretical and applied aspects of the topic. The paper is based on secondary data that has been collected from the official statistics, the Internet, science articles, interviews, papers, etc. The analysis results indicate a relatively unfavorable situation in Ukraine. The digital economy development entails dramatic changes in social relations. These processes include both risks (the market is being restructured in a new way, leading to challenges related to jobs, skills, security and privacy), as well as prospects (stimulating innovation, increasing governance efficiency, improving service delivery, inclusion and sustainable economic growth, the well-being of citizens, countries and society). The society and the state should be properly prepared for such changes. Therefore, the digital economy development in terms of public administration should be seen as an element of a social development strategy that requires proper scientific and expert substantiation. The concept of digital economy development in Ukraine envisages several measures aimed at addressing digital gap (from digital jobs to digital initiatives in the modern world, conducting digitalization of industry and business, defining basic digital services, preparing educational modernization measures, as well as forecasting digital development in Ukraine until 2020). On January 17, 2018, the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine approved the Concept for the Development of the Digital Economy and Society of Ukraine for 2018-2020 and a plan of measures for its implementation. The document emphasizes that the path to the digital economy and digital society of Ukraine lies through the domestic product market, use and consumption of information and communication or digital technologies. The digital economy development is a set of mechanisms, motivation factors, and incentives for the implementation of digital technologies, and, therefore, a branched digital infrastructure for harnessing the state's capabilities, enhancing its competitiveness, and increasing the well-being of citizens. Currently, Ukrainian market of information products and services is at the stage of formation. The market of information products consists of technical and technological components (modern information equipment, powerful computers, advanced computer network and related information processing technologies, which enables to work on the global computer network Internet, search information, customers, goods, hypertext management technology, e-mail); regulatory and legal components (the legal basis for regulating the information market); organizational components (elements of state regulation of interaction between producers and distributors of information products and services). At the same time, the tasks of identifying specific practical legal, regulatory (organizational), economic and financial infrastructural mechanisms for the development of the «digital society» that would facilitate the rapid growth of the digital economy remain unresolved.

SUSTAINABLE DEVELOPMENT DETERMINANTS OF AN INFORMATION SOCIETY: CASE STUDY OF NATIONAL ECONOMIES

We analyze social-economic models of countries with developed information econ¬omies using group method of data handling. We identified the determinants of optimal model for social and economic development of countries with developed information societies. The experience of countries with developed information economy show that their success and high level of competitiveness rely on adequate determination of prospective development direc¬tions and effective implementation of innovations in production. Countries-leaders by IT-in¬dustry, show higher indicators of competitiveness and living standards. The high employment rates guarantee the dynamic economy and civil society. Implementing strategies for social and economic development of countries with developed information economy maximally ensure the protection of national economic interests. Therefore, the models for sustainable social and economic development objectively form the basis of economic security.

Some Reflections on Science Popularization and Science Culture in China

China's social development strategy has evidently shifted from a focus on economic growth and material sustenance to balanced development and the enrichment of cultural and spiritual resources. In other words, Chinese society has transformed from a phase seeking rapid development to one seeking steady and all-round development. China's science popularization since the founding of the People's Republic of China has been focusing on the immediacy and timeliness of science communication but, in its current efforts to build a new science culture, it is more concerned with the cultivation of scientific values and the quality of persistence. In this era that upholds science culture, the mission of both science popularization and science culture is to make science go beyond the scientific community and to develop values and practice paths that support the public's pursuit of a better life. For that purpose, this paper proposes five projects based on the action network of science culture construction: fostering scientific spirit; disseminating science culture; institutionalizing science culture; science culture infrastructure for public benefits; and public engagement with science.

The Organisation of Cultural and Social Life in Selected Successful Villages

Abstract This paper compares the methods of organisation of cultural and social life in three municipalities which were awarded the “Village of the Year” title, namely the municipalities of Oravská Lesná, Liptovská Teplička and Spišský Hrhov. The research in these three municipalities suggests several historical and socio-economic similarities between the villages of Oravská Lesná and Liptovská Teplička, which contrasts with the situation in Spišský Hrhov. These similarities and differences between the municipalities are also manifested at the level of their cultural and social life and development strategies. On one hand, we have the traditional mountainous villages with stable long-term and internally driven demography; on the other hand, a changing municipality with a high rate of immigration. In the former case, activities related to the identity of a traditional municipality are being developed, while in the latter case, the identity of the municipality is being actively created also through new cultural and social activities. The key factors of the municipalities’ cultural and social life in both cases are initiative inhabitants and proactive self-governments open to their initiatives.

Exploring in the approach to rural revitalization in the view of green development

Rural revitalization is a major strategy for rural economic and social development. In the new era, rural revitalization must break away from the traditional mode of development and take the road of green development. This is not only to meet the people’s growing needs for beautiful ecological environment, but also the inevitable requirements of rural revitalization. The general requirement of village revitalization are prosperous industry, ecological liveable, civilized local style, effective governance, and prosperous life. It contains the requirement of green development. Therefore, the rural revitalization must also be a multi-dimensional and multi-perspective integration from the perspective of green development, forming a pattern of mutual promotion and common prosperity that protect the ecological environment in the rural revitalization and promote the rural revitalization in the protection of ecological environment.

Assessing landscape potential for human sustainability and ‘attractiveness’ across Asian Russia in a warmer 21st century

In the past, human migrations have been associated with climate change. As our civilizations developed, humans depended less on the environment, in particular on climate, because technological and economic development in the span of human history allowed us to adapt to and overcome environmental discomfort. Asian Russia (east of the Urals to the Pacific) is known to be sparsely populated. The population is concentrated along the forest-steppe in the south, with its comfortable climate and thriving agriculture on fertile soils. We use current and predicted climate scenarios to evaluate the climate comfort of various landscapes to determine the potential for human settlers throughout the 21st century. Climate change scenarios are taken from 20 CMIP5 general circulation models. Two CO2 Representative Concentration Pathway scenarios, RCP 2.6 representing mild climate change and RCP 8.5 representing more extreme changes, are applied to the large subcontinental territory of Asian Russia. The ensemble January and July temperature anomaly means and annual precipitation are calculated with respect to the baseline 1961–1990 climate. Three climate indices, which are important for human livelihood and well-being, are calculated based on January and July temperatures and annual precipitation: Ecological Landscape Potential, winter severity, and permafrost coverage. Climates predicted by the 2080s over Asian Russia would be much warmer and milder. Ensemble means do not show extreme aridity. The permafrost zone is predicted to significantly shift to the northeast. Ecological Landscape Potential would increase 1–2 categories from ‘low’ to ‘relatively high’ which would result in a higher capacity for population density across Asian Russia. Socio-economic processes and policy choices will compel the development that will lead to attracting people to migrate throughout the century. Therefore, understanding ecological landscape potential is crucial information for developing viable strategies for long-term economic and social development in preparation for climate migration and strategic adaptation planning.

Investment and Innovative Component of Strategic Development of the Region (on the Example of the Belgorod Region)

Changes of social and economic parameters of region development of Belgorod region is revealed in recent years and its contribution in formation of modern Russian economic model development is defined. The fundamental administrative initiatives of regional authorities which have allowed the Belgorod region to achieve considerable achievements in the social and economic plan are presented. Attention is paid, to the basic strategic directions of further development of the region, within the accepted Strategy of social and economic development of the Belgorod region till 2025. A specific place in the research is held by the questions concerning the role and the place of investment and innovative components in the implementation of the planned purposes of region development. These questions initiated the need of more detailed consideration of concepts, «investments», «innovations», and «infrastructure”.

Strategies to Improve Effectiveness of Rehabilitation Interventions for Street Children’s Social Development in Kakamega Central Sub-County, Kenya

Street children’s challenges are dynamic in nature. The study problem was the inadequacy of effective rehabilitation strategies that promote street children’s social development. The objective of the study was to determine strategies for improving effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions for street children social development in Kakamega Central Sub-county, Kenya. Evaluation research design was adopted. Study population included 220 street children in closed and open rehabilitation systems, 30 GOK and NGO’s rehabilitation staff, 10 social workers, 8 GOK officers, 5 counselors and 21 businessmen. Primary and secondary data were used. Primary data collection utilized questionnaires, interview guides, observation checklists and Focus Group Discussion. Cluster and snow-ball sampling were used to sample street children. Census and purposive sampling were used to sample key informants. Quantitative data was analyzed using descriptive statistics, specifically frequencies, percentages and mean. Inferential statistics were Chi- square test of independence and Spearman’s rank order correlation. Qualitative data analysis and interpretation utilized coding, voices and narrative analysis. Data was displayed in form of graphs, charts and tables. This study established that, 191(87%) of key informants and street children indicated that rehabilitation interventions should be improved. Strategies to improve effectiveness of rehabilitation interventions were; establish a listening platform for stakeholders and beneficiaries’ views in street children rehabilitation programmes 56(25.6%); establish a comprehensive rehabilitation and dropping centre for street children 31(13.9%); start Income Generating Activities in street children interventions 28(12.6%) while 10(4.7%) insisted on the improvement on education services and employable vocational skills training. There is a weak positive and insignificant relationship between open system rehabilitation intervention and sustainability strategy (ϒ=0.086, ᾳ=0.468, ρ-value=0.05). This implies that open system rehabilitations interventions are sustainable to a less degree. On the other hand there is a positive and significant relationship between closed system rehabilitation interventions and sustainability strategy (ϒ=0.470, ᾳ=0.000, ρ-value=0.05). This implies that closed system interventions are more sustainable as compared to the open rehabilitation systems. Therefore closed system rehabilitation interventions may have greater effectiveness on the street children’s social development. Keywords: Street children, Effective interventions, Social development and Rehabilitation strategies DOI : 10.7176/PPAR/9-6-05 Publication date :June 30 th 2019

INTRODUCTION PRINCIPLES OF THE ENVIRONMENTAL MANAGEMENT AND AUDIT INTO THE WATER SECTOR IN UKRAINE

Develop scientific justification principles and areas of implementation of environmental management and audit system of water management Ukraine for its sustainable operation and future development. The methodology of the investigation based on the use of the modern scientific methods, viz.: analysis, synthesis, induction and deduction, mathematical statistics, systematic approach, and analysis. Involvement of significant volumes of water resources of the Southern region are led to a change in the hydrological regime in the water catchment areas, disturbance of natural equilibrium, sharp decrease in the quality of water resources potential, the predominance of degradation processes on self-sustaining and self-cleaning ability of aquatic ecosystems in economic circulation for the development of the branches of the economy: industry, recreation, agriculture, including irrigation. Today it is urgently necessary to solve the problems of integrated water management as an integral ecological-economic system of the region with the possibility of taking into account the needs of ensuring the protection and rational use of all natural resources, modern changes in the nature management and strategies of social development of the region. The functioning of the water management complex is ineffective by the imperfection of the modern water management system, the lack of funding and the imperfection of the mechanisms for attracting extra budgetary funds, as well as the absence of a system of public-private partnership in the water sector. In addition, the lack of a powerful legislative framework for ecologization of water management activities is led to environmental problems and ecological-economic, organizational and technological risks. There are necessary to conduct environmental audits and identification of new technological opportunities irrigation systems and waterworks, development directions and stages of modernization of irrigation systems to ensure integrated water management and adaptation of irrigation systems and irrigation modes of crops in connection with climate change to ensure ecologically balanced development of water systems. It is also necessary to create conditions for sustainable socio-economic development of the agricultural sector in the area of irrigation and rural areas. The issues of efficient functioning of the water industry are closely linked not only with the introduction of environmental audits, but also the introduction of environmental management as a water management system at the national level, as well as at the regional and local levels, remain unresolved. The basic condition for improving the efficiency of the water industry is the development and scientific substantiation of the principles of the implementation of the environmental management system and audit in order to develop the directions of recovery and development of the industry in the context of environmental safety and on the basis of ecologization of its activities. Environmental audit and its results as water and hydraulic engineering objects, irrigated agricultural lands, are the basis for implementation of engineering, reclamation and ecological measures in the system of ecological management and audit. Improvement of the management system is impossible without substantiation of the main stages of modernization and restoration of the industry, which envisages a gradual and tolerant distribution of functions of water resources management and exploitation of water management and reclamation systems between the State Agency of Water Management and regional authorities. Strengthening the role of the State Agency for Water Management in water resources management will enable ecologically safe and balanced use of them on the basis the principles of comprehensiveness and integration.

FINANCING OF ORGANIC PRODUCTION IN THE CONTEXT OF IMPACT INVESTING

The article considers and justifies the approach to the financing of organic production as a component of the concept of impact-investing. The essence, features and tools of impact-investment are considered. Impact-investing differences from social investment, socially responsible investment and social entrepreneurship are considered. It is proved that Impact Investment is the newest financial strategy for social development, provides for investments in business projects that initially focused on profit and positive changes in society or the environment It is noted that scientific consideration of impact investing has not yet been given due attention in Ukraine. The subject of research is at the intersection of financial technology, social entrepreneurship and organic agro-production. Impact investing is considered a separate case of social investing with more clearly defined boundaries. Examples of social enterprises both in agriculture and in the restaurant business and in manufacturing are known in Ukraine. Because social entrepreneurship is a business, it has all the rules of the business: niche search, market research, competition, investment, and more. Impact investments help measure the external effects of doing business. With the introduction of the investment impact criterion, it becomes possible to determine what this business impact is, how to measure, study and understand it. It is emphasized that Impact investing is only beginning to develop in Ukraine. Over the past few years, examples of such investments have emerged in Kyiv, Lviv, Odessa, Ivano-Frankivsk and other cities. Most of them have started their business through local businesses and have relatively small initial investments by global standards. The opinion is grounded that investment in the development of organic production can be considered as a form of impact investment. It is concluded that, given the great social importance of the development of organic production, as well as the positive effects that organic agricultural production can potentially have on the development of rural areas, the use of financial resources of agricultural holdings may be promising. It was proposed to provide a differentiated approach to the collection of a fixed agricultural tax (FAS), taking into account the availability of investments in organic agricultural production, which would have prompted agricultural holdings to include organic production units in their structure. Investments in the development of organic agricultural production, which are proposed to be considered as impact investments, would allow domestic agro-holdings to a certain extent “rehabilitate”, improve their image, give their debt to society, and contribute to the development of rural areas.

Обґрунтування критеріїв оцінки кризи розвитку соціального потенціалу регіонів України

The urgency of scientific research on the crisis of the development of social potential of Ukrainian regions and its assessment is that today the social potential of the region is regarded by many scholars as the possibility of elements that directly determine the social activity of the population of this region and the level of its social security, the use of which is aimed at achieving social goals. the development of administrative formation, that is, the provision of the most favorable living conditions of the population as well as the extended reproduction of man as a person dysentery and as a productive force, which are formed from the potentials of individuals and the corresponding prerequisites that, in combination, give a new form of education, and are capable of providing a synergistic effect through social relations, ties, networks, processes.Today, the issues of the crisis are rather relevant, since, given the fact that crises are extremely diverse both in their causes and in their manifestations, there is no established, acceptable point of view in relation to most aspects of the given problem. The debate betweenscientists, managers and entrepreneurs suggests that they understand the concept of “crisis” differently. The variety of causes and the huge scale of losses allow us to classify the crisis as a complex multifactor phenomenon, requiring a systematic approach to its analysis and prevention.In studies of domestic and foreign scholars and practitioners, such as I.Blank, E.Z.Shershnev, F.Podderyogin, A.D.Cherniavsky, R.Acoff, I.Ansoff, P.S.Green, K.Ru-Dufor, John M.Keynes and many other issues are open to the main financial and economic crisis. However,today the urgent problem is the development of social potential both for the country as a whole and for each of its regions. From the level of knowledge of the socio-economic potential and the development of a mechanism for its effective use, scientific substantiation and improvement of the management of the socio-economic life of the country and its regions depend on it. This is primarily due to the need to study the crisis of social potential of Ukrainian regions and justify the criteria for its evaluation.The purpose of the study is to justify the criteria for assessing the crisis of the social potential of the regions of Ukraine in order to recognize the existence of a crisis or pre-crisis situation in the social sphere of the region as the most important step in crisis management.The conducted research allowed to make the following conclusions. In our view, in determining the crisis trends in the social sphere in the region it is desirable to take into account and use several approaches to assess the crisis of the social potential of Ukrainian regions. Within the framework of this study four approaches are proposed, each of which has a certain set of criteria.1. An approach based on established social norms (can determine the state of development of social potential at the time of measurements in relation to the adopted (and legally fixed) in this society, social standards).2. An approach based on the compilation of dynamic models for identifying trends in the area of social potential of the region. This approach allows us to identify positive and negative trends in the development of social potential of the region, to define a strategy for the development of social potential, to control the implementation of the development strategy and to make timely adjustments.3. An approach based on a comparison of a specific set of indicators (indexation). This approach allows us to determine the causes of negative trends in the social sphere, as well as to take into account the impact of macroeconomic indicators on the state of development of the social potential of the region.4. The socio-cultural approach is used to identify the potential of the region in relation to the development of the social potential of the region and provides an opportunity to adjust the strategy of social potential development taking into account the opportunities of the population.Thus, it can be argued that the crisis of development of the social potential of Ukrainian regions and its depth can be determined through a comprehensive study of the social potential of regions based on four basic approaches.Prospects for further research are the definition of the development of social potential of regions on the basis of cluster analysis.

Management of regional training systems

Introduction. Over recent years, the issues of building regional systems of human recourses development have been actively discussed in expert community. These issues are perpetually on the agenda of the Russian Federation territories (regions), despite the fact that the projects of various organisations at the federal level have been already finished or are close to completing. The projects are designed to stimulate industrial growth due to workforce recruitment of manufacturing sector by highly qualified specialists. In a number of territories (for example, the Perm Territory, the Republic of Tatarstan, the Belgorod and Tambov Regions, etc.), there are successful practices of managing the personnel training system required by regional economics. However, systemic approaches at the level of the whole country have not been developed yet. The authors of the present publication consider that the unsatisfactory socio-economic efficiency of vocational education is substantially caused by insufficient quality of its management. The aims of this article were the following: to report on the outcomes of comparative-analytical research on the content of regional development programmes of vocational education and the strategy of social and economic development of regions of the Russian Federation and to formulate proposals for the improvement of such programmes as a management tool, which provides quick response to changes of personnel needs in regions and reduction in deficit of skilled workers. Methodology and research methods. In the course of the research, the methods of the criterial and comparative analysis, goal-setting, formalisation and interpretation of results were applied. The authors conducted content analysis and necessity and sufficiency analysis of the documents and materials, which are in open access on the Internet. Programme-based and project-based approaches and mechanisms were considered as methodological base of management of the regional systems of personnel training. Results and scientific novelty. The criteria and indicators of efficiency assessment of regional development programmes of vocational education were presented and justified. The common faults and contradictions of implementation of these programmes, which are specific not only for “typical regions”, but also for some “leading regions”, were revealed and described. It is noted that, at the qualitative and quantitative level, the existing programmes cannot systemically satisfy the needs of the manufacturing sphere for the qualified experts capable to master and implement advanced technologies. The comprehensive solution to this problem demands correction and advancement of administrative activity in two rather autonomous directions – taking measures to improvement of the principles of design of the discussed programmes and their orientation to use modern approaches to the development of vocational education. Practical significance. The authors’ conclusions on the structure and programme content of vocational education development, organisational conditions of their optimisation and effectiveness are addressed to the supreme executive authorities and education governing bodies in different constituent entities of the Russian Federation.

The Strategy of Social and Economic Development of the Southern Federal District-2020: Preliminary Assessment of the Results

The article examines the features of the implementation of the Strategy of Social and Economic Development of the Southern Federal District until 2020. It is established that the dynamics of the main segments of the economy and social sphere of the SFD in the 2010s proceeded according to the inertial scenario. The pace of their development slowed noticeably after 2014. This was due to the completion of large-scale financing of Olympic facilities. The deterioration of Russia’s international position and the imposition of a sanctions regime also had a negative impact on the dynamics of the district. But the failure to meet most of the targets was also due to the shortcomings of the Strategy itself. They include the orientation of all target indicators comparable to the Soviet Union on the linear growth, as well as the predominantly “declarative” nature of priorities in terms of the development of many clusters of the regional economy. The socio-economic development of the SFD in the 2010s is largely determined by the dynamics of the Azov-Black Sea region of advanced growth. The accelerated development of this zone was not so much the result of a deliberate policy of the federal center, but rather a consequence of the complex self-development of the local communities with the help of regional authorities successfully using the agroclimatic, transport, socio-demographic advantages of their territorial systems. The specificity of the implementation of the Strategy of the development of the Southern Federal district confirms that territorial social and economic systems with the dominating market mechanisms are partially subject to a planned impact of government authority when such an impact is supported by the regular large scale financing.