About the Association
[ Updated 09 october 2002 ]
 The Inter-regional association on social and economic interaction of small and medium-size towns of Russia " MUNICIPAL ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT " (in abbreviated form - Association "MED") was set up not so long ago - in September, 2000. Its founders were 35 municipalities from various regions of Russia - from Kaliningrad up to Sakhalin.
The idea of creating such an association was not at all spontaneous. In 2000 the Institute Open Society (Fund " Soros-Russia ") organised a competition for municipalities within the framework of the program " Small Towns of Russia ". The purpose of this program was to promote economic, social and cultural development of towns. Application forms for participation in the project were submitted by 168 towns, but in a result only 35 were selected. The tender of the consulting firms wishing to work in small towns was carried out in parallel, in which 97 firms took part, five of which are among ten largest Russian consulting companies. Heads of the towns and local administrations employees took a training course in the field of strategic planning of municipal development.
When the life-time of the program had expired all 35 municipalities developed a strategy of the development and set up the Association, whose purpose is to provide economic development of participating towns under market economy conditions, making stress on the independence and local initiative, rational use of resources, application of effective economic tools. Thus, Association "MED" has appeared. The Head of municipality "the town of Krasnoarmeisk", Moscow region, Pashentsev Vitaly Vasil''evich was elected the President of Association, and Kulikov Alexander Leonidovich, the former head of the department of strategic planning, was appointed the executive director.
The founders of Association "MED" were guided by belief, that inhabitants of each municipal formation have all rights on worthy life and should have real opportunities to enjoy these rights. Consolidation of all layers of local community and partnership between the authority, citizens and business is necessary for that. Creation of such structures of social partnership will allow to find the resources necessary for municipal development, to generate organizational preconditions of such development and to realise them.
Economic problems that different municipalities are facing are identical in their essence. At the same time, despite of rich historical and cultural traditions and a great potential for growth, small towns are switched off from an information stream today. Therefore one of tasks of Association "MED" is to organise social and economic interaction of municipalities. The experience acquired by each member of Association, due to processes of inter-municipal interaction will become common knowledge.
Unlike many similar organizations, Association "MED" sees its activity as a chain of solving interconnected social, economic, organizational, administrative and political problems. Thus, for example, creation of system of social partnership entails improvement of business and investment climate of a municipality, increase of business activity on its territory and increase of incomes of the local budget. As a result a new image of local authorities is formed and new tools in technology of municipal management appear. And finally the institution of local self-management as a basis of an open civil society becomes stronger.
Association "MED" is open for all municipalities of the Russian Federation, who share its Charter and wish to achieve economic, social, cultural and political prosperity of Russia together. |
