ASI to help Saratov Region improve investment climate and quality of life

The ASI team paid a return visit to the Saratov Region. The field project session was held by the ASI expert team, the management of the relevant departments of the region, entrepreneurs, public representatives of the Agency.

According to Alexander Marchenko, the Minister of Investment Policy of the Saratov Region, the experience of the ASI expert community, the use of effective solutions from other regions will contribute to real changes in the investment climate, improve the conditions for business and the quality of life of the residents.   "We are happy that ASI paid attention to the Saratov Region, that the Agency is ready to actively support us and share the best practices," the Minister stressed.

The National Social Initiative (NSI) aimed at increasing citizens' satisfaction with the quality of social services, aroused great interest among the regional management team. Regional Service Commissioners (RCSs) will help to solve this task locally. RCSs and their teams analyze the life situations of people, identify emerging barriers and develop solutions to make getting social services simple and understandable for citizens.

"Through the use of service design tools, RCSs will help make social services more humane-centric and focused on the needs of citizens. Now this is being implemented in 27 pilot regions. There is an acceleration program, where teams identify the main barriers and develop solutions to overcome them. We appreciate that the Saratov Region is willing to join the NSI, and we hope that service commissioners will soon appear here," Olga Linnik, Advisor to ASI Director General, commented.

Another topic for joint study with the regional team was the region's positions in the National Investment Climate Ranking. According to Alexander Smekalin, Head of Regional Development and Investment Division, ASI, the management of the region is interested in improving the business climate.

"This field session is held at the invitation of the Head of the region Roman Busargin. The authorities and business support institutions in the Saratov Region are ready to meet the development requests of the regional businesses. I am sure that our best practices and new approaches from other regions, collected on the Smarteka platform, will drive the development of business and entrepreneurship," Alexander Smekalin commented.

In addition, the project session also included meetings on the use of tools of the National Technology Initiative, as innovative companies of the Saratov Region could potentially enter not only the domestic, but also the global markets. Participation in the Country of Masters, Career Support, Personnel of the Future for the Regions projects was discussed with representatives of the regional sphere of education and human resources development.