Moscow, December 14, 2012 – A reimbursable analytical services agreement between the Ministry of ICT Promotion and E-Democracy of the Ulyanovsk region and the World Bank Group was established today during the Open Government conference. The agreement was signed for the World Bank Group by Michal Rutkowski, Country Director and Resident Representative, and for the Ulyanovsk region - by Svetlana Olenysheva, Deputy Chair of the Regional Government and Minister of ICT Promotion and E-Democracy.
It is expected that under the agreement the World Bank Group will provide support to the Ulyanovsk region in designing a concept for the Open Government Competence Center and will perform a diagnostic study for an open data ecosystem and advice on arrangements for the “Open Region” international workshop to be held in spring 2013 in Ulyanovsk.
The projects are implemented under the E-Democracy system initiated by Sergey Morozov, Governor, in July 2012.
In the course of the Open Government international conference, regional and federal officials reviewed relevant issues of open government in Russian regions while leading international experts presented best practice in implementing transparency mechanisms.
One of the key objectives of the conference was to advance full-scale implementation of the “Open Region” project approved by the RF Government. ”The project aims to enhance the trust of society in the authorities at regional and municipal levels,” stressed Svetlana Olenysheva, Deputy Chair of the Regional Government. “We seek to improve the standards of living for our citizens through government reforms that widely employ ICT. Such initiatives are encouraged and supported by international organizations, such as the World Bank.”
