Innovations in the management of budget programs
In accordance with the working plan, on June 28, 2021, a regular HSE research seminar "Modernisation of public finances" was held with a report on the topic: "A new procedure for managing budget programs: advantages and risks" made by a team of authors consisting of A. Belenchuk, State Councillor of the Russian Federation of the 3rd class (Accounts Chamber of Russia); Prof., Doctor of Economics N. Shash (Plekhanov Economic University of the Russian Federation) and Prof., Doctor of Economics M. Afanasiev (HSE University and Institute for economic forecasting of Russian Academy of Sciences).
This team of the authors has been working on the development of program budgeting problems for a long time, in particular, their work is well known: a handbook «Program budget» (ed. M. Afanasiev, Moscow: Magister, 2012, 384 p.).
However, the immediate reason for the report at this scientific seminar was the publication of an important document: Decree of the Government of the Russian Federation of May 26, 2021 No. 786 "On the management system of state programs of the Russian Federation."
Among the advantages of the new procedure for managing budget programs, the report noted the following. The new system for managing budget programs, adopted by the Russian Government, will increase the efficiency of the use of budget funds to achieve national development goals.
The new procedure for managing budget programs, introducing the diversification of project and process activities at the program level, eliminates the main contradiction of the previous management of the program approach - the lack of flexibility and the relationship between the socio-economic effect and the specific activities of the programs.
The new management procedure being introduced reduces the risk of overloading government programs, which could lead to a loss of control and a decrease in the effectiveness of program implementation.
At the end of the report, an interested discussion took place, in which practitioners and researchers from various institutions, including Oxford University and Lomonosov Moscow State University (MSU).