What will be taught at the “school of mayors”

In December, it is planned to launch training at the “school of mayors” – under the program for the development of municipal personnel management reserves at the Higher School of Public Administration of RANEPA. Vedomosti was told about this by three sources close to the presidential administration (AP), which oversees these courses. Vedomosti got acquainted with the draft “school of mayors” program. Its authenticity was confirmed by two Vedomosti sources.

The goal of the “school of mayors” will be to train “highly qualified, competent specialists capable of implementing municipal development projects to improve the quality of life of the population.” A total of four training streams are planned, each of which will consist of six modules – the modules will take place in different regions. Each stream will train 80 people, that is, over four streams, 320 people will go through the “school of mayors”.

The creators of the program describe the “modern mayor” as “a leader who is trusted and followed,” who is charged “for positive changes,” knows the residents and “feels their “pains” as if they were his own.” He must have a “vision for the development of the municipality” and the ability to communicate with citizens “in the same language.” The mayor is a universal manager who knows how to solve “problems in the “new normal” when there are no standard solutions.”

Among the principles of the program are familiarization with the best practices in the country’s municipalities, on-site events at enterprises, and the development of management solutions. Project partners include relevant ministries and companies, as well as leading regions, during visits to which full-time training modules will be conducted.

The program of each stream will consist of six modules.

1. “Modern trends in municipal management” (with the support of the Ministry of Energy and the Ministry of Digital Development). It will talk about the optimization of business processes, personnel policy, project management, “customer-centricity strategy,” reform of control and supervisory activities, and the creation of a “personal brand of a manager.” The module will also include “immersion into the profession,” “morning physical practices,” personal and professional diagnostics and “effective communications.”

2. “Operational and team efficiency” (with the support of Sberbank and Rosatom). The module includes team interaction, work with “external stakeholders” – government, business, the population, regular management practices, “lean municipality”, mentoring, training in negotiation skills and the art of public speaking. Here, in addition to “morning physical practices”, a “meeting with an outstanding person” and team-building events will be added to the school’s students.

3. “Strategy and development of municipalities” (with the support of the Ministry of Energy, the Ministry of Construction and VEB.RF). The module will include a story about state policy and legal regulation in the field of strategic and territorial planning, the involvement of the population in the strategic planning process, immersion in information about the special status of territories, the role of local government in the implementation of national projects. Here, team intellectual games and meetings with “leaders of public administration” will be added to the events.

4. “Economics and finance of municipalities” (with the support of the Federal Tax Service and the Ministry of Finance). Here, participants in the “mayor school” will be taught municipal finance and taxes, budget policy, debt management, anti-corruption activities, develop investment attractiveness, and be introduced to the municipal investment standard. Here, a “city management simulator” will be added to the events.

5. “Economic activity and development of territories” (with the support of the Ministry of Construction and the Ministry of Transport). They will teach how to organize and conduct public procurement, management accounting, interaction with local businesses, reorganization of budgetary institutions, marketing and branding of territories and government support measures.

6. “Politics, elections and positioning in the media” (with the support of the AP and ANO “Dialogue. Regions”). This module will tell you how the state communicates with citizens and businesses, crisis communications, effective work with the media and complex audiences, technologies for working with local communities, digital communication, the image of the mayor in social networks, interaction with regional management centers (they are supervised by Dialogue “), about “resisting manipulation.” The same module also contains the “final defense” of a school student.

In addition, the “school of mayors” will have a “cultural and patriotic track.” These include meetings with “outstanding people”, studying historical experience, visiting attractions in the cities where the modules take place, and even a first aid workshop. Practical work included on-site activities at enterprises and even “on collective farms,” as well as “immersion in various professions,” for example, in municipal transport, housing and communal services, etc.

How the “school of mayors” will work can be explained at a seminar for vice-governors on domestic policy, which will take place this week, says one of Vedomosti’s sources. According to him, in the future it is planned that similar courses will be organized in the regions, they will be supervised by vice-governors for internal policy, and mid-level municipal employees will be trained. Another interlocutor believes that the topic may be raised at the congress of the All-Russian Association for the Development of Local Self-Government on November 13–14 at the Senezh management workshop.

The need to organize personnel training at the municipal level was stated on February 14, 2023 at the Municipal Dialogue marathon by the First Deputy Head of the Administration Sergei Kiriyenko. At a meeting of the local self-government development council with the participation of the president on April 20, the head of the Kola district of the Murmansk region, Andrei Malkhasyan, proposed creating a “school of mayors.” He was then supported by Alexey Komissarov (then acting, now rector of RANEPA). And on June 4, following the results of the council meeting, Vladimir Putin instructed the Administration and the government, with the participation of RANEPA, to develop a program for the development of the municipal personnel management reserve “School of Mayors,” providing for the allocation of funding.

The launch of the “school of mayors” is a systematic continuation of the “school of governors”, because an effective team in the region is a combination of strong regional and municipal authorities, says Daria Kislitsyna, director of the department of regional programs at the Expert Institute for Social Research. “Therefore, approaches to management, to management, to communications, to team building must be common in order to achieve results,” she points out.

City mayors are close to the population, so the perception of their work is directly projected onto other levels of government, the expert adds: “This connection has especially become relevant in connection with the adoption of the law on public authority.” The “School of Governors” claims to help eliminate the shortage of personnel at the municipal level by setting a certain standard for their training, she says.

“I think the same management components will be a priority for mayors as for governors [прошедших «школу губернаторов» РАНХиГС], notes Kislitsyna. “This is closeness to people, solving their problems, the ability to work at high speeds in multitasking mode, including on anti-crisis measures.”

If previously the municipal community had many forms of independent activity, now there is a regionalization of the management system – when mayors are tied to governors and priorities at the regional level, communications between mayors are limited, says Andrey Maksimov, a member of the Public Chamber of Russia: “Mayors understand regional priorities more, but not always communicate closely with each other.” “The School of Mayors” can fulfill the task of connecting this community, paying attention to strategic management, providing new skills, and also helping to fulfill political goals, he notes.