Vol. 24 No. 5 (2022)

The article considers the term «digital maturity» and reviews the methodology of calculation, indicators, and indices of «digital maturity» defined by the Government of the Russian Federation. Information from the Ministry of Digital Development, Communications and Mass Media of the Russian Federation on the distribution of regions is presented according to the level of digital maturity. The author considers the extent to which the developed parameters of measuring «digital maturity» coincide with the level of organization of social network interaction between the authorities and the population in the context of the digital society and hybrid social environment formation. How can digital maturity be a criterion for successful public administration in the context of digital transformation? Can the level of digital maturity determine the degree of interaction and formats of dialogue between the authorities and civil society in social networks? The study «Social media as a platform for the interaction of public administration actors: an expert opinion» argues for the author’s reasoning. The author concludes that in the sphere of network communications, the calculation of «digital maturity» should include indicators that reflect the quality of public subject-to-subject managerial interaction between civil society organizations, citizens, and authorities.

The article considers legal regulation of the civil turnover in real estate as an object of legal relations for subjects of civil law. The author presents various classification approaches to the objects of real estate property and demonstrates the importance of establishing a more precise definition of «real estate» in civil legislation. A specific legal regime for real estate is established by the fact that real estate objects are either land plots or things connected with land, i.e., they are part of the state’s territory. Land and other real estate are the foundation of a country’s economy, its spatial and material basis, and the essential means of production. In this regard, we can grasp the relationship between the circulation and distribution of real estate with the state’s interests when a country has a specific interest in stricter regulation and control in this field. At the same time, as property, real estate acts as an object of civil rights and is among the various tangible and intangible assets where subjects of civil rights enter or may enter into legal relations. Real estate is a specific type of property and object of civil rights. In practice, it is defined by designating its essential features, such as the inseparable connection with the land and the impossibility of moving the object without causing undue damage to its direct purpose. For practical purposes, real estate objects are classified in different ways, derived from the purposes of this classification.

The specificity of the legal regime for municipal property is determined by various factors, including features of the administrative-territorial structure, relations between different levels of public authority, the economic policy of the state, and the essential characteristics of the legal system. An analysis of Russian and Mongolian legislation showed some significant differences in consolidating the right to municipal property. Some of them are caused by varying independence levels of municipalities. In Mongolia, the combination of the principles of self-governance and public administration provides a wide range of opportunities for public authorities to participate in municipal property management. The author notes that Russia and Mongolia have a fundamentally different approaches to understanding the essence of rights to property and other objects of civil law. In Russia, the legislator tries to adhere to the distinction between property rights and rights of obligation; in Mongolia, there is a proprietary concept that allows any objects to be considered as objects of property rights. That makes possible the resolution of controversial issues regarding the ownership of municipalities on budget funds, non-documentary securities, and intellectual property rights.

The article is an adaptation of the collective monograph «Reforming the power-administration vertical in the context of the implementation of national projects and activation of processes for spontaneous group formation» and based on the results of a large-scale sociological study. Scientific research was financially supported by the Russian Science Foundation Grant No. 19-18-00345 «Academic project: managing the processes of social group formation in regions with different levels of social and cultural modernization and public support of the strategy for development of the Russian Federation until 2024», under the guidance of honored scientist Alexander V. Tikhonov. In the monograph, the issues of the influence of the power-administrative vertical on the processes of group formation in the regions with different levels of civilizational development are considered through the study of group formation in the world and domestic sociology. The authors also applied several experimental sociological methods to the available research materials in the regions of Russia, selected by the Center of Sociology of Management and Social Technologies of the Institute of Sociology of the Federal Center of Theoretical and Applied Sociology of the Russian Academy of Sciences. The results obtained by the research team will serve as the basis for further development of the sociology of management.

The use of sociological and statistical monitoring as an effective research strategy is of high significance in the management of health care and in the development of managerial decisions aimed at addressing the region’s health care issues. The adaptability of sociological and statistical monitoring is directly connected with resolving the research tasks applied in the documents of strategic planning in the public health sphere. The study reveals the reasons hindering the development of the health care system in the Bryansk region, among which are the presence of settlements without medical infrastructure and staff turnover. These issues force patients to use medical institutions in other regions and financial withdrawal from the region. The author recommends analyzing the effectiveness of health care system management in the Bryansk region regarding the essence of regional programs and projects and the presence of motivational factors elected by respondents when answering the questionnaires. Medical workers can either support or reject decisions made by the administration, which, in turn, directly affects the number of medical personnel in the Bryansk region. Sociological and statistical data received in the monitoring program can become the basis for developing a universal model of the health care system, considering the regional characteristics.

Times of crisis have always required particular approaches to human resource management in all governing bodies, especially in the «managerial» category. Nowadays, it is crucial to understand whether a particular person can cope with new, more complicated tasks, possesses the competencies needed at the moment, and knows how to adapt to the demands of the times. The application of traditional methods to assess managerial personnel is becoming less relevant, while tests in situations as close to realities and potential challenges as possible are in demand. Personnel management technologies allowing to obtain reliable information were developed, tested, and successfully used in both foreign and Russian business structures. The Department of Civil Service and Personnel Management of the Lipetsk region administration has adapted some of the HR technologies from the business sphere to the specifics of the civil service. For example, the authorities combined the annual personnel commission, the institute of successors, and the assessment center evaluation into a single comprehensive evaluation system. The article describes the procedure for implementing a comprehensive evaluation, presents its advantages, and provides data on the practical results of its systematic use in human resource management in the region. The proposed methodology can be helpful to public authorities in assessing personnel in the civil service.

Figures on employment in agricultural organizations show that the number of labor resources occupying the positions of top managers and specialists has decreased by more than two times. First of all, the human resource potential of the agricultural sector is filled by involving the students engaged in agrarian specialties. Analysis of the number of students at universities in the areas of «Agriculture and Agricultural Sciences» for the period from 2016 to 2020 shows that the EGD(S) (enlarged group of directions and specialties) 35.00.00 Agriculture, Forestry and Fishery growth rate was 7.7 %, for EGD(S) 36.00.00 Veterinary and Zootechnics growth rate was 4.3 %, and in general, for the entire branch of science it was 6.1 %. The growth rate of students is significantly influenced by the results of the regional policy in the field of agriculture The fixed effects model shows that the growth rate of the number of students is not affected by the growth rate of gross agricultural value added in the region. The key factor is the number of enterprises operating in agricultural production, while the importance of this factor in the current period is more significant than in the previous one. The growth rate of the number of students is higher, when the growth rate of agricultural enterprises in the region lowers.

The article considers the issues of legal regulation and peculiarities of the U.S. civil service organization. The study traces the stages of formation and development of the U.S. civil service and the transition from a «trophy» system to a meritocratic system. The article lists the most correct decisions in the civil service organization that U.S. presidents have made over the past decades. In the U.S., there is a specific civil service management body, the U.S. Office of Personnel Management, and other collegial structures intended to increase the openness and competitiveness of the U.S. civil service. The study provides current statistics describing the U.S. civil service by the total number of employees, the average length of service, and salaries. The U.S. consistently creates conditions to attract people with disabilities to public service, with the total number of employees with disabilities being close to 10 %. The author focuses on the U.S. civil service position structure and a review of the factor evaluation system to justify assigning a particular position to a specific grade.

The article reviews the World Expo 2020, which opened in October 2021 in Dubai (UAE) and became the largest exhibition in its 150-year history, in the context of reconsidering the particularities of public administration in modern conditions. The Expo 2020 aims to set priorities for the development of states, considering global trends and the national identity of each country. The essencial aspects presented in the states’ pavilions, representing national development priorities, are supplemented by non-standard architectural solutions, making it possible to experience the space differently and understand the features of «smart» buildings. The significance of the World Expo is also expressed by the opportunity to realize the role and functions of each particular state in achieving priority development goals. By setting ambitious goals and new tasks, Expo 2020 predetermines further systemic activities and defines the direction of public administration in the new realities to create a sustainable and prosperous future. Upon completion, the World Expo will become an ecosystem of innovation, another example of ongoing development, the capitalization of resources, and a significant increase in the project’s economic efficiency.

The article studies the formation of state-building in modern Russia during the period from the destruction of the USSR to the present day. The author emphasizes that the Russian state is one of the oldest in the world with a historically established system of state administration. At the same time, Russian democracy is one of the youngest on the European continent; from this point, it is concluded that reforming process in Russia should be carried out evolutionarily, taking into account domestic and best international experience. The analysis shows that during this period changes have taken place not only in the goals and objectives, as well in the main activities covering various issues of the system of state and municipal administration but also in conceptual approaches to its development. Having studied and applied advanced world experience, the government institutions in the Russian Federation have acquired many features connected to the history of the country and its federal structure. The author studies the history of the formation and stages of changes in the regulatory legal framework, which ensures the operation of the entire system of public administration in Russia. In a formal and legal aspect, the President of the Russian Federation does not belong to any branch of government power but has a significant amount of authority concerning each of them; that is why a specific role in the management process is assigned to him. In the Russian Federation, a system of state and municipal service has been formed, with particular attention paid to training and retraining of professional personnel, combating corruption, and encouraging decent (ethical) behavior of civil servants. It is emphasized that the goals of the administrative reform are aimed to improve the quality and accessibility of public services, to limit government intervention in the economy, to increase the efficiency of the executive authorities; the reform will continue despite the new challenges that the state may face. The conclusion states that in some areas, the reforms have led to essential changes in public administration and an improvement in the quality of life of the population; administrative reform is viewed as an objective need to bring the system of state and municipal administration in line with the constitutionally enshrined principles of the country’s development.