Rakhmeeva Irina Igorevna Supervisor of the competition, Doctor of Economics, Acting Head of the Department of Economic Theory and Applied Sociology, Head of the USUE Center for Regulatory Competencies

Smolnikov Dmitry IgorevichCo-chairman of the expert commission of the competition, Candidate of Law, General Director of the ANO "Agency for Strategic Development of the City of Moscow", Moscow

The International Competition of Applied Projects of Young Scientists and Students "Regulatory Policy and GR Communications" is organized by the Ural State University of Economics in cooperation with ANO "Agency for Strategic Development of Moscow" and LLC "JIARTI Consulting". 

The competition is organized by the Institute of Economics and Finance of the USUE and the Department of Economic Theory and Applied Sociology. 

The goal of the competition is to develop analytical, managerial, research, and creativity skills and to support the implementation of initiatives of young professionals aimed at improving regulatory policy quality and establishing an effective dialogue between civil society, experts, businesses, and authorities in different regions of the country. 

Objectives of the competition:

• Attracting the attention of young people to relevant areas of modern economics, such as economic analysis of law, institutional economics, public sector economics, and regulation of economic activity;
• Developing civil society in regions and promoting effective GR communication tools;
• Generalizing practices and developing applied recommendations for the application of evidence-based policy methods, regulatory impact assessments, and assessments of the application of mandatory requirements. 

The Competition is open to students, graduates, postgraduate students, young researchers, and academic professionals from universities and research institutions in Russia, the CIS countries, and other organizations. Participants must be between the ages of 18 and 35.

Individual projects and team projects (up to three participants) are both eligible for submission. 

The following are the thematic areas covered by the competition:

1. Modern Regulatory Policy Tools: This includes "regulatory sandboxes," regulatory impact assessments, evaluation of the application of mandatory requirements, review of regulatory legal acts, a risk-based approach to control and supervision, lean regulation, and customer-oriented public administration.
2. Evidence-Based Policy: This involves the methodological development of an evidence-based approach to decision-making in management and regulation of economic activities, economic analysis of legislation, and recommendations to authorities for solving socio-economic issues through the use of economic and mathematical methods and models.
3. Assessment of Mandatory Requirements: Practices and Recommendations for Regions (Case Studies on the Assessment of Regional and Municipal Mandatory Requirements; Development of a Methodology for Assessing Typical Regional and Municipal Requirements or Implementation of Certain Aspects of Assessment; Recommendations for Improving Approaches to Conducting Regulatory Impact Assessment and Assessing the Application of Mandatory Requirements at the Regional Level).
4. GR Technologies in Russia (Public Consultations Within the Framework of Regulatory Impact Assessment, Assessment of the Application of Mandatory Requirements and Examination of Regulatory Legal Acts; Public Control; Public and Other Advisory Councils Under Government Bodies; Business Associations; Social Capital of Business).
5. Institutional Economics and Public Sector Economics (Analysis of Domestic Public Administration, Organization of Dialogue between Business and Government, System of Regulation and Support of Entrepreneurship, Production of Mixed Goods). 

Applications for participation in the competition, together with the corresponding works (presented in the specified format), including abstracts, must be submitted by March 20, 2025, through the online registration system available on the website:

- An individual participant submits their application via the online registration system, selecting the "Individual Participation" category.

- Group participants must have each member submit an individual application for participation via the registration system, choosing the "Team Participation" category, followed by either the "Team Captain" or "Team Member" option. In the "Work Topic" field, each participant should indicate the title of their project. The Team Captain should attach a project file to their registration form, listing all authors of the project.

The final list of selected participants invited to present their works and participate in the concluding events of the forum will be published on the official competition website from April 1st to April 10th, 2025.

The face-to-face defense event will take place on April 23, 2025, from 10:30 AM to 1:00 PM, followed by the award ceremony on April 24, 2025, from noon to 2:00 PM.

The final events will be held in-person at two locations (at USUE in Yekaterinburg and at the ANO "Agency for Strategic Development of Moscow" for participants based in Moscow), with remote interaction options available. 

The winners and prize winners of the competition will be awarded with certificates, medals, and monetary prizes:

• 1st place: 15,000 rubles
• 2nd place: 10,000 rubles
• 3rd place: 5,000 rubles

Finalists who take 4th and 5th place will receive certificates for their respective ranks.

Winners of the competition who receive a 1st-degree diploma will receive points for their individual achievements when applying for master's programs at USUE - 2 points, and bachelor's degrees (accelerated learning under individual curriculums - graduates of colleges and technical schools) - 5 points.

There will also be special nominations from ANO "Mosstrategy" and JIARTI Consulting LLC. The ANO's award will be for "the best practical recommendations for applying methods for assessing mandatory requirements for regional governments," and the JIARTI consulting award will go to "the best project in the field of corporate government relations."

The winners and nominees of the competition will have the opportunity to undertake an unpaid two-week internship with the sponsors of the competition (travel and accommodation during the internship will be covered by the participant), where they can, among other things, participate in the implementation of their projects.

Following the final events, a collection of materials from the XIV EEFM will be released, including abstracts from the competitive papers of finalists. This collection will be available on the RSCI (Russian Science Citation Index) and on the website of Ural State University of Economics (available at https://science.usue.ru/en/scientific-events/collections-and-results).