The objective of the study is to identify global, national, and regional trends that influence the creation and development of open diffuse agglomerations in the Kemerovo region – Kuzbass (North Kuzbass and South Kuzbass), and to assess their mutual compliance. The study is based on the general theory of strategy and strategizing methodology of the Russian scientific school developed by the Center for Strategic Research at the Institute of Mathematical Research of Complex Systems and the Economic and Financial Strategy Department at Moscow School of Economics at Lomonosov Moscow State University; the OTSW analysis method and economic and statistical tools for processing quantitative data are used. The author’s classification of trends associated with the development of open diffuse agglomerations has been developed. At the global level, strategic opportunities for them are associated with such trends as: changing the significance of distances between agglomeration participants under the influence of digital technologies, transition to vertical multi-level cities, development of creative and smart cities (affect the agglomeration as a whole); growth of rural tourism, eco-settlements, diversification of the rural economy (affect mainly rural municipal districts of the agglomeration); digitalization, differentiated urbanization, climate change and green transition (affect mainly cities). It is shown that digitalization and green transition trends create risks of increasing spatial inequality, as well as for providing regional strategies with resources. These risks can be countered based on the harmonious development of diffuse open agglomerations. At the national level, open diffuse agglomerations are affected by the dynamics of the Russian economy as a whole, a change in the approach to the spatial development of the country, changes in the spatial significance of individual agglomerations, and a decrease in the affordability of housing. In the Kemerovo region – Kuzbass, the trend of creating a legislative framework for agglomeration development is positive. There are trends that cause risks, in particular, an increase in internal spatial inequality, a decrease in the region’s share in the Russian economy, a weakening of competitiveness, and the potential of basic industries of specialization. The study revealed strategic opportunities in the external environment that should be used to determine the mission, vision, and strategic priorities of open diffuse agglomerations.

The study is based on the methodology of strategizing by Academician Vladimir Kvint which prescribes the need to take into account intersectoral relationships and global trends of industry development. The author reveals the prospects and directions of developing the strategizing of educational system in the regions of Russia. Digitalization and close connection with scientific and innovative process are the global trends of development of education which should find their manifestation in our country in the context of its pursuit of technological sovereignty, especially in industry. Of all the regional indicators directly affecting the “economics of knowledge” (those of education, digital and scientific and innovative development), it is indicators of education that are in the strongest positive mutual influence with the level of development of economics. The authors point out the “strong” positive interrelation of digitalization and scientific and innovative development with education, especially in computerization of educational activity. To maintain confident strategic planning of educational development at the regional level, it is essential to take into account the process of its connection to the entire economy as well as with its digital and scientific and innovative development. It is recommended to strategically plan the strengthening of cooperation of digital development, higher education and development of science and innovative activity at the regional level, currently these spheres are strategized separately. Separate planning is required for digitalization of educational process the intensity of which is most closely connected with the general level of the regional well-being. The authors point out that for confident strategizing it is appropriate to identify the optimal level of the relationship between education costs and the level of the economy in the region and strategically strive for this value.

This article is devoted to impact of international climate agreements, particularly the Paris Agreement, on the economic development strategies of the Russian Federation and the People’s Republic of China. By analyzing how these countries have adjusted their economic strategies in response to global climate mandates, the study reveals distinct approaches: Russia’s gradual integration of climate initiatives into its traditional energy-focused economic framework, and China’s active transition towards renewable energy and sustainable practices on both internal market and globally. The research highlights the complexities of balancing national strategy of economic growth with environmental sustainability requirements and the frameworks of international climate agreements, which sometimes have inconsistent interpretations. The article evaluates the strategic adjustments and policy shifts undertaken by Russia and China, which are critical in shaping national responses to climate change challenges, as well as necessary leadership role of these countries in modifying international climate agenda, enhancing partnership, especially with developing countries and Global South, as well as BRICS, Shanghai Cooperation Organization (SCO), UN Climate Change Conference (UNFCCC), other multilateral fora, One Belt One Road Initiative (for China). Also important to promote economic incentives for green investments, which might include some financial stimulus, for example subsidies, blended finance, tax break to encourage investments in renewable projects and energy-efficient upgrades, as well transitional financing, which requires modernization of existing international financial monetary system, based on Russian proposals in BRICS in 2024. At both supply and demand side it is important to promote reasonable consumption via sharing, longer usage period and re-cycling economic approaches.

Labour productivity growth is a fundamental factor of improving the national welfare, competitiveness, and life standard and life quality of the population. For the subjects of economic activity, labour productivity growth means increased profits and expanded opportunities for creating new goods and services, growth of value chains for employees, higher salaries and improved working conditions. Thus, labour productivity growth has always been one of the most important challenges for managers of all levels. The purpose of the article is to analyze statistic data, to formalize the priority trends and factors of labour activity growth of the industrial sector of economy. In recent years labour productivity in Russia has been changing multidirectionally as by the end of 2021 it increased by 3.7%, compared to 2020, and in 2022 it decreased by 3.6% compared to 2021; in 2023 the growth recovered, but not by much – only by 1.7%. To discover the points of growth the authors have carried out comparative analysis of the labour productivity dynamics by the types of economic activity that are considered as critical. The results obtained indicate the need for creating proper advanced development strategies, which requires relevant methodology and tool set. It is pointed out that digital platforms that are a significant factor in the growth of production efficiency are the basis of such tools. The authors have formalized the list of economic processes and the corresponding measurable indicators of the company’s operational activity directly affecting labour productivity; they also have created an application program that makes it possible to carry out imitative modelling of the processes’ dynamics and use it as a basis for finding an optimum development strategy. The authors see further research directions in the in-depth study of systemic patterns and structural and dynamic aspects of the possibilities of increasing labor productivity.

In the present conditions of economic development characterized by extreme uncertainty, the tasks of reindustrialization and import substitution require new approaches to analysis and decision-making. The article studies application of cognitive approach to modelling conditions and factors of efficient reindustrialization and import substitution of industrial ecosystems. On the basis of the cognitive map the authors analyze and visualize the relationships of the factors of reindustrialization and industrial policy. Cognitive maps are an effective tool for modelling complex socio-economic systems; they make it possible to identify the key relationships between the factors that influence their development. The authors define three scenarios of development of industrial ecosystems (innovation-and-breakthrough, modernization and inertia) and their conditions which vary by the degree of realization of six groups of factors (political, social, economic, innovative, industrial, managerial). The article highlights the importance of using tools of cognitive analysis for justifying strategic decisions and building an effective industrial policy to ensure reindustrialization and import advance in industrial ecosystems and increase sustainability and competitiveness of the national economics.

In the 21st century, most global powers have started creating new models of efficient management which, unlike the traditional linear economy model, are aimed at simultaneous maintenance of economic growth and preservation of the planet’s environment. The most effective model is called ‘circular economy’, and its key vector is improvement of resource efficiency and extension of the service life of products on the basis of environmental advantages by using the least amount of both material and natural resources. However, the implementation of the circular economy principles faces serious regulatory barriers, lack of system methodology of management and assessment of the economic systems’ readiness for the transition to new business models. The article presents a method of assessment of potential of the transition to circular economy within the framework of industrial development of the Arctic zone on the basis of the method of integral estimates and the authors’ system of analytical indicators which take into account both the environmental behavior activism of industrial enterprises and the scale of innovative activity. The authors have carried out typologization of the types of economic activity of the Russian Arctic zone industries and identified five clusters: a strong circular economy innovator – the manufacturing industries, construction; a medium-strong circular economy innovator – mining, power, gas and steam supply, air-conditioning; a medium circular economy innovator – water supply, sanitation, waste management, pollution elimination activities; a medium-weak circular economy innovator – information and communication activity; a weak circular economy innovator – agriculture and forestry, hunting, fishing and fish farming with similar levels of environmentoriented development and pace of environmental innovation. Clusterization indicates that the best results in implementation of the circular economy have been achieved by the cluster that includes such industries as ‘Manufacturing industries’ and ‘Water supply and sanitation, waste management, pollution elimination activities’. In their turn, agriculture, fishing, fish farming and business structures involved in information and communication require the activation of environment-oriented activities from the standpoint of state support, as well as the development of internal potential and increased environmental responsibility. The authors conclude that types of industrial production belonging to the five clusters identified in the study differ in the opportunities and needs for environmental innovation and development of the circular economy concept. On the basis of integral estimate of the activities of the Russian Arctic zone industries identified according to the All-Russian Classifier of Economic Activities, the authors have chosen leading circular economy innovators for implementing the circular economy technologies and determining the environmental impact indicator, and defined the factors that affect the environmental activity of the industrial enterprises and the prospects for its development in the Russian Arctic zone.

Due to the aggravation of the climate agenda, energy and industry all over the world are facing the unprecedented challenges caused by the necessity to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Industrial companies are intensifying the trends and plans of low carbon development, take actions on reducing greenhouse gases emissions as it is the most important component of the general business climate responsibility. This, in its turn, requires adaptation of the approaches at the level of strategic management including goal setting. The study is devoted to development of a scientific and methodological approach to the reduction of greenhouse gas emissions (climate objectives of oil and gas companies) within the system of strategic management of decarbonization activities. As a result of the study, the authors suggest a scientific and methodological approach to adaptation of the SMART-method to analyzing climate objectives which includes updated parameters of the SMART criteria, the method of conducting SMART-analysis and scientific and methodological tools of quantitative evaluation of achievability of the goals set by oil and gas companies on the basis of calculation of the basic, actual, target and plan levels of climate indicators. The proposed approach has been tested on the example of the goals on reducing greenhouse gas emissions declared by the largest oil and gas companies of Russia. The information and analytical base of the study includes the reports on sustainable development of Russian oil and gas companies. The authors reveal the typology of goal setting and suggest recommendations on how to improve the process within the system of strategic management of decarbonization activities at the company level. It has been discovered that nine out of fifteen climate objectives of Russian oil and gas companies completely comply with the SMART criteria. Also, one third of the goals is actually achieved which indicates that the companies are focused on realistic goal setting and permanent improvement of the internal processes in the area.

The article presents a study on the impact of the entrepreneurial ecosystem on the economic growth of Russian regions, based on an analysis of data from 83 subjects of the Russian Federation over the period 2010–2019. The methodological approach is based on the Mankiw–Romer–Weil regional gross product growth model, as well as on econometric analysis using regression models. The research results indicate that the volume of investments in human capital and the level of population coverage by educational programs have a positive effect on regional economic growth, while the level of entrepreneurial activity does not show a statistically significant impact. This suggests the need for further research into the factors determining the efficiency of entrepreneurial ecosystems in various regions. The article emphasizes the importance of improving educational policy and the instruments of state support for entrepreneurship in order to achieve sustainable economic growth. The proposed findings could be useful for developing regional development strategies aimed at boosting entrepreneurial activity and refining state economic policy.

Development and implementation of a regional financial strategy is a complex multi-step process, and requires justification of availability of all types of resources at all stages of strategizing. Resource security is one of the most significant factors that determine the potential for the implementation of most regional strategic documents. Finance occupy one of the key positions in the system of resource security of strategic priorities because funds and an effective system of their attraction and distribution are essential for attracting all other types of resources. In spite of high mobility of capital in the modern world, the dynamics of economic systems, repetitive emergency periods, and concentration of capital in certain countries, regions and industries significantly reduce the potential for attracting funds for effective implementation of the strategic priorities in some regions of Russia. In the conditions of significant diversification of financing sources of the regional economics, choosing the most preferred financial resources and building the optimal structure of the regional economic financial system are complicated system tasks. According to the methodology of strategizing by Academician Vladimir Kvint, to formulate main propositions of the strategy, discover new strategic opportunities and justify the priorities provided with competitive advantages and all types of resources, at the initial stage it is essential to identify and analyze the most sustainable long-term trends of development of basic economic factors which determine the potential and conditions of development of regional economic systems. The author of the article highlights the dynamics of such economic indicators as the investments in fixed assets, GDP growth rates, depreciation of fixed assets, sectoral structure of investments in fixed assets, inflation by country group, foreign direct investment, savings of the population, etc.. The analysis of the dynamics made it possible to identify the strategic trends of development of financial systems that build the potential for attracting finance to implement regional strategic priorities. The revealed global financial strategic trends help to formulate potential opportunities and threats of development of regional financial systems that are determined by global strategic trends as by objective environmental factors.

The study analyzes the problems of assessing the efficiency of the electrical shop of a metallurgical enterprise; shows the insufficiency of assessing the electrical shop using only financial criteria; identifies the main processes occurring during its operation; highlights key measurable indicators in each process; reveals the roles, significance and method of quantitative assessment of each individual indicator. In the course of the study, a system was developed that assesses all the key processes occurring in the division, taking into account the priorities inherent in an industrial enterprise, which includes indicators describing the financial and client element, an element of internal processes and an element aimed at improving the personnel. The article provides examples of calculating these indicators. The set of these elements is a balanced scorecard proposed by R.S. Kaplan, adapted for assessing the electric power division. The system of indicators developed in the study can be used for long-term assessment of the efficiency of the electrical shop of a metallurgical enterprise and used to determine the point of maximum return on costs in strategic planning of the electric power division of an industrial enterprise.

The staff shortage is becoming increasingly acute. In some regions, the number of open vacancies is several times higher than the amount of submitted resumes from applicants. All this makes it necessary to organize system work in the sphere of employment. Obviously, it is essential to ensure medium- and long-term planning of the staffing requirement in the regional and sectoral context. Currently, Russian experts are only working out unified approaches to making forecasts of the labor market needs for qualified specialists and workers. Development of a unified method of forecasting will make it possible to reduce labour market disbalance in the future, to generate admission control figures for certain specializations more reasonably. Interaction with students and young specialists in the context of staff shortage makes companies search for new forms of cooperation with higher educational institutions. The authors of the article present their own classification of the existing forms of employeruniversity cooperation in the sphere of employment. Three groups are identified as regular forms (dual Master’s degree, targeted training, etc.), irregular forms (virtual internships, field trips, case studies, design and analysis sessions, etc.) and platforms aimed at facilitation of employment. The authors reveal the peculiar features of each presented group and adduce the results of a survey on the topic of employment conducted among the employers, they also study the impact of the artificial intelligence on the labour market.