The counterpart to the project is the Kaliningrad Regional Government.

The project is made up of three separate but inter-connecting components:

1. Administrative reform:  This is the principal component and has three elements:
   1. Supporting the Kaliningrad Regional Government’s own administrative reform measures;
   2. Supporting the Kaliningrad Regional Government’s actions to implement Federal legislation concerning administrative reform, including municipal reform (decentralisation, etc);
   3. Assisting with reforms aimed at improving and making more efficient the management of budget funds, especially within the Kaliningrad Regional Government.

2. Assisting all relevant stakeholders, both in the Kaliningrad Regional Government and other public and private sector bodies, to improve the regional conditions for improving competitiveness, business development and investment promotion.

3. Support the development of eGovernment to improve the effectiveness and efficiency of IT-based communications between the Kaliningrad Regional Government and other public authorities (e.g. municipal authorities), between the KRG and the business community (e.g. in the area of procurement of goods and services from outside suppliers by the KRG) and between the KRG and the people of Kaliningrad Oblast.

The project team will be made up of a large number (around 18 in total) of long-term Russian and foreign experts, supported by a lot of specialist expertise, mostly to be provided by short-term Russian experts.

Because of the wide-ranging nature of this project, most ministries and departments of the KRG will be involved – some on a continuous basis, some on an occasional basis.

Mr Torba, head of administration of Kaliningrad regional government is in charge of relations with the project concerning components 1 and 3, while Minister Lapin will be dealing with component 2.  Overseeing the entire project process will be a Steering Committee, to be chaired by the Governor or the Minister for Finance in his absence.

While one of the roles of the foreign experts is to propose and implement international “best practice” approaches to project issues, there are also many areas where other parts of Russia have done valuable work in developing solutions directly adapted to Russian conditions.  The Russian experts will identify these.

Underlying the whole project is the concept of “sustainability”, such that long after the project has finished the KRG will have the additional knowledge and skills it requires in order to continue the reform process and strengthen Kaliningrad’s economic competitiveness