Online squares: the leading cities of Russia's digital development are named

Kazan, Vologda, Salekhard, and Bryansk were among the top ten in terms of IT technology adoption for the first time. These are the data from the Digital Urban Life Index, which is measured by the Skolkovo School of Management. Moscow was expected to be at the top of the rating, but in terms of electronic services, it is not always in the first position due to the development of physical services. Citizens pay close attention to digital infrastructure when choosing a place of residence, experts said. About what modern technologies are needed in a modern Russian city — in the material of Izvestia.

Who was in the top ten

Moscow, Nizhny Novgorod and Yekaterinburg are the leaders of the "digital life of cities," according to the index compiled by analysts at the Skolkovo School of Management (Izvestia has it). At the same time, Kazan, Vologda, Salekhard and Bryansk entered the top ten for the first time (the index is being compiled for the fourth time). Among the others are Tula, Krasnodar and St. Petersburg.

The study is based on data from more than 90 Russian cities, including all regional centers and a number of the second most populous in the regions. The dynamics of digitalization were assessed in seven areas of urban life: education, healthcare, transport, retail, finance, media, and public administration.

The digital services supply index and the digital services demand index were measured separately. And only one city, Yekaterinburg, was in the top 10 for both indicators. And if Moscow took the first place in the rating of digital supply, then the capital did not get into the rating of demand.

Ufa, Sochi, Kazan, Novosibirsk, Balashikha, Naryan-Mar, Tula and Khanty-Mansiysk also became the leaders of the supply index. The demand is Nizhny Novgorod, Belgorod, Bryansk, Tula, Simferopol, Tambov, St. Petersburg, Vologda and Veliky Novgorod.

In the last five years, the discrepancy between the needs of residents and the capabilities of the infrastructure has begun to grow, the researchers explained.

— Digital demand in all areas is growing faster than supply, in particular in education, healthcare and retail. However, in small and medium—sized cities, the supply remains limited, especially in the field of digital education, where it is close to zero," said Vladimir Korovkin, the author of the study and head of the Laboratory of International Economic Research at the Skolkovo School of Management. — In most cases, the supply does not keep pace with the demand of residents. And Moscow has become a leader in general, mainly due to the digital offer.

The expert noted that the capital is ahead of many cities in terms of digital demand, but its position is strengthening with each wave of the rating.

"The relative lack of digital demand in the capital is easy to explain: there is much more availability of high—quality physical services in all dimensions," he said.

The most interesting, he noted, is the dynamics of the digital life index. Cheboksary, Ryazan, Nizhny Tagil, Ivanovo, Pskov, Lipetsk and Cherepovets rose to dozens of positions in it, although they did not get into the Top 10.

Digital breakthrough

Each of the cities that found themselves in a high position in the ranking has made a digital breakthrough in five years, the authors of the study noted. For example, Cheboksary was one of the first cities in Russia to adopt a Digital Transformation Strategy and became the first Russian city to have the opportunity to pay for travel through the SBP using a QR code. A single map of Yamal resident "Cloudberry" with extended functionality has been successfully launched in YAANO and Salekhard. In Bryansk, for the first time in Russia, they launched remote transmission of ECG results from ambulances and paramedic-obstetric stations — and were able to save dozens of lives.

For most cities that are successfully implementing digital solutions, the public-private partnership format turned out to be the optimal mechanism. The level of digitalization is beginning to play an important role in choosing a city for Russians to live, work and invest in, Vladimir Korovkin believes.

—The unevenness of digitalization can increase migration and reduce the competitiveness of regions," he stressed.

A list of "mandatory digital services" that residents want to see in their cities has been consolidated in Russia, the authors of the study added. For example, Russians want to monitor public transport through an app and see electronic timetables at bus stops, and pay for travel by bank transfer. The basic need is to be able to attach to the clinic online and call a doctor at home through an online service. Distance learning at universities, electronic city media and online administration pages, electronic marketplace delivery points and online branches of regional banks are becoming commonplace.

The high demand for certain digital services, on the one hand, can be considered a disadvantage of the regions, but at the same time suggests market niches for new solutions to regional authorities and businesses, the authors of the study believe.

— The most relevant digital services in terms of technology are artificial intelligence, the Internet of Things and digital platforms for managing urban processes. From the point of view of the product focus, there are transport and logistics, housing and communal services, environmental monitoring, improving the safety and reliability of critical city infrastructures, as well as urban management and feedback systems with citizens," explained Alexey Kalinin, Professor of business practice, Vice Rector for Research at the Skolkovo School of Management.

Cities that occupied average or low positions in the ranking are capable of a sharp jump, the authors of the study believe. They recommended that regional authorities interested in growth develop digital infrastructure based on private initiatives and the format of public-private partnership. Those who focus on digital offerings in the fields of education and medicine will be able to get ahead, they predict.

Kyzyl, Birobidzhan, Anadyr, Yakutsk, Petropavlovsk-Kamchatsky, Magadan, Vladikavkaz, Grozny, Makhachkala, Magas/Nazran were among the ten outsiders of the digital life index.

Life in shape: a public health rating of the regions will appear in Russia

Subjects will be assessed according to the level of sports activity of the population, the state of the environment, the quality of nutrition and the comfort of the urban environment.

Why digitalization is important

Digital services have become a critically important part of urban infrastructure today, not only in megacities, but also in regional centers, experts interviewed by Izvestia noted.

The availability of digital services is becoming increasingly important for choosing a place of residence, as digitalization has penetrated the lifestyle of the vast majority of the population, said Vasily Kutyin, Director of Analytics at Ingosstrakh Bank. Thus, the Internet penetration rate in Russia at the beginning of the year was 92.2%, he said.

The availability and quality of digital services directly affects the comfort of life, business activity and migration preferences of citizens, said Valery Tumin, Director of Russian and CIS Markets at fam Properties.

— Among the most significant digital services today, first of all, electronic public services. This is a basic need: registration of real estate, registration of benefits, receiving benefits, making an appointment with a doctor, paperwork — all this is done through digital channels," he stressed. — As soon as these services start working stably and conveniently, the burden on paper document flow decreases, and citizens begin to feel the real benefits of digitalization.

With equal income levels, housing affordability, and environmental factors in different cities, the presence of a developed digital environment becomes a factor of population attraction, Valery Tumin added. According to him, this is especially important for young people and qualified professionals who expect that most of the processes can be solved online.

— In addition, digital accessibility affects the development of small and medium—sized businesses — where it is easier to obtain an electronic signature, apply for a subsidy or rent a room online, entrepreneurship develops faster, - said the expert.

Citizens pay sufficient attention to digital services when choosing a place of residence, Dmitry Tselishchev, managing director of the Rikom-Trust investment company, confirmed.

—Digital comfort is no longer an option, but rather a basic requirement for the environment dictated by the population and business," he believes. — Given that a fairly large number of digitalization programs, services and services are currently being implemented in Russia, it is not surprising that the regions are partly competing for the speed and quality of the introduction of advanced technologies.

According to Valery Tumin, getting into the top ten in digital development of cities such as Vologda or Salekhard indicates that there is growing attention to the quality of life and urban governance through new technologies. This can increase their investment and migration attractiveness, the expert believes.

The appearance of small towns among the leaders speaks to the growing speed of digitalization across the country, added Igor Niesov, head of the Department of Digital Profiling, member of the Academic Council of the Academy of Social Technologies. At the same time, he called Kazan a recognized leader in innovation.