The development of Quality Management Systems in local Government Bodies in Russia and CIS Countries
Introduction of management systems based on international and national standards has become widespread throughout the world. Local authorities of regions and megalopolises, cities and villages as well as ministries and departments of various branches introduce the similar systems in order to improve their activity and to enhance the population satisfaction and other interested parties with the quality of the rendered services.
The most widespread international standards which models are successfully used by authorities and local governments are:
- ISO 9001:2000 (QMS);
- ISO 14001:2004 (EMS);
- SA 8000:2001 (Social accountability);
- ISO 27001:2005 (Information security);
- OHSAS 18001:2007 (occupational health and safety).
In local governments of Russia, as well as of the other CIS countries, the comprehension of the necessity of using the international experience has ripened, which is contained in the management systems models of international and national standards.
At present, the policy of the Russian government is focused on creating an open social-oriented society and consolidation of the constitutional state. The importance of this activity more than once was underlined in Russia's president statements, in performances of the leading Russian politicians and officials. These initiatives are realized with administrative reforms, the reform of local government, national projects in the spheres of housing construction, public health services and agrarian-industrial complex. An active work on establishment of the program for corruption control is now in progress.
The state is ready to spend vast resources on reforming of the enlisted spheres of vital activity of the society. Currently available means, including those that are gained from the natural resources of our country, are directed towards the raise of state employee wages, pensions and scholarships as well as welfare of our country citizens.
The important part of this work is the establishment of an effective system of local government that in industrialized countries is a basis of the developed society. The federal law, about the bases of local government that has come into force in 2003 allots the local governments with significant financial and administrative independence and also clearly regulates their responsibility and power. In the USSR the local self-government system has been extremely centralized and served, first of all, for provision of superior bodies' decisions fulfillment. However in modern Russia, following the path of integration into European values over 17 years and more and more realizing itself as a social-oriented state, the main target of which - to maintain qualitative and safe people life - on the foreground emerges the efficiency of local self-government, its ability to correspond to needs and necessities of citizens.
All aforesaid leads to the fact that the advanced management models and, in particular, the model based on ISO 9001:2000 requirements, become more and more claimed among the local governments.
Huge work arises because of creation of new and adaptation of existing QMS models of the local governments bodies with regard to the Russian conditions, for popularization of similar models among officials, representatives of central and regional authorities. However, the first step is taken and we with satisfaction can see how one after the other, the local governments appreciate the advantages of similar models and their practical application. Russian Register applies considerable efforts to continue this work. By its qualitative work, international recognition including IQNet membership, we try to provide the maximum benefit to those local governments, which have already implemented QMS and wish to confirm its adequacy to the standard requirements.
In April 2006, the administration of Shakhty of Rostov Region, in the name of a number of key departments, has successfully passed the QMS certification for the conformance to ISO 9001:2000. In 2007 the Certificate of Conformity against requirements of ISO 9001:2000 was given to Municipal Duma (local parliament) in Shakhty.
The conformance was approved and RR and IQNet certificates were also given to the administrations of the cities Novy Urengoy and Batajsk, as well as to the Economics Department of the Vologoda Region government. A number of local governments are currently implementing the quality management system, too.
We do hope that the international recognition by RR and IQNet among other things will help the local governments to draw the additional investments to their regions and to position themselves as "trustworthy" bodies. It is necessary to notice that on the CIS territory, wide state support uses the QMS introduction in government bodies and local self-governments in the Republic of Kazakhstan. RR has issued more than 50 certificates to the state and local government bodies in the Rrepublic of Kazakhstan and its number is continuously growing. In other CIS countries, in particular Ukraine and Belarus as well as the countries of the Central Asian region, the interest to ISO 9001:2000 in local governments is also increasing and we hope that the high level of services quality and international recognition of RR and IQNet will be claimed for and on these markets.
P.A. Nikanorov