A PROJECT-BASED ACTIVITY MECHANISM IN THE TERRITORIAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY OPERATION

Authors

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.22394/

Keywords:

Territorial development strategy, project-based activity, transaction costs, transactional configuration, project portfolio, strategic management, territorial development.

Abstract

Introduction. The relevance of the study is determined by the persistent gap between strategic goal setting and the practical feasibility of territorial development documents under conditions of institutional fragmentation, project disconnection, and multi-level public governance. In contemporary municipal practice, strategies often remain declarative and fail to translate strategic priorities into sustainable project-based solutions. The scientific novelty of the study lies in the development of a project-based approach to territorial strategic management grounded in institutional logic and transaction cost analysis, as well as in substantiating project-based activity as a form of territorial strategic design integrated into the process of strategic goal setting and the institutional structuring of managerial interactions.

Materials and Methods. The methodological framework of the study is based on the principles of institutional economic theory and transaction cost theory, concepts of project and portfolio management in the public sector, and contemporary approaches to territorial strategic planning. The research employs methods of structural-functional analysis, stakeholder analysis, institutional modeling, and project configuration. The empirical basis includes materials of strategic and territorial planning, as well as municipal-level master planning data, which made it possible to analyze mechanisms for aligning strategic goals with project initiatives.

Results and Conclusions. As a result of the study, a project-based activity mechanism within the territorial strategic management system has been proposed, integrated into the strategic design process and grounded in the principles of transactional configuration of interactions among development actors. The mechanism comprises strategic, project and portfolio, institutional, resource and financial, and control and analytical blocks that ensure the alignment of strategic priorities with the configuration of managerial transactions and project decisions. It has been demonstrated that the reduction of transaction costs does not constitute an independent development goal, but rather serves as a condition for enhancing the feasibility of strategic decisions and the sustainability of project portfolios.

Discussion. The theoretical applicability of the proposed mechanism has been illustrated using the materials of the territorial development master plan of the Zheleznodorozhny District of the city of Yekaterinburg, which made it possible to demonstrate the potential of transactional configuration in forming a portfolio of strategic initiatives. The obtained results refine existing views on the role of project-based activity in the strategic management of municipal development and expand the toolkit of institutional analysis of territorial strategies. The practical significance of the study lies in the possibility of applying the developed mechanism by local self-government bodies in the development and implementation of territorial development strategies, as well as in the formation and management of municipal project portfolios.

Author Biographies

  • Evgeny V. Popov , Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Ural Institute of Management

    Evgeny V. Popov – Doctor of Economic Sciences, Professor, Corresponding Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences; Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Ural Institute of Management (620144, Russia, Yekaterinburg, 8 Marta St., 66) – Director of the Center for Social and Economic Research; epopov@mail.ru. SPIN 9980-7417, ORCID 0000-0002-5513-5020.

  • Igor P. Chelak , ussian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Ural Institute of Management

    Igor P. Chelak – Candidate of Economic Sciences; Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Ural Institute of Management (620144, Russia, Yekaterinburg, 8 Marta St., 66) – Deputy Director of the Center for Social and Economic Research; Ural Federal University named after the First President of Russia B. N. Yeltsin – Associate Professor of the Department of Humanitarian Education «Specialized Educational and Scientific Center» (SUNC UrFU); chelak@mail.ru. SPIN 3281-6437, ORCID 0000-0001-8770-0533.

  • Semyon V. Vlasov , Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Ural Institute of Management

    Semyon V. Vlasov – Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration, Ural Institute of Management (620144, Russia, Yekaterinburg, 8 Marta St., 66) – Academic Degree Applicant; Administration of the Zheleznodorozhny district of the city of Yekaterinburg (620027, Russia, Yekaterinburg, Melkovskaya St., 7) – Deputy Head of the District Administration; i@semenvlasov.ru. SPIN 9531-2642, ORCID 0000-0002-3930-5384.

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Published

2026-09-30

Issue

No. 3 (2026): Municipality: Economics and Management

Section

Economics