The Ministry for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic, the Eastern Center of State Planning (Vostokgosplan) and the Economics Faculty of Lomonosov Moscow State University are working on ArcticLabs.RF, an integral statistics, information and analysis platform or digital state plan for monitoring and governing the socioeconomic development of Russia’s Arctic region.

“We must have a clear picture of the necessary infrastructure, social facilities and logistics to be able to make use of the region’s natural competitive advantages and to implement modern technologies for getting the largest possible added value from the mineral resources mined in the region. This integrated puzzle can only be completed with the help of a modern system of state inter-sectoral and macro-territorial planning. It is this digital development plan that we are working on,” Minister for the Development of the Russian Far East and Arctic Alexei Chekunkov noted.

ArcticLabs.RF is based on the use of a dynamic mathematical model to create development scenarios for Russia’s Arctic and the Northern Sea Route. According to the ministry, the creation of a digital plan is stipulated in the Basic Principles of Russian Federation State Policy in the Arctic to 2035.

“ArcticLabs.RF will be used to plan development scenarios for the Northern Sea Route and also to assess the comprehensive impact of investment projects in the Russian Far East and Arctic, infrastructure bottlenecks and economic development pace in individual regions. We will create sector-based and comprehensive demographic models. The use of this tool will enable us to forecast the efficiency of state support measures as well as to calculate the best possible trajectory of sectoral development,” the ministry’s press service pointed out.

The system’s analytical block will be used to monitor and streamline northern deliveries, thereby helping reduce the regions’ expenditure, enhance the reliability of deliveries and, ultimately, improve the quality of life in the Arctic region.