Monitoring of social tension in the system of setting the targets of social and economic development of municipalities

Abstract

The article considers the results of the diagnostics of social moods of people living in the former mining towns in Rostov region. According to the authors, the level of social tension of residents of these towns depends on the situation in social life and their trust in authorities. The effectiveness of social programs carried out by the municipalities is considered through the prism of the compliance of the purposes of these programs with the social moods. The method for conducting the monitoring of social tension involves two basic stages: 1) diagnostics of local social problems of the municipal unit (depending on the acuteness of the problems and importance of different spheres of social life for the population); 2) assessment of the resources of local self-organization (local initiatives) of the population. The authors reveal the most actual social and economic issues that may cause further problems (environment, medical services, construction and housing sector, transport and communications services). The study shows that the social activity of the population is low, and people try to shift the burden of socio-economic problems onto the municipalities. When elaborating the strategies of social and economic development of these territories the target should be not only tackling the problems regarding by the public as the most acute ones, but also developing the activity of non-commercial organizations and local self-government, using the mechanism of public and private partnership in the social sphere