Inter-municipal cooperation as a tool for managing socio-economic development of small and medium-sized cities

In the post-Soviet period, a signifi cant part of small and medium-sized Russian cities faced a whole range of socio-economic problems. In conditions of limited fi nancial and resource opportunities, the issues of fi nding effective methods and tools for managing their development are becoming especially relevant. The purpose of the research is to study inter-municipal cooperation as one of the promising tools for ensuring socio-economic development of small and medium-sized cities. The paper considers theoretical and regulatory bases of interaction between municipalities, gives a general assessment of the level of using its various forms in practice. As a result of a survey of local self-government authorities of the Vologda Oblast, the author identifi es the main problems of implementing inter-municipal cooperation. The article establishes that at present in Russia, including in small and medium-sized cities, this tool is not used actively enough which is largely due to the lack of fi nancial resources from municipalities, lack of experience in developing and implementing inter-municipal projects and programs of economic and social orientation. The work proves that inter-municipal cooperation can act as one of the tools for managing socio-economic development of small and medium-sized cities that allow concentrating municipalities’ resources and combine their economic potential. We propose to use inter-municipal cooperation as a basis for developing municipal strategies of socio-economic development of two or more municipalities. The study uses the methods of system analysis, expert survey, and tabular and graphical data visualization. The information base is Rosstat data and information provided on the offi cial websites of state authorities and local self-government authorities. The obtained results can be used in the work of federal and regional authorities, and local governance in improving socio-economic policy regarding development of small and medium-sized cities.