Paper Iceberg

The water, which is filled with their reports, officials of the Arctic Committee on Affairs, would be enough for a small hydroelectric station

The Arctic Affairs Committee, created three years ago, remains the most mysterious unit of Smolny. The real fruits of his activity are not visible, and the very meaning of the existence of such a department in St. Petersburg far from the Arctic zone raises great doubts. The “new” attempts taken to find traces of the real work of the Arctic Committee only increased these doubts: only public procurement, including gift sets with blankets made of Merinos wool, were discovered from the interesting.

We received the committee’s response to our editorial request after the publication . Information that would return to the topic raised in the article, we did not find in the response of the committee. Although he spent 20 sheets of paper on him (2-the actual response of the press service and 18 sheets of applications).

For example, we asked: why there is no information on the website of the department that we are obliged to publish according to the order of the head of the 2018 committee (the data of the annually conducted surveys of citizens and the entrepreneurial community, the chairman’s reports on the results of the activities of the committee and the Public Council, etc.).

And this order, responded to us, extended to a two -year period and "ended with execution in 2020." Although it will accept performance either on the site or in the cache of the search engine. Apparently, they did so that since 2021 they decided not to prolong the action of this order, riding themselves even from the promises of regular reports and compliance with other principles of “open government”.

As for the annually ordered polls, the committee limited himself to the names of three topics and assurances, which takes into account their results in its work. And if the editorial office is interested in the content of these research, contact the contractor (OPB GUP St. Petersburg Information and Analytical Center). Despite the fact that this is the order of the head of the committee to publish these materials on the department’s website. In addition, the contractor is not the copyright holder of the results of the work committed by order of the work committee - it is pointless to contact him. The mystery remains how exactly the Committee puts in practice the data of such surveys as, for example, “the awareness of St. Petersburg schoolchildren of grades 9-11 about the Arctic and interest in studying it”.

First of all, we were interested in the practical results of the committee, in fact, therefore, “New” and asked to provide the annual reports of the chairman and inform how he personally evaluates the activities of his department and what criteria is guided in assessing its effectiveness.

Neither reports of the chairman, not at least links to the secret nest where they are laid out, were not presented to us.

Being a phrase that the results of the committee are “regularly reported at meetings of the board and the public council of the committee” and sending the link where the protocols of the results of such meetings are posted. We, in fact, were already there, preparing the first publication. And we got acquainted with these protocols. The only information that can be gleaned there about the results of the committee’s activities fits in two phrases: they heard - took note.

The Committee, in its response to the “New” request, is, however, for some reason adds that representatives of the media are “included in the Public Council”. Not otherwise than hinting that we ourselves can ask our colleagues if so curious.

The Committee Chairman German Shirokov did not share with us his assessments of the committee’s activities and the criteria of those. Instead, his press service painted the weekend of decisions, orders and provisions, which, in principle, determines the assessment of the effectiveness of the work of executive bodies, for two paragraphs.

But we were sent to work plans and reports of the Public Council (although both are on the site abounding in common phrases). But here they manage to catch up with the line: there is, in terms of work “Conducting meetings” and - a separate item - “Extraordinary meetings”, “Interaction with the media” and “Lighting of activity in the media”, as well as “updating the section of the public council on the committee’s website” (“constantly”). Over the three years of the Council, 14 publications in this section, mostly generalized, listened, listened to the minutes of the meetings. And the last presented work plan-for the last year, from 2021, apparently, have not yet been decided.

In our editorial request, we also asked why the section of the departmental site “Programs and Plans” is empty - everyone has long been interested in what such an exotic committee is doing in St. Petersburg in general, what kind of “ARCTIC cases” are. We were explained to us with a cloth language that the Committee carries out its activities in accordance with the state programs of St. Petersburg, having made their list in a 4-page application. In particular, the participation of the committee in such measures as “ensuring the operation and purchase of automation, spare parts, supplies and components for them”, “improving the efficiency of public administration”, “operation and development of software products of automated budget accounting” and with a dozen no less fascinating one noted.

A year ago, it was announced that the Committee is planned to include St. Petersburg universities and scientific institutions in the Scientific and Educational Center (NOC) North: Sustainable Development, created on the basis of the Yakut University. The task is attractive - especially if you take into account that the five Russian Nutz, in the case of obtaining the status of the “world level”, were connected to the National Project “Science” (from 18.5 billion rubles of federal financing only in 2020–21). And the chances of NOC North to get into this five were especially high.

The “new” in her request asked what the committee managed to do in this direction for the year. Indeed, judging by the NOC North website, its composition was never replenished with St. Petersburg structures.

But the St. Petersburg State University and several St. Petersburg scientific organizations "act as partners of Nutz" North ", the committee said. It is a pity without specifying: how long did this partnership have happened and what is the merit of the Committee itself? As in other processes listed in his report on interaction with Nutz. It seems to be a project to create a test landfill “within the framework of the integrated development plan of the village of Tiksi” or “preparation for the creation” of our vir named after Vavilov joint laboratory.

With the same ease, the Committee completes its report with a passage on the recognition of NOC North by one of the five winners of the competitive selection for state support. As if it has at least some kind of attitude to that.