Sustainable regional development assessment in terms of realizing the values of key stakeholders

The paper aims to study sustainable regional development by assessing the realisation of the values and interests of key stakeholders. The methodological framework includes the concept of sustainable development and a value-driven approach to management. The authors employ the method of theoretical analysis to validate the possibility of applying the value-driven approach to assess the sustainable regional development and building a conceptual model reflecting the composition of the key regional stakeholders and the content of their values and interests in the context of the concept of sustainable development. To provide both the overall and individual (in terms of social, environmental and economic components) assessments of the level of realisation of these values, the researchers adopt the method of integral assessments and develop a system of indicators and a step-by-step method for calculating the integral index. The authors test the proposed methodological tools using the case of the regions of the Volga and Ural Federal Districts. The findings demonstrate that the most acute problems for all stakeholders are the problems of ensuring environmentally friendly living conditions for the population, reducing the environmental pressure and environmental intensity of economic activity. In the social sphere, the most relevant issues remain improving the standard of living, and raising the volume and quality of social services provided to the population. The authors arrive at the conclusion that insufficient level of realisation of the regional authorities’ values limits their ability to influence the processes of sustainable regional development by improving the level of other stakeholders’ interests’ realisation.