To ensure completeness and transparency of public data on the road economy of the Russian Federation Federal Highway Agency constantly publishes and updates on its Web-site (www.rosavtodor.ru) data, including general information and information on current events as well as management acts and directives, information on auctions, technical and scientific data etc. Federal Highway Agency site was recognized as the best administrative site of Russia at “The Golden Site” contest.

As experience shows, the web site has become an instrument of the efficient management in the course of the Administrative reform of the Branch (a specially designed site forum enabled efficient interaction of the management and employees of the highway services). On the basis of the FHA web-site, the network of sites of the road economy bodies is being developed. For Russia, it is the first project of the kind. This unique project, based on foreign experience and on specific features of the Russian high-tech development, will enable regional road managing bodies to achieve a new, highly-technological level in their activities. The main function of the regional web sites will be increasing of the efficiency of regional agencies activities; it will also enable Internet users to receive the information on the works held on particular road sections the FHA is responsible for, and improve the interaction and communication between the FHA center and it’s regional subdivisions.

One of the efficient ways to increase the FHA prestige and to create an image of an open and dynamic organization, contributing a lot to the market economy and civil society development, is holding Internet conferences.

In the context of the All-Russian Road Economy Day celebrations since 2008 on-line video conferences with the branch administration representatives have been held regularly. During two hours anyone can ask a question and receive an irrefragable answer to it from a director, deputy directors and chiefs of Federal Highway Agency bodies. Internet conference results are published on the web-site.

The sphere of development of modern IT and transmission facilities has underwent considerable qualitative changes, which made it inevitable to start searching for new solutions and new approaches to creating and maintaining data storages and providing access to them.

To meet the new requirements, in 2001-2008 there was created a reliable branch data storage and retrieval system; now it is successfully developing.

Branch database maintenance which includes data entry, information update, administration and technical support of the functioning systems, is carried out by means of the local computer network of the Federal unitary organization “INFORMAVTODOR” www.informavtodor.ru

The following constantly updated web applications have been designed and are available on-line on FHA site:

· The branch electronic library of the scientific and technical documentation and branch information resources;

· The branch technical regulations, standards and methodological documentation database;

The branch electronic library with its unified procedures of the data entry and retrieval (including short bibliographical references and full-text electronic versions of the technical documentation) creates favorable conditions for acceleration of the process of introducing new methods and technologies in the road industry. Moreover, upon the user’s request he can be provided with any additional information lacking at present moment; then that information will be placed on the site.

The branch inquiry stock was created by FHA on the basis of the Federal unitary organization “Informavtodor”. This organization also publishes scientific and technical and methodological documents on highway services, reference books and information collections and other literature containing the information on the current problems of construction, reconstruction, repair and maintenance of the roads and road artificial constructions and on new technologies, building materials and road machines. Every year over 40000 copies of technical normative literature are distributed by subscription and at exhibitions, conferences and seminars.

A lot of attention is paid to dissemination of scientific and technical knowledge and to popularization of a roadman profession. In the last few years a number of perfectly designed books and treatises on the history of the road service have been published, for instance, an illustrated album “The architecture of the bridges”, a multivolume encyclopedia of a roadman, which will doubtlessly become a number one reference book in this field for years. Annually updated road atlases are constantly published.

FHA widely uses mass media, in particular TV and radio (NTV, “Russia”, “Stolitsa” channels), to inform the public about its challenges, tasks, goals and actions. It particularly uses, on the etc.
News releases on the present state of the branch are regularly sent to various news agencies: Interfax, PRIMETASS, AK&M Rosbusinessconsulting. It also became a tradition in mass media to cover the events connected to the history of the branch and its veterans.

The central and regional press as well as a specialized magazine entitled “Russian roads of the 21st century” regularly publishes data on epigenetics of the highway branch.

The FHA participates actively in the organization and conducting of conferences, seminars and exhibitions, covering practically all road brunch activities. They are held in different regions. There participants have opportunity to get acquainted with the experience of the branch organizations and to set up new business contacts.

Each year over 15 000 specialists participate in practically-oriented seminars and conferences.

A considerable number of Russian and foreign companies is attracted by annual “Russian roads of the 21st century” forum and exhibition, held by Federal Highway Agency on the eve of the All-Russian Day of Road Workers (the third week of October). It has become a good tradition to organize this exhibition in different Russian cities, so as to stimulate the interest of the participants. In 2001 exhibition in Saint Petersburg, 2002 exhibition in Nizhniy Novgorod, 2003 exhibition in Moscow, 2005 exhibition in Rostov-on-Don there participated about 600 largest organizations of the road economy branch and of related branches, among them large foreign companies, such as Artic Machine, Bernardi impianti international s.p.a., Bomford Turner, Borum Industri, Cleanosol AB, Dressta Co. Ltd., Marsel Boschung AG, Svarko Holding AG, Wirtgen International Cmbh and others. Representatives of Austrian, Belarusian, German, Italian, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Polish, Netherlands, American, Ukrainian, Finnish and other companies took part in forums accompanied by serious scientific presentations.

During exhibitions scientifically and practically oriented conferences are held on all the spheres of the road economy activities. This attracts a large number of specialists and companies heads, somehow related to the road branch. Results of the exhibition are impressing: according to questionnaire data, more than 94% of companies participating in exhibitions think that they contribute a lot to the promotion of new technologies and various innovations, 88% of participants were able to set business relations in the course of exhibition, 95% of participants used an exhibition to strengthen the existing relations. 8 of 10 interrogated participants expect that these relations will result into future deals and contracts. 93% of participants said they would like to participate in future exhibitions.