CLARIFICATION OF THE "REGIONAL DEVELOPMENT STRATEGY" CONCEPT

The purpose of the article is to clarify the essence of the concept of regional development strategy.  The object of research is the definition of regional development strategies. The subject of research is structural and logical characteristics of regional development strategies. Research methods are: comparative and decomposition analysis, logical analysis, generalization. The article presents the results of the author's comparative analysis of the structural and logical essence of regional development strategy definitions proposed by domestic scientists. The absence of a stable definition and the need to clarify it in view of the new meaningful characteristics that appear in modern economic conditions and should be inherent in the relevant regional development strategy are noted. The definition of the regional development strategy has gained further development, under which it is proposed to understand the general comprehensive program of actions aimed at ensuring sustainable socio-ecological and economic development of the region and increasing its competitiveness at the national and international levels based on the effective use of resource potential, activation of local initiatives, support of promising directions development of the territory, interregional cooperation, etc., capable of ensuring economic growth in the medium and long term. This clarification, unlike the existing ones, allows to expand the understanding of the structural and logical essence of the concept of "Regional Development Strategy" in terms of clarification of the ecological component of development, positioning at the national and international levels, activation of local initiatives. The obtained results of the research can be used as a basis for further scientific research on improving the strategic management of the region.