In the spring of 2013, the Russian Government announced a resolution, according to which a Council would convene to oversee the further development of the leading universities. The Council on Global Competitiveness Enhancement of Russian Universities among Global Leading Research and Education Centres has been designed to enjoy long-term service as a permanent interdepartmental advisory body; its mission is to handle the various issues that arise under its scope.

The Council is also the main governance body of Project 5-100. It goes over the Universities’ reports, suggests how much money is needed to follow through on everything, and then communicates what it thinks ought to be done to the Russian Ministry of Science and Higher Education and in terms of continued support of the Project’s selected universities

Members of the Council include many international and Russian representatives of the academic community, public officials responsible for educational reform, acclaimed experts, and scholars of high repute.

The membership of the Council was approved by the Government Order No. 529-r of 6 April 2013 “On the membership of the Council on Global Competitiveness Enhancement of Russian Universities among Global Leading Research and Education Centres”, as amended by the Government Order No. 2269-r of 20 October 2018.