Ekaterina Baranova leads the Smart City regional interaction department at the Russian Federation’s Ministry of Construction, Housing and Utilities. Her role involves coordinating the digitalization of urban economies in Russian regions, balancing both municipal and technical aspects. She implements digital transformation measures in cities and offers methodological support to evaluate this progress, including developing regulatory legal frameworks for urban digital transformation. 

Additionally, Ekaterina serves as an expert evaluator for the “Modernization of urban economy through digital technologies and platform solutions (smart city) category” in the all-Russian competition "Best Municipal Practice."