Improving the quality of life for people living in the North is one of the key goals. The document states that the government needs to improve the quality of life for people living in the North and members of indigenous communities, accelerate the region's economic development, take care of the environment, protect Russian national interests in the Arctic, and conduct mutually beneficial partnerships in the Arctic zone.

The document lists the key Russian goals in the Arctic: ensuring sovereignty and territorial integrity of the Russian Federation, preserving the Arctic as the "area of peace", developing Arctic territories as a resource base, protecting the environment, and increasing people's quality of life. The list of national interests also includes the development of the Northeast Passage.

The document mentions threats to national security in the Arctic, the main ones being population decline, infrastructure problems, low rates of exploration of potential resource deposits, and other.

The key metrics that will indicate a successful implementation of the programme's social component include increased life expectancy, population growth, lower unemployment levels, more job opportunities and higher salaries, Internet access. Economic metrics include the volumes of investment, natural resource extraction and cargo transportation, as well as the share of the gross regional product.