Innovative competitiveness of russian regions

The article analyses the competitive challenges of Russian regional economies and proposes ways of selecting competitive priorities. The author assumes that selection of priorities for improving a region’s innovative competitiveness should involve not only its innovative R&D potential but also the effects that innovative and socio-economic development of the regions have on each other. This is because a region’s innovative competitiveness manifests itself in both its ability to create innovation and its increased resistance based on such innovation, and, therefore, it is closely related to its industrial and technological type from the outset. The analysis of research and innovative potentials of Russian regions shows that their innovative competitiveness has been deteriorating largely for the reason that modern Russia lacks any significant groups of political influence whose interests would be closely related to the development of the engineering industry, high technologies, and restoration of a sound industrial structure. The article shows mutual dependence between the socially required level of support to the regions’ innovative competitiveness and the innovation requirements of the industries with prevailing levels of technological efficiency. The author proposes a methodological approach to the selection of priorities for increasing the innovative competitiveness of Russian regions. Such priorities should take into account maintenance and enhancement of the research and innovative potentials of the country, on the one hand, and the need to improve regions’ sustainability, on the other hand. With the contemporary statistic base in mind, the author has created an integrated development priority index for regional innovation centers intended to increase the resistance of the manufacturers with various research intensity levels. The article rates Russian regions according to the technological complexity (high, mid, low, resource-extracting) required by the innovation centers to be created taking metallurgy as an example. The author suggests ways to increase the innovative competitiveness of Russian regions of various industrial and technological types. The article is intended for experts in theoretical and practical management of innovation.The article has been prepared with the support of the Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation, Project 14-02-00331 "Region’s Innovative and Technological Development: Assessment, Projections, and Ways of Progressing.

Innovation and Technological Development of Industrial Regions Under Social and Economic Insecurity

The article is devoted to the identification of the characteristics and priorities of innovation and technological development in the industrial regions of the Russian Federation in the context of the ongoing global crisis. The authors come from the hypothesis that, in these circumstances, the strategy of innovative development of industrial regions, in order to ensure their sustainability and the creation of conditions for further growth, should be an integral part of their industrial policies and focus primarily on the modernization and improvement of technical and technological level of basic units. On the basis of the analysis of statistical data about the status of the innovation capacity in the Russian Federation, the authors have identified the root causes of the continuing backlog of advanced foreign countries by the level of innovative development (raw-material orientation of the Russian economy that enhances the technological dependence of the developed countries; insufficient financial support for innovation activities by the state; the orientation of innovation in imitation and borrowing). The necessity to take into account in the development and implementation of the socio-economic strategic regions of the Russian Federation and the close relationship between the industrial-technological and innovation component of social development is proved. In order to improve the effectiveness of regional development policies, the classification of Russian regions considering their industrial and technological specialization is proposed, the required elements and characteristics of effective innovation systems for each type of region are allocated. In the article, the proposals on measures of the state support for innovation development of industrial regions, with the aim of improving their sustainability and competitiveness in the face of geopolitical and economic uncertainty are determined. The article is addressed to professionals in the field of theory and practice in the management of innovative processes.The article has been prepared with the support of Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation, project 14–02–00331 Innovative and technological development of a region: assessment, forecasting, and ways of achievement»

Substantiating the Transformations in the Priorities of the Innovations and Technology Development of the Russian Regions amid the Global Crisis

The purpose of this research is to substantiate the necessity for Russia to adopt a neo-industrialization policy as a tool for overcoming the consequences of the global crisis. The research hypothesis assumes that the competitiveness of Russian regions in crisis conditions cannot be enhanced without transforming the regional innovation priorities with regard to modern science and technology developments, production demands for modernization and import substitution, and accelerated the formation of the high technology sector. The authors believe that one of the main reasons for the current structural crisis in Russia is ignoring the determining impact of the innovations and technology development on the country’s regional socio-economic systems as a whole. The verification of this hypothesis based on the analysis of the official statistics revealed a number of negative tendencies impeding the country in overcoming the crisis phenomena through accelerated development of modern technological paradigms: decreasing staff component and deteriorating quality of the Russian science, widening the gap between the financial support in Russia and developed countries, reducing opportunities for innovation business development, and a lack of motivation for manufacturers to engage in innovation activities. The authors substantiate the necessity to strengthen the state innovation policy for the recovery of Russia’s socio-economic situation. They propose a methodological approach to choosing the priorities of innovation support for the economic development of Russian regions based on a comprehensive review of the condition and challenges in the development of research potential, the region’s business environment, and its ability to master innovations. Calculations are made to assess the possibility of creating innovation activity centers in the Russian regions of various types aimed at increasing the specific weight of high-tech companies focused on the production of innovations to address import substitution and economy neo-industrialization tasks urgent for Russia. The authors developed their own methodology to evaluate the possibilities of forming various types of innovation activity centers in the Russian regions aimed at increasing the specific weight of the high-tech sector and creating domestic high-tech companies, and focused on the production of innovations to address import substitution and economy neo-industrialization tasks urgent for Russia. The article is addressed to innovation management experts.The article has been supported by the Russian Foundation for Humanities, Project № 14–02–00331 "Innovation and Technology Development of the Region: Assessment, Projections, and Ways of Progressing"

Elections in the "Protest Region" of Khabarovsk on Social Media and in Local Online Media

The 2021 parliamentary elections in Russia show that while the longstanding menu of authoritarian manipulation remains the same, the level of these manipulations and the efforts being put into regime maintenance are unprecedented. In supplementing and sometimes adjusting these instruments, the regime is moving more rapidly than ever toward a hegemonic form of authoritarianism

Problems in increasing innovative sustainability of regional development

The article provides a comparative analysis of innovative and technological development in Russia and other countries. The paper shows that the innovation sector of the Russian Federation lags behind most developed and developing countries: Russia has almost left the market of high technologies, the main expenditures on innovations are incurred in the sectors of low and medium technology industries; the self-sufficiency in the Russian economy in a number of key types of manufacturing equipment is significantly below the threshold marks determined by national security requirements. The authors describe the differentiation of innovative development in the Russian regions. The study of Russian innovation space has revealed that there are fairly intensive processes of science decay on the periphery, which causes serious problems for the spread of innovative impulses across the country. The article elaborates the methodology for comprehensive assessment of innovative security in the region and presents the relevant calculations for the regions of the Ural Federal District (UFD). It identifies the factors of innovative sustainability that are the most critical for these regions. The authors present the forecast and built long-term forecast trajectories for the level of innovative security in UFD by using the modernized Hurst method. They define the main barriers to the innovative development of Russian regions. The article presents the methodological approaches to substantiating the priority areas for building the innovative systems of regions by taking into account the characteristics of their science and manufacturing complexes. The authors propose a methodology to formally assess the priority of establishing in the region the centers of innovative activity aimed at supporting the competitiveness of industries with different levels of technology intensity. The paper presents the results of calculations with regard to priority of establishing the centers of innovative activity aimed at supporting the development of industries with different level of technology intensity using the example of UFD, one of the leading Russian regions in terms of innovation and production capacity.The article has been supported by the Russian Humanitarian Science Foundation, Project 14-02-00331 “Innovative and technology development of the region: assessment, forecasting and ways of progressing”

Научно-технический потенциал регионов как основа технологической независимости РФ

Обеспечение технологической независимости — один из серьезнейших вызовов для современной России. Поиск подходов к решению этой проблемы делает актуальным рассмотрение вопросов развития научно-технического потенциала регионов РФ. Целью исследования является разработка теоретических и методических аспектов формирования и актуализации научно-технического потенциала российских регионов как основы обеспечения технологической независимости. Задачи исследования: уточнение понятия научно-технического потенциала региона, развитие методологии управления его формированием, разработка методических подходов к повышению готовности научно-технического потенциала региона к решению проблем технологической независимости. При проведении исследования использованы статистические данные ОЭСР, Таможенной службы РФ, Росстата, другие источники. Дана оценка импортозависимости РФ, показано, что коэффициент покрытия импорта экспортом по большей части высокотехнологичных товаров не превышает 5–10 %. Проанализирован генезис понятия «научно-технический потенциал региона». Уточнено его содержание с учетом положений инновационной теории и изменения потоков знаний под воздействием становления цифрового общества. Выявлены барьеры, препятствующие развитию и актуализации научно-технического потенциала российских регионов (технологическая отсталость и финансовая неустойчивость высокотехнологичного сектора, низкая готовность к актуализации и разбалансированность структуры научно-технического потенциала, и др.). Раскрыты методологические аспекты их преодоления на основе комплексного подхода к рассмотрению регионального инновационного процесса. Предложен методический подход к укреплению взаимодействия науки и бизнеса на основе модели открытых инноваций. Расчеты, проведенные с использованием метода иерархического кластерного анализа, позволили выделить группу наиболее перспективных для формирования предлагаемых автором центров инновационного развития регионов РФ, которые были объединены в три кластера (в порядке уменьшения приоритетности): регионы-лидеры, продвинутые и развитые регионы. В первый кластер вошли 4 региона, во второй — 6, в третий — 3. Полученные результаты могут быть использованы в практике управления региональным научно-технологическим развитием и дальнейшем формировании методологии инновационного преобразования российской экономики

‘Green economy’ as a strategy of modernization of older industrial areas in the Urals

This article discusses ‘green economy’ as a crucial principle of regional socio-economic de-velopment at its current stage. In the Russian context, this principle is particularly relevant in the light of the catastrophic increase in pollution of the human environment and habitat. ‘Green’ economy fo-cuses on modernization of production to ensure its sustainability and restoration of human habitat. The empirical part of the study deals with the social, economic and, above all, environmental problems (resource depletion, pollution, increased health risks) faced by older industrial regions in the Urals (Sverdlovsk, Chelyabinsk and Kurgan regions). These regions are now struggling with the decline of their key industries, such as mining and metallurgy. It is shown that the problems they cur-rently face largely stem from the orientation of the Russian economy towards raw material exports. The article also analyzes the innovation and technological potential of these regions and their priori-ties of socio-economic development. It is shown that their potential (e.g. human capital) is sufficient to modernize their economies. Some recommendations are formulated for these regions’ more efficient transition to the ‘green economy’. These include the development of high-tech industries and eco-friendly technologies, introduction of modern environmental standards of economic activity as the basis of modern regional socio-economic systems

Научно-технический потенциал регионов как основа технологической независимости РФ

Обеспечение технологической независимости — один из серьезнейших вызовов для современной России. Поиск подходов к решению этой проблемы делает актуальным рассмотрение вопросов развития научно-технического потенциала регионов РФ. Целью исследования является разработка теоретических и методических аспектов формирования и актуализации научно-технического потенциала российских регионов как основы обеспечения технологической независимости. Задачи исследования: уточнение понятия научно-технического потенциала региона, развитие методологии управления его формированием, разработка методических подходов к повышению готовности научно-технического потенциала региона к решению проблем технологической независимости. При проведении исследования использованы статистические данные ОЭСР, Таможенной службы РФ, Росстата, другие источники. Дана оценка импортозависимости РФ, показано, что коэффициент покрытия импорта экспортом по большей части высокотехнологичных товаров не превышает 5–10 %. Проанализирован генезис понятия «научно-технический потенциал региона». Уточнено его содержание с учетом положений инновационной теории и изменения потоков знаний под воздействием становления цифрового общества. Выявлены барьеры, препятствующие развитию и актуализации научно-технического потенциала российских регионов (технологическая отсталость и финансовая неустойчивость высокотехнологичного сектора, низкая готовность к актуализации и разбалансированность структуры научно-технического потенциала, и др.). Раскрыты методологические аспекты их преодоления на основе комплексного подхода к рассмотрению регионального инновационного процесса. Предложен методический подход к укреплению взаимодействия науки и бизнеса на основе модели открытых инноваций. Расчеты, проведенные с использованием метода иерархического кластерного анализа, позволили выделить группу наиболее перспективных для формирования предлагаемых автором центров инновационного развития регионов РФ, которые были объединены в три кластера (в порядке уменьшения приоритетности): регионы-лидеры, продвинутые и развитые регионы. В первый кластер вошли 4 региона, во второй — 6, в третий — 3. Полученные результаты могут быть использованы в практике управления региональным научно-технологическим развитием и дальнейшем формировании методологии инновационного преобразования российской экономики

Ecosystem Approach to Innovation Management in Russian Regions

Russia’s transition to innovative development is required to ensure the sustainable competitive growth. At the same time, the share of the high-tech sector in innovation costs today is about 15 %. The study suggests ways to improve the system of innovation management in Russian regions. Analysis of modern theories on the organisation of regional innovation processes confirmed a hypothesis that innovation management should consider the regional innovation ecosystem as one of the key sustainable growth institutions. A proposed ecosystem approach states that regional innovation ecosystems in the context of globalisation depend on the coordinated goals of socio-economic and innovative development, differentiated approaches to their construction, sustainable flows of knowledge and technology, diversity and competition of participants. The research determined such priority directions of the state policy as the recognition of the lack of alternative to innovative development; creation of conditions for high-tech industries outside the established business structures; increase in budget research and development (R&D) expenditures; strengthening of self-organisation of science; stimulation of horizontal interactions between science and business. The presented differentiated approach to innovative strategies of Russian regions considers their production and technological specialisation, as well as the state of science and higher education. A described methodology for selecting the most promising regions for innovative transformations is based on a comparison of the values of the author’s indices for the development of scientific and educational space and high-tech industries. The calculations show that, in addition to Moscow, Moscow oblast and Saint Petersburg that are already at the centre of the country’s innovation system, regions occupying the first 10–15 positions in the constructed rating (Nizhny Novgorod, Sverdlovsk, Novosibirsk oblasts, Republic of Tatarstan, etc.) can also become local innovation centres. The obtained results can be used in the state innovation management of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation

Ecosystem Approach to Innovation Management in Russian Regions

Russia’s transition to innovative development is required to ensure the sustainable competitive growth. At the same time, the share of the high-tech sector in innovation costs today is about 15 %. The study suggests ways to improve the system of innovation management in Russian regions. Analysis of modern theories on the organisation of regional innovation processes confirmed a hypothesis that innovation management should consider the regional innovation ecosystem as one of the key sustainable growth institutions. A proposed ecosystem approach states that regional innovation ecosystems in the context of globalisation depend on the coordinated goals of socio-economic and innovative development, differentiated approaches to their construction, sustainable flows of knowledge and technology, diversity and competition of participants. The research determined such priority directions of the state policy as the recognition of the lack of alternative to innovative development; creation of conditions for high-tech industries outside the established business structures; increase in budget research and development (R&D) expenditures; strengthening of self-organisation of science; stimulation of horizontal interactions between science and business. The presented differentiated approach to innovative strategies of Russian regions considers their production and technological specialisation, as well as the state of science and higher education. A described methodology for selecting the most promising regions for innovative transformations is based on a comparison of the values of the author’s indices for the development of scientific and educational space and high-tech industries. The calculations show that, in addition to Moscow, Moscow oblast and Saint Petersburg that are already at the centre of the country’s innovation system, regions occupying the first 10–15 positions in the constructed rating (Nizhny Novgorod, Sverdlovsk, Novosibirsk oblasts, Republic of Tatarstan, etc.) can also become local innovation centres. The obtained results can be used in the state innovation management of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation