The innovation extended reproduction allows modernizing the technological base of regional economics and providing the competitive edge of its production essentially. As an innovation infrastructure system forming component, providing the extended reproduction of a territory innovation potential, we offer the regional innovation center creation in Rostov Region (RIC). The principle RIC activity directions are:
- the analytical, informative and consultative support of the Rostov Region Authorities in the sphere of the territory´s innovation development, the elaboration of socio-economic and scientific-technological development programs, holding of exhibitions, conferences, seminars, other actions;
- the entrepreneurial business extension work in scientific and technological sphere, innovation activity of higher education institutions, academic and sectorial institutions and the implementation of innovation projects aimed at the development of science, the creation and introduction of modern knowledge-consumptive competitive technologies on the shop floors of the region;
- the execution of an examination of scientific and technological projects, new technologies, regional programs providing the creation of competitive samples of engineering and production and promoting the market saturation with the commodity produced on their base;
- the business support and new technologies and "know-how" implementation using patents;
- the entrepreneurial business subjects´, domestic and foreign investors´ attraction to innovation programs implementation on the competitive base.
The RIC is called to coordinate the activity of technologies´ transfer center (TTC), technology and patents centers (TPC), innovation technology centers (ITC), technological parks and other innovation activity subjects financed at the regional budget expense. A high regional development effect is possessed by the regional technologies´ transfer centers (TTC) performing their activity on the following directions:
- the formation of data bank on the existing innovation developments, investigations and projects;
- the non-financial economy sector´s request encapsulation for the most acute problems´ solution in terms of high technologies;
- the innovation projects commercialization assistance;
- the selection and evaluation of projects possessing commercial potential, the marketing research of the market and database creation;
- the creation of information channels for commodity promotion;
- the intellectual property evaluation, the search for industrial organizations interested in concrete elaborations.
The regional development innovation formation priority orientations are determined in agreement with the goals defined in the RF and Rostov Region regulatory legal acts administering the problems of socioeconomic, scientific and technological and industrial development. The creation of an integrated monitoring system of the innovation development priority orientations will guarantee their timely specification. These orientations are detailed within the framework of the Rostov Region´s check list of critical technologies necessary for the effort integration on the strategic drifts and practical realization of the present innovation potential in the region.
The current market infrastructure doesn´t provide an equal access to the resources and services for all the participants of the innovation process, that restricts the scientific and technological activity results´ commercialization. A considerable demand for equipped office and industrial premises with low rental fee is felt by еру small high technology business. The large- and medium-sized enterprises and organizations are in special want for the access to expensive equipment and long term non-loan credits. In connection with it a further development of business incubators network, ITC, technoparks, centers of multiple access to scientific equipment, expert-consultative structures, centers of technology and patents, subsidization of part of expenditures connected with market loan interest payments is planned.
The section of new innovation companies is the major source of novations, however, the national support system is insufficiently focused on the small entrepreneurship innovation segment needs. The cooperative network "science and education - innovation small and medium business - large business" is also undeveloped, that impedes the spread of knowledge from the research and development section and their capitalization in the Don economics. The institutions stimulating relations between scientific, educational organizations and innovation firms, between large companies and small business are ill-developed. In this respect it is necessary:
- the formation and development of pecuniary institutions providing business projects financial backing continuity in all stages of the innovation cycle (innovation funds, venture companies, "business-angels");
- the industrial engineering infrastructure (technoparks, ITC, business incubators, TTC, etc.) development;
- the extension work of cooperation ties between the innovation system subjects (the development of outsourcing and subcontracting centers);
- the development of information expert-consulting and educational infrastructures of innovation activity;
Nowadays, because of high business struggle, the majority of companies are in want of innovations, but this want is in disagreement with the demand for innovations because of high risks, administrative barriers, problems of access to long term financial resources at the state-private partnership mechanisms imperfection. It results in the fact that the demand for innovations is localized in primary sector corporations, which are ill-developed in the Rostov Region (excepting coal-mining ones). That is why the regional research and development sector is cut off, to some extent, from the financed order for innovation elaborations. In this connection it is advisable to create an intermediate structure performing the interaction between the customers from other regions and local companies. These functions can be given to the regional innovation center to do.
The basic realization risks of the region´s development pessimistic (inertial) scenario are conditioned by:
- the creation of well equipped industrial productions with low unearned increment instead of high-tech complexes in the territory of Russia, that will lead to the business struggle for cheap labour force attraction (first of all, in coal mining areas);
- the loss of competitive advantages associated with the research and development sphere creative potential and the development of human potential as a whole;
- the weakening of defense and "double" technologies development systems´ efficiency.
Within the framework of the innovation development active scenario it is the forward development of the "knowledge generation" medium, the provision of research and development section on the priority orientations, the creation of effective innovation infrastructure and stimulation of the economic branches´ wide technological modernization, that is necessary. For the active scenario realization it is required:
- the concentration of budget and off-budget resources destined for R&D and high-tech projects financing on the priority orientations;
- the provision of high technological innovations reduction for real economic section enterprises and organizations, and also information about the existing demand for them.
Within the framework of the optimistic (active) scenario the following tasks are emphasized as the prime ones:
- the creation of a competitive research and development section and conditions for its extended reproduction;
- the creation of an effective regional innovation system;
- the development of use and legal protection of the research and development results;
- the economy modernization in terms of technological innovations.
As the result of these problems´ solution with the potential development and the formation of the demand adequate structure of the research and development section supply, the realization of science and technology priority orientations in the Rostov Region is supposed. Together with that the science service export and innovation activity section results value as an independent economic branch will grow. The regional economic policy orientation to the enterprises´ and organizations´ activity support and stimulation will allow guaranteeing the development of the research and development competitive section and conditions for its extended reproduction. It is known that only from the export of high technology products Russia can annually get 120-150 billion dollars. The Rostov Region ranking the 11th on the innovation potential among the RF subjects is able to get additionally considerable values of financial assets and raise, thereby, the interest of foreign companies in their productions and scientific laboratories distribution in the region´s territory thanks to the export of high technology products. To do this it is required:
- the Don science-intensive products export merchants´ support;
- the formation and financing of the conjoined regional ordering for the scientific-technological production;
- the rendering of organizational economical support to the innovation activity subjects;
- the delivery of an agreement between the Rostov Region Administration, leading higher education institutions and research institutes about the joint activity aimed at the acceleration of most advanced R&D results involving into the economical return;
- the stimulation of production modernization owing to import substituting technologies developed in the Rostov Region.
The financing of optimistic scenario realization consists of budgetary and extra-budgetary components. The budgetary component value is formed of the following sources:
- the budgetary research and development;
- the state banks´ credit resources provided in the mode of development credits for technological reequipment and participating in international technological projects (up to 100-150 billion dollars annually as a whole throughout Russia);
- the subsidization of part of expenditures connected with credit and lease payments, compensation of part of expenditures for participation in shows and patent payments coverage;
- the purposeful buying of science-intensive products created within the framework of the conjoined regional ordering;
- the innovation sector development within the framework of four National projects realization;
The entrepreneurial sector is characterized by the ill-development of subcontracting networks, the small innovation business being poorly integrated into the value formation chains. In combination with bad sensitivity of large and medium-sized enterprises to innovations by virtue of their insufficiently effective managerial systems, it essentially restricts the innovation decisions inflow into the business sector. For such a situation overcoming within the framework of the active scenario realization, the following prime measures are necessary:
- the stimulation of the demand for innovations in the regional economics business sector, technological rearmament of companies, new high-technology products issuing and export activity, creation of new high-tech firms;
- the budget tax incentives of scientific and technological activity and demands for its results;
- the extension of international technological integration of enterprises and regional organizations;
- the formation of general conditions for the development of state-private partnership in the sphere of innovation activity;
- the regional development technological forecast and science and technology priority orientations determination mechanisms system formation for a long-term outlook (foresite technology); the formation of critical technologies´ and technological development priorities´ catalogue;
- the regional (organizational, financial, information) support of joint research projects of enterprises and higher educational institutions within the framework of the priority development orientations;
- the provision of innovation directivity of the purchasing system for the national needs (inclusive of the conjoint regional ordering for the R&D deliverables);
- the extension and "programming" of the demand for innovations in major companies.
Thus, the innovation development active scenario realization is the most optimal option.
The article is admitted to the International Scientific Conference « Social-economical development problems of regions », China (Beijing), November 26 - December 4, 2007 г., came to the editorial office on 2.11.07