Regional state funds for support of science, technology and innovation: success, problems, foreign experience

This article examines the activities of the regional state funds for support of science, technology and innovation as an instrument for implementing regional innovation policy, with the aim to develop recommendations for stimulating and enhancing the effectiveness of research and innovation in the subjects of the Russian Federation. The authors faced several tasks: to find out whether the regional scientific funds take into account the specifics of their region (its social, economic, technological problems) when forming the tenders; to clarify whether there is a competition with federal funds, as well as to study the public opinion on the activities of the regional state funds drawing on the reviews from sites, forums and social media. The authors analyzed the foreign experience of forming a regional network of state scientific foundations in order to identify the most relevant and successful examples of such activities, applicable in Russian conditions. On the basis of this research the authors outlined some proposals for the development of a network of the regional funds for science, technology and innovation in order to increase the efficiency of the regional budgetary expenditures for scientific research, which should create favorable conditions for research and development in accordance with modern principles of organization of innovation activities, as well as contribute to the solution of the critical regional problems.