Innovative Environment in Public Catering

Public catering is a very specific sphere with a number of factors that hinder innovative development. As a result, local public catering businesses require innovative elements that would be tailored for their needs. The research objective was to analyze the prospects of the public catering industry in the Kemerovo Region and design an instrument for its innovative environment. The research featured public catering enterprises, food industry universities, consumers, and market, as well as related products, services, and technologies. It also involved such elements of local innovation infrastructure as business incubators, technology transfer centers, core facility centers, and industry-specific innovation clusters. The analysis relied on such basic methods as analysis, generalization, systematization, and synthesis. State regulation stimulates research and innovative activity by financing projects in priority areas of science and technology. For example, programs UMNIK and START choose applicants with the best innovative project. These programs need new methods of selecting the winners and organizing their cooperation. The research offers a stage-by-stage mechanism of interaction, goal setting, and decision making. The infrastructure elements belonged to the innovation cycle: a student business incubator, an Infopark, a core facility center, a technology transfer center, and a industry-specific cluster. Industry-specific clusters proved effective for the public catering sector. Innovative activity makes sense when it is integrated with universities and regional infrastructure. Regional food catering infrastructure needs innovative elements and innovative projects, and industry-specific clusters can bring these novelties to the market.