The government innovations policy is a component of the social and economic policy of the government, which expresses the government’s attitude to the innovative activities, determining the objectives, vectors, and forms of activity for the public authorities in the area of science, technologies, and implementation of the achievements in the area of science and technology.
The Innovations policy in Russia Federation
The main objectives of the innovations policy of the Russian government
The main objectives of the government innovations policy are the following:
- To develop economic, legal, and organizational conditions for innovative activities;
- To enhance effectiveness of production and the competitive ability of the domestic producers on the basis of creating and spreading basic and improving innovations;
- To contribute to acceleration of innovative activities, development of market relations, and entrepreneurial activities in the area of innovations;
- To enhance public support of the innovative activities and to raise the effectiveness of using public resources directed at development of the innovative activities;
- To contribute to enhanced interaction of the subjects of RF in exercising innovative activities;
- To support domestic innovative products in the international markets and to develop the export potential of RF
The innovations policy in the European countries
since the early 1990ies, the European countries have been actively boosting innovative entrepreneurial activities. Special attention is paid to establishment and development of small innovative businesses
Public support of the innovations processes in the countries of Western Europe is mainly directed at the following:
- To stimulate the innovations processes;
- To encourage cooperation between universities and companies;
- To improve the system for protecting intellectual property;
- To improve information services;
- To perfect antitrust legislation.
The major part of funding innovations processes is constituted by the so-called indirect funding, including:
- Allocating subsidies (instead of direct funding of R&D, reducing the R&D costs and using concessional taxation);
- Developing the system of venture funding;
- Developing stock markets;
- Strengthening institutional funds (pension plans);
- Providing assistance to private investments (“business angels”);
- Developingthe educational potential;
- Training professionals and managing personnel;
- Establishing managerial and consulting firms;
- Establishing scientific and technological information centers;
- Developing immigration laws.
The European countries are striving to contribute to cooperation between universities and commercial companies which use innovations, acting as brokers. In these countries, there are also programs supporting priority areas of sciences, where traditional direct funding is exercised. A cluster philosophy has become widespread – to concentrate the efforts of the government on support of innovative activities and on establishment of new cooperation ties between businesses and educational institutions, which previously did not cooperate, and to contribute to scientific investigations. Clusters help companies to be competitive, as development of a new product and of equipment to manufacture it takes place in one or several integrated clusters. The clusters’ purpose is to develop new types of products, materials, and equipment to manufacture these goods and materials and to find potential customers for the results of R&D.
European governments pay serious attention to development of patent laws and the aspects of their practical application. For example, in the part of supporting small and medium-sized businesses which are involved in innovative activities, the European governments have stipulated free provision of patent information to small and medium-sized businesses.
