International experience of techno-parks in the Russian context

Abstract

The relevance of this study is determined by the problem of a technological gap between the Russian Federation and developed and rapidly developing countries, as well by insufficient effectiveness of the activities of technology parks in modern Russian science-based economy. Even though many techno-parks are functioning in the Russian Federation today, their performance indicators are not always satisfactory, which reduces the pace of innovative development of the state. Therefore, the work of modern Russian technology parks needs to be optimized, especially from the viewpoint of stimulating the development of science-intensive technologies. The purpose of this study is to identify the ways to improve the performance of the modern Russian techno-parks in creating and developing knowledge-intensive and innovative technologies. International experience in this field has been studied to achieve the objective of the study. Next, the authors conducted a comparative analysis (quantitative and qualitative) of documents (open sources, reporting and analytical documents, etc.), describing the experience of 12 overseas technology parks, showing strong economic performance. Additionally, an in-depth analysis was performed regarding four techno-parks, which have significant indicators of scientific and innovative activity, and leitmotif non-formalized expert interviews were held with employees of the Tomsk techno-park (a special economic zone, Tomsk, West Siberia) in July 2017. Based on the analysis recommendations were made for improving the Russian techno-parks management system that enhance the effectiveness of research and innovation activities, as well as the commercialization of the obtained results, which is highly significant for the development of Russia’s science-based economy.