Science and Technology in Regions of Russia: Coordinated Development

Prospects for scientific, technological, and innovative development at the level of individual territories depend on a number of regional characteristics, including the size and balance of accumulated scientific and technological potential. The proposed approach to assessing such balance is based on the ideas of innovative and absorptive capacities accumulated in a given territory. In this study, a typology and positioning of Russian Federation subjects are proposed based on a comparison of the identified characteristics. The share of people employed in research and development (R&D) in the total workforce in a region is used as an indicator of innovative capacity. The absorption capacity is reflected by the high-tech business localization coefficient. For 2016 and 2022, regions occupying leading positions and regions that follow have been identified. The empirical basis was based on data from Federal State Statistics Service of Russia (Rosstat) and the SPARK-Interfax database. Factor analysis and cluster analysis were performed using indicators describing the state of the region’s economy, its research and technological potential, human resources and digital technologies, as well as the quality of institutions in the field of innovation policy, and groups of similar territories were identified. The characteristics have been identified that influence the levels of innovation and absorption capacity at the regional level and contribute to their balanced combination, ensuring socioeconomic growth and technological independence. These include significant expenditure on R&D, a high level of digital technology development, and an advanced innovation policy. The structure of the economy should be relatively balanced, providing an external environment favorable for the development of new technologies and the production of innovative goods.