European Research Studies,
Volume XVIII, Issue 4, Special Issue, 2015 pp. 57- 74
The Issues of Covering Science and Technical Policy of
Modern Russia in the Strategic Planning Documents
E.V. Dmitrishina
1
, D.A. Uskov
2
Abstract:
This paper presents the evaluation of the current relations between the documents of
strategic planning in the sphere of science and technology; the main issues of reflecting
scientific and technological priorities in strategic documents are discussed;
recommendations on improving the system of strategic planning in the sphere of innovation
and scientific and technological development are given.
Key Words: Science, development priorities, forecast of scientific and technological
development, state program, interrelations, strategic planning documents
1
Ph.D. in Economics, Deputy Director in the Autonomous Non-Commercial Organization
«Institute for Public Finance Reform» (IPFR), evd@irof.ru
2
Head of the Project Development Department in the Economic Science in the Autonomous
Non-Commercial Organization «Institute for Public Finance Reform» (IPFR)
European Research Studies, Vol. XVIII, Issue 4, Special Issue, 2015
Dmitrishina, Uskov
58
Introduction
Current tendencies of social and economic development restrict the number of
factors enabling increase of Russian economy competitiveness. Due to the reduction
of investment and human resources, scientific and technological development
becomes the only factor to provide a long-term economic growth and development
of the social sphere in our country.
In 2014 a Federal Law was drafted dated June 28, 2014 No. 172-FZ “On strategic
planning in the Russian Federation” (hereinafter “Federal Law No. 172-FZ”), which
defined a list of documents for strategic planning and general principles of its
implementation on the territory of Russia. In the near future there is a number of
federal strategic planning documents that need to be developed and updated
including the documents in science and technical policy.
Due to changed macroeconomic conditions of the Russian economy development
and increased restrictions, it is necessary to prioritize science and technical policy
more clearly and reasonably, taking into account our best practices in developing
and updating goal-setting and forecasting documents in the science and
technological sphere.
The task to provide correlation between the goal-setting documents is of specific
relevance as well as the implementation of state measures satisfying strategic
priorities of the science and technological development.
Main part
Science is a fundamental part of the state strategic planning. Any strategic
development document should reflect recent scientific achievements not only in the
technical sphere but also in the sphere of management.
Promotion of a scientific element is one of the typical characteristics of the current
period of strategic management development in Russia. Virtually all strategic
documents are developed are based on the forecasts related to the science and
technological development, which is also the result of a scientific activity.
That is the approach taken in the system of strategic planning documents in the
Russian Federation and defined by the Federal Law No. 172-FZ.
For the first time the definition of such a significant document, defining formation
and implementation of the budget, as the state program of the Russian Federation,
enshrined in legislation.
The strategic planning document contains a complex of planned measures linked in
terms of the goals, implementation times and resources, and public policy tools
enabling in the context of executing key state functions, achievement of priorities
The Issues of Covering Science and Technical Policy of Modern Russia in the Strategic
Planning Documents
59
and aims of the state policy in the social and economic development and ensuring
national safety in the Russian Federation. The state program of the Russian
Federation in the sphere of science is “Development of Science and Technologies”
for 2013-2020 (hereinafter, GPRNT, a state program).
Additionally, the documents are envisaged, which will define the system of
scientifically confirmed picture about the directions and expected results of
development in a certain industry or authority. As for the science, it is a forecast of
science and technological development of the Russian Federation. It is notable that if
until recently a forecast of science and technological development was the main
element of strategy in the sphere of science, today a forecast of innovation economy
development in general is more significant. This is explained by the appearance and
rapid expansion of a new forecasting approach “foresight” [1] and this led to the
adoption in 2011 of Innovation development strategy. However, some researchers
think [2] that mostly expert forecasting methods in the context of the foresight
method do not work in terms of long-term forecasts of the science and technological
development. Despite this, requirements to the quality of tools for science and
technological forecasting under conditions of national innovative systems
competition remain exceptionally strict.
Except the Forecast of science and technological development in the Russian
Federation until 2030, among the main strategic planning documents are the
Doctrine of Russian science development, the Concept of a long-term social and
economic development of the Russian Federation until 2020, the Strategy for
innovative Russian Federation development until 2020, the Priority directions for the
development of science and technology in the Russian Federation, the Critical
technologies list and the Fundamentals of Russian Federation policy in the sphere of
science and technologies development until 2020 and further (Table 1).
It is important to note the difference in interpretation and approaches to the
definitions of development priorities in all these documents. If the Doctrine of
Russian science interpreted science as a national asset and stated science support as a
higher-priority state task, the Strategy of innovative development, adopted 15 years
later, sets the task to develop the sector of R&D (research and development). In the
Concept of a long-term social and economic development the task to create a new
economy was for the first time set in the documents of this type. By new economy
the authors mean economy of knowledge and advanced technologies.
Table 1 – Priorities of science development in strategic documents
European Research Studies, Vol. XVIII, Issue 4, Special Issue, 2015
Dmitrishina, Uskov
60
Name of the
Document
Legal
Regulation
Priorities and goals of the state policy in the
development of science and technology
Doctrine of
Russian
science
development
Russian Federation
Presidential Decree No.
884 of June 13, 1996
Science and its scientific potential is a
national asset, defining future of the country;
support of science development is a state
objective of high priority.
Concept of a
long-term
social and
economic
development
of the
Russian
Federation
until 2020
Russian Federation
government order No.
1662-r of November 17,
2008
Development of a competitive knowledge
economy and advanced technologies;
expansion of competitive potential of the
Russian economy due to enhancing its
comparative advantages in science, education
and advanced technologies;
creation of a new economy – economy of
knowledge and advanced technologies which
is becoming one of the leading sectors in the
national economy comparable to oil and gas
and material sectors by 2020 in terms of its
contribution into Gross Domestic Product
(under economy of knowledge and advanced
technologies spheres of professional
education, high-tech medical care, science
and R&D, telecommunications, science-based
subsectors of chemistry and engineering);
Strategy for
innovative
Russian
Federation
development
until 2020
Russian Federation
government order No.
2227-r of December 8,
2011
Transfer of the national economy on the
innovation path development by 2020, return
of Russia into one of the world leading
scientific powers, creation of the R&D sector
to carry out fundamental and applied research
related to the relevant for world economy and
science and strategic for Russia aspects which
is in high demand by Russian and world
companies.
Priority
directions for
the
development
of science
and
technology in
the Russian
Federation
Russian Federation
Presidential Decree No.
899 of July 7, 899
Modernization and technological
development of Russian economy and
enhancement of its competitive ability.
Fundamentals
of Russian
Federation
Approved by a
Presidential Decree No.
Pr-83 of January 11,
2012
Achievement by 2020 the world level of R&D
and global competitive ability of the Russian
Federation in terms of the spheres defined by
national science and technological priorities.
The Issues of Covering Science and Technical Policy of Modern Russia in the Strategic
Planning Documents
61
Name of the
Document
Legal
Regulation
Priorities and goals of the state policy in the
development of science and technology
policy in the
sphere of
science and
technologies
development
until 2020
and further
The strategy the Russian Federation innovative development until 2020 covers
more global aspects of development of the whole country under innovative
scenario, including R&D which may find their place in the economy. Due to this,
the document contains a large amount of information about the main principles of
science and technology development and its main points are directly connected
with the development of GPRNT.
As it is stated in the Strategy, coordination of efforts to form an effective R&D
sector, relating first of all to the creation of the scientific and technological
foundation (predominantly, at the stage preceding commercialization) and
development of the integrated infrastructure of the sector, will be performed in the
context of GPRNT and this underlines once again a very close interrelation
between these two strategic documents.
Comparison of certain strategic planning documents, defining the direction of
science and technology development and the documents that are more closely
related to GPRNT, also confirms the interrelation between these documents (Table
2).
Table 2 – Comparison of strategic planning documents defining science and
technology development
Documents
Strategy for innovative
Russian Federation
development until 2020
Program of
fundamental scientific
research in the
Russian Federation for
2013-2020
Forecast for science
and technological
development of the
Russian Federation
until 2030
Updated
version
December 8, 2011 No.
2227-r (plan for
Strategy realization in
2015-2016 No. 373-r of
March 6th, 2015)
October 28, 2015
No. 2179-r
January 3d, 2014
Scope of
Federal level
Federal level
Federal level