EU project seeks to improve innovation performance of Russia and Ukraine
Innovation is seen by many as an important driver of economic growth. Recognising this, EU Member States have in recent years stepped up their efforts to implement policies aimed at raising their innovation performance. These policies are now being to bear fruit. The same cannot be said for some countries outside the EU, where innovation policies are failing to have the desired impact on the economy. This is where the EU-funded BRUIT project comes in. Its aim is to research and develop innovation policy in Russia and Ukraine by applying the socio-economic research methodology and indicators of the TrendChart on Innovation. The Chart, developed by the European Commission, is an initiative built on three blocks; the Survey of Innovation Policy to track national policies, the European Innovation Scoreboard to compare national innovation performances, and the Innovation Policy review as a policy learning support tool to help in the exchange of good practices. 'By introducing TrendChart to Russia and Ukraine, BRUIT is exposing Russian and Ukrainian innovation policy institutions and policy-makers to European, as well as world wide, best management practice in innovation policy', said Giles Brandon, the coordinator of the BRUIT project. 'It will also help to establish a means for closer ties between their national innovation policies and those of the European Commission and EU Member States,' he added. Funded under the international scientific cooperation (INCO) section of the Sixth Framework Programme, the project has been busy collecting the statistical data for 26 socio-economic indicators in order to calculate the summary innovation index (SII) of the two countries. The aim is to compare this data to that of EU Member States and other countries such as Japan and the US. The Russian Government is investing large sums of money in certain areas of science and technology. Recently it announced that it would to invest USD6.9 billion (¿5 billion) in a new nanotechnology programme. 'However, our research indicates that despite many innovation input factors being good (e.g. population with tertiary education is 228% of the EU25 average), the resulting innovation output factors remain low,' says Mr Brandon. 'In our ranking of national innovation performance for 36 countries, Russia and Ukraine were only placed 27th and 35th respectively,' declared Professor Slavo Radosevic, a senior researcher involved the BRUIT project. According to Mr Brandon, 'using the EIS indicators and country reports, we have identified a number of common gaps in the innovation performance and the national innovation systems of Russia and Ukraine, which can be addressed through innovation policy development.' By October, the partners in the project will aim to have a final report comprising the European Innovation Scoreboard (EIS) indicators and the finalised TrendChart country report for Russia and Ukraine. Once reviewed and authorised by senior government officials in both countries, the finalised report will then be published on the main TrendChart website. The project consortium is also planning to hold a workshop in Kiev in November to discuss and develop the practical policy recommendations in two innovation policy areas, 'Restructuring of Research and Development (R&D) systems' and 'Policy Implementation', so as to achieve a lasting innovation policy impact.
Countries
Russia, Ukraine