36,9% (figure of the day)
is the share of total investment in technological innovation that Russian companies devote to research and development. The amount is nearly 411 billion roubles. New data received by the Russian Federal State Statistics Service were analysed by HSE ISSEK Centre for Statistics and Monitoring of S&T and Innovation.
47% (figure of the day)
of Russians age 16 to 74 use social networks. These data are presented by ISSEK experts in the HSE Data Book ‘Information Society Indicators 2014’, available in Russian at the webpage.
Institutionalising foresight studies in Russia
In the latest OECD Science, Technology and Industry Outlook, the Higher School of Economics’ annual international academic conference ‘Foresight and STI Policy’ was listed among the most prominent international events promoting foresight methodology and best practices. Technological foresight, as was repeatedly noted by the conference participants — Russian and international theorists and practitioners of foresight — is gradually institutionalising, developing specific rules and traditions.
Ministry of Economic Development allocated 2014 subsidies to support pilot clusters
Pilot innovative regional clusters will receive federal funding for their development programmes for the second time. The expert commission of the Ministry of Economic Development recently completed selection of projects suggested by clusters. Like in the previous year, the preliminary selection was done via remote voting by the expert commission members at the Russian Cluster Observatory’s website. The selected projects were approved at the commission’s physical meetings.
31% (figure of the day)
of construction companies are experiencing a shortage in graduates from educational institutions who have either technical training or who specialise in a trade. These data will be presented in a new bulletin "Business Climate in Small Construction Companies study in the second half of 2014" by the Centre for Business Tendency Studies at HSE ISSEK.
72% (figure of the day)
of Russian managers at small industrial companies note that one of the main factors limiting production is the uncertainty surrounding the current economic situation. These data are presented in a new Monitoring the Business Climate in Small Industrial Organisations study published in the second half of 2014 by the Centre for Business Tendency Studies at the HSE’s Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge.
Foresight conference-2014 highlights
On November 6—7, 2014, HSE 4th annual international academic conference ‘Foresight and STI Policy’ took place in Moscow. A more detailed information on its discussions and presentations will be published in the NEWS section of the conference website.
Innovative Medical Technologies Cluster will appear in the capital
A new cluster is being established in Moscow — medical one. Its configuration and prospects were discussed at a round table during the second day of the HSE Foresight Conference. The participants included representatives of the Ministry of Health, Ministry of Economic Development, Department of Science, Industrial Policy and Entrepreneurship of the City of Moscow, Russian Cluster Observatory and Foresight Centre of the NRU HSE, the RAS institutes, medical and pharmaceutical community, and experts in other relevant areas.
15% (figure of the day)
15% of Russian companies discuss personnel issues at every management meeting. These data were obtained during a survey of 1,000 representatives from small, medium and large businesses in six major sectors of the economy. The survey was conducted as part of a Monitoring of Education Markets and Organisations (MEMO) study carried out by the Higher School of Economics in collaboration with the Levada Center.
Foresight Becomes a Part of Government Policy
Foresight, a system of future studies in science and technology, is being institutionalized, brings together different levels of ‘scanning’ the future, and is branching out into new sectors. These trends were among those experts identified at the 4th annual international academic conference ‘Foresight and STI Policy’, organised by the HSE Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge (ISSEK), which opened on November 6.