In the conditions of increasing competition in the technological sector of the economy and the intensification of innovation, innovative management tools are needed to facilitate the effective planning, organization, stimulation and control of the introduction and implementation of innovations in the resource regions of Kazakhstan. Consequently, new scientific approaches are required to manage the innovative development of the commodity region, which will increase the effectiveness of regional socio-economic systems.Currently, an advanced tool in the field of determining the territories of cluster localization is the model of “smart specialization”, which is a special scientific approach to the formation of regional clusters. The “smart specialization” model emphasizes the need to search for and select such spheres of activity which are capable of making the maximum contribution to the socio-economic development of the region by supporting and stimulating innovative research and development in the identified spheres of regional specialization. An important condition for regional economic progress is the identification of potential poles of innovative growth in the region based on the analysis of its own potential and best international practices. The purpose of the article is to substantiate the priority areas and develop methods, tools for managing the innovative development of resource regions of Kazakhstan on the basis of the model of “smart specialization” to create a new quality of economic growth of territories. The article analyzes the scientific literature and substantiates the priority, the effectiveness of applying the “smart specialization” model to the process of innovative development of the resource region. The methodological approaches (methodological principles, conditions, criteria, scenario variants, algorithm) of formation of rapidly developing sectors of economy of raw material region on the model of “smart specialization” are specified. The authors of the article specify the methodological tools, which will allow to carry out the choice of the most promising technologies for the formation of rapidly developing sectors of the economy of the commodity region.

The article reveals the applied aspects of conducting a multivariate analysis, which makes it possible to identify the patterns of innovative development of raw materials (oil and gas) regions of Kazakhstan in conjunction with modernization transformations. A factor analysis of the initial signs of indicators for the period from 2008 to 2021 is carried out. All data were analyzed using IBM SPSS 23 software. The authors describe in detail the methodology of this study, providing the results of statistical analysis. As a result of the analysis, the factors are identified: «economic development of the region and agglomeration effects», «market potential and infrastructure», «structural factor of innovative development», «human factor of innovative development» and «investment factor of innovative development». It is concluded that the stimulation of innovation activity could be based on such measures of state policy as an increase in investment in fixed assets; growth of the gross regional product and the cost of product and process innovations; development of information and communication technologies in the regions; expanding lifelong learning programs; poverty reduction; an increase in the share of employees engaged in research and development; small business development; increasing investment in education and increasing the number of students in technical and STEM specialties. The results obtained also made it possible to conclude that the identified factors of innovative development of raw materials (oil and gas) regions of Kazakhstan are complete and that further research is needed in the context of studying the stated problem.

The relevance of the study is due to the issues of the successful development of any economic system based on the high dynamism of its links. The purpose of the study is to reveal the features of the processes of regional development at the present stage. The article touches upon the topic of the administrative-territorial division of the Republic of Kazakhstan, gives a comparison by the size of the regions, gives the features of their development. The authors focus on the complex solution of the problems of regional development. As a research task, the authors attempted to assess and systematize the features of regional development in Kazakhstan. Considered and given the characteristics of the socio-economic development of the regions. The taxonomic levels of research and the views of scientists who have made a great contribution to the development of theoretical concepts of regional science are analyzed. The article substantiates the priority and effectiveness of the application of the «smart specialization» model to the development process of the region. The characteristics of the sectors of the economy of the raw material region are determined. The effects of the transition of the raw materials region to innovative development according to the «smart specialization» model are indicated. In general, the generalization of the experience of the development of regions according to the «smart specialization» model allows us to draw certain conclusions and recommendations when implementing the «smart specialization» strategy in the regions of Kazakhstan.

The object of the research is the hypothesis: most of the features of the “smart specialization” model are present, at least formally, in the traditional development strategies of the regions of Kazakhstan. The “pure” condition for testing the hypothesis is the absence of the phrase “smart specialization” in the strategies (programs) of regional development from 2012 to 2021; lack of indications that the “smart specialization” model was taken into account; lack of appropriate directives from the state authorities. The article evaluates the strategies of innovative development of selected regions of Kazakhstan according to the criteria of the “smart specialization” model. The information base of the research was served by open sources: specialized bases of normative and legal acts, official websites of regions. Adapted method of smart specialization RIS3 Self-Assessment Wheel was used for testing the advanced research hypothesis. The basic methodology of the European Commission is based on point evaluations (on a scale of 0–5) of strategic regions according to 18 criteria, which detail 6 steps for the creation and development of a regional strategy of smart specialization. After completing the assessment of regional strategies (programs), the final result was presented in the form of a “web” diagram, on which the strengths and weaknesses of the innovative development of the considered regions were highlighted.

This article discusses the development of production processes in the context of integration, which makes it possible to increase the competitiveness of the industry, concentrate production, money and commodity capital, increase the speed of production, introduce innovations, produce products with high added value and enter the world markets. The features of the growth of the machine-building industry, which determine the energy and material consumption of the economy, labor productivity, the level of generation of innovations, the level of environmental safety of industrial production and the economic security of the country, are analyzed. Revealed and substantiated the need to focus on the “complication” of the national economy and diversification of those industries that give the maximum multiplier effect and high-quality economic growth. On the basis of the conducted research, the author proposes to activate the innovative development of mechanical engineering as a driver of industrialization in Kazakhstan. The need for the growth of domestic mechanical engineering, which provides the country's economy with means of production, promotes the development of all manufacturing industries, fuel and energy, transport and logistics, extractive sectors of the economy and agriculture is revealed and substantiated. On the basis of the study, the author proposes to highlight the multiplier effect, reflecting the degree of influence of a particular industry or sector on the growth of the economy as a whole by creating additional demand in other industries and sectors of the economy, and, consequently, jobs. The success of the development of mechanical engineering is determined in the proposed directions for increasing state support and stimulating the industry.