Development of Infrastructure to Support the National Technological Initiative: The Case of the Russian Federation

Abstract

The modern world lives in a digital transformation. Many researchers consider this period to be a new technological paradigm or a digital economy. The widespread digitalisation of production and management processes not only affects the processes of global globalization, but also contributes to the rapid growth of the economy, enhancing living standards. While the global economy identifies some common characteristics of the development of the digital economy, there is no consistent methodological approach. The Russian Federation in the world scores to evaluate the development of the digital economy, in general, is in the group of developing countries. Therefore, at the state level, the digital transformation is recognized as a strategic priority for Russia's developers. Since 2014, the development strategy of Russia has been the National Technology Initiative (NTI), a long-term program to create new markets and lay the groundwork for Russia's technological leadership by 2035. Its first steps served as a foundation for the adoption of the national project “Digital Economy of the Russian Federation”. This study analyses the implementation of joint government and corporate efforts in this direction. It was revealed that the main NTI operators are both state institutions (state investment bank “Bank VEB”, “Innovation Promotion Fund”), and business partially government-owned communities – Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI), Russian Venture Company (RVC). Based on the analysis of NTI roadmaps and events, a model of institutions to support the digital economy in Russia has been built. The conclusion concerns the overall support of the State during the construction of an ecosystem of technological entrepreneurship. At the same time, there is a certain differentiation of the NTI infrastructure, tending towards large subjects of the Russian Federation with a high level of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) development - Moscow and St. Petersburg.