Diagnostics of technological development conditions of Russia’s industrialized regions: methodological approaches

Technological development is the most important factor of economic growth and prosperity of society. In this paper, under technological development we mean the improvement of current and the use of fundamentally new ways of producing products, which leads to economic growth due to the development of science, creation and application of advanced technologies on the basis of higher technological modes. The scientifi c problem considered in the study is the limitations of relevant approaches to the diagnosis of the conditions of regions’ technological development. The relevance of the work is associated with the need for adequate scientifi c assessment (diagnosis) of the level of technological development in the industrial regions of the Russian Federation. The aim of the research is to develop a methodology for diagnosing the conditions of technological development of industrialized regions of the RF. Scientifi c novelty consists in the proposal of a set of methodological approaches to the diagnosis of technological development of industrial regions, which includes: a) a clear distinction of diagnostic objects (traditional and high-tech sectors of the regional economy); b) fixation of the subject of diagnosis: conditions (characterization of the innovative environment of the region) and factors affecting technological development; c) development of a methodology and algorithm for assessing the level of technological development of industrial regions. Unlike the existing approaches, our methodology allows clarifying the technological profi le of industrial regions, taking into account the identifi ed dysfunctions and risk factors, determining the opportunities for the development of industrial regions on the basis of high technologies. The diagnostic objectives are: to analyze the state of the institutional and infrastructural environment of the region, to identify dysfunctions; to analyze the state of innovation activity of industrial regions, and to identify risk factors. We apply a scoring and rating basis, factor analysis and statistical analysis. The focus is on diagnosing the conditions of technological development, including infrastructural and institutional conditions conducive to the development and diff usion of innovations that favor the development of traditional and high-tech industries.