Innovative potential of Volgograd region: assessment and prospects of implementation

The article is devoted to the study of the innovative potential of Volgograd region in the context of developing technological and innovative entrepreneurship. The article defines the contribution of Volgograd region to the development of high-technological business in Russia carried out on the basis of the analysis of empirical data, discusses the main problems of innovative growth, and suggests a model for developing and implementing innovation potential in the territory under consideration. The methodological basis of this study is quantitative and qualitative analysis of the statistical data of the Federal Service for State Statistics, the national report “High-Technological Business in Russia”, and, moreover, the rating of innovative companies in Russia and the rating of innovative regions for the purposes of monitoring and management developed by the Association of Innovative Regions of Russia in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, with the participation of representatives of regional administrations and leading country experts. The results of this study may be useful to the officials responsible for the development of entrepreneurship and innovation, both at the regional and federal levels. One of the perspective directions of developing innovative potential in the region may be creating clusters, including the unification of various participants in innovative activities. An important fact is involving all actors of the region taking into account the degree of the development of the scientific and educational sphere and innovative entrepreneurship. In this regard, the most appropriate model of the development of innovative potential for Volgograd region can be the production and scientific model.