Methodological aspects of assessing the functioning of the region's innovation infrastructure

An analysis of strategic documents on innovation development indicates that values of most targeted indicators are not achieved. One of the reasons is the lack of the state's activity in the formation of a favorable environment for innovation activities - innovation infrastructure. The absence of a single universally recognized methodology for evaluating the region's innovation infrastructure and its individual components remains a debatable issue. The purpose of the article is to improve methodological tools for evaluating the functioning of the region's innovation infrastructure in order to identify main criteria necessary for developing a new methodology. In the research, we used such scientific methods as analysis, synthesis, generalization, and comparison. Scientific novelty is the identification and justification of criteria for evaluating the region's innovation infrastructure, which objectively reflect its functioning. Practical relevance is an opportunity to adapt criteria for methodologies, which are different according to a research subject, by researchers and to take into account the results for advancing programs of regional innovation development by authorities. The results of the research on theoretical aspects of the essence of innovation infrastructure are highlighted, advantages and disadvantages of methods for evaluating its functioning are presented, and criteria for developing a new methodology are selected. On the basis of the results' generalization of these methods' analysis, it is determined that they differ from each other according to a complexity level, an assessment method, additional advantages (graphical interpretation or an ability to account for future effects), and etc. At the same time, it is revealed that many methods have significant disadvantages: data subjectivity, assessment complexity, etc. In further studies, aimed at development of the author's methodology, emphasis will be put on minimizing or eliminating identified shortcomings.