Research and innovation activity in the region as a driver of its sustainable economic development

In the unstable economic environment there is an ongoing search for ways to strengthen economic stability in the regions. The development of research and innovation activities can be considered a long-term fundamental factor in solving this problem. The aim of the study is to identify the following trends in the production and distribution of innovation in the macro-region: creation and development of a polycentric structure of research and innovation activities in the regions and possible forms of its strengthening from the standpoint of economic stability in the regions. As the method of research we use structural and functional analysis of the research and innovation space of the macro-region, its current status and development trend. In the course of our research we substantiate the tendency toward the formation of a polycentric structure of scientific and innovation activity. We provide the data characterizing it in the macro-region of the North-West of Russia: location of scientific organizations in the region, their employees, internal costs allocated to research and development, amount of higher education institutions and branches of higher education institutions established in the regions, which train highly qualified personnel for various sectors, including region’s own scientific base, and serve as a source of local innovation. The fact that research complexes are being established in the regions promotes cooperation between local authorities and business structures on the use of local resources and implementation of scientific achievements. We put forward and describe a program method as an organizational form of cooperation to bring major research findings to practical application. The method integrates the work of scientific organizations, industrial enterprises, and regional authorities, and the implementation of conditions for commercialization of scientific results. Attention is paid to the development of the network form of organization of interaction between science and business. The results of our work include proposals for strengthening of the coordinating and stimulating function of authorities of subjects of the Russian Federation in enhancing the performance of research and innovation systems created in the regions with a focus on the use of local resources potential of the territory; for the development and implementation of a specialized scientific and production program for implementation of major scientific results; for the development of regional information interaction between enterprises of the region in the development and implementation of innovation. The results of the study can be used by regional governments in the development and adoption of legislation on regulation of innovation: strategies, programs, attracting business structures. Further research may be related to the development of pilot projects on programming innovations and scientific substantiation of measures to expand the information interaction between enterprises and organizations in the region.