Assessing the readiness levels as a tool for management of technological projects: objectives, problems and features of application for projects of research and education centers

The implementation of programs aimed at developing Russian manufacturing, including for the purpose of import substitution and proactive import substitution, makes the task of an objective and comprehensive assessment of the readiness of innovative technological projects an urgent one. The readiness assessment facilitates the effective and balanced management of the project development and allows to control the project dynamics and the effectiveness of functioning of the development institutions that support it. The availability of user-friendly tools for a comprehensive assessment of the level of technology readiness is an important component when assessing projects implemented within the frameworks of world-class research and educational centers, being created in Russia since 2019. Today, a number of cutting-edge methods of assessing the readiness of projects are used, including the technology readiness level (TRL) developed by NASA, and its European interpretation, the method for assessing technology readiness levels (TRL) developed in the Russian Federation, method for assessing the technology project readiness level for commercialization of scientific and engineering innovation projects (TPRL). The article discusses theoretical and practical aspects of the application of the above-mentioned methods, identifies opportunities and prospects for their improvement, analyzes the practice of using the TRL method to assess the projects included in the program of the World-class Ural Research and Education Centre. The rationality of improving the methods for assessing the readiness of innovative projects, as well as of the methods for assessing the effectiveness of research and educational centers as a whole, has been proved.