Defining priorities for “smart specialization” of the Belgorod region based on the conjugation of industrial and scientific-technological competencies

The article examines the approaches of foreign and Russian authors to determining the priorities of the “smart specialization” of regions. It is established that the current approaches are mainly of a complex nature and include the adaptation of methodological approaches of foreign organizations, for example, the European Cluster Observatory, the definition of alternative development scenarios and differentiated structural models of specialization; using localization indicators to identify the core specialization of regions, as well as indicators of relative technological advantage and technological connectivity to identify additional opportunities for diversification based on interregional ties with an emphasis on the development of end-to-end digital technologies; formation of spatial contexts of “smart specialization” taking into account the degree of industrial and organizational density and diversity, institutional structures, system features, political opportunities, past experience of innovative strategies, the level of political centralization; identification of a “bundle of competencies” (a flexible set of economic activities or interrelated industries depending on the key competencies of the region) based on the study of the industry, patent, innovation and publication components of regional specialization. As a result, the author’s methodological approach to determining the priorities of “smart specialization” based on the conjugation of sectoral specialization of global, national and macro-regional level and scientific and technological competencies of the region in the context of geographical, structural-technological and cognitive proximity is proposed. Approbation of the research tools resulted in the construction of a scenario model for determining the priorities of “smart specialization” of the Belgorod region within the application of entrepreneurial search procedures involving all stakeholders (regional authorities, business community, scientific community and residents of the region). The implementation of the proposed approach will allow all regions, including those not widely included in the global or national division of labor, to find a promising niche for development at the macro-regional level, and also takes into account the possibilities of intersectoral convergence and the use of accumulated competencies of regions in the field of end-to-end digital technologies.