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...