Modern tools for developing the scientific potential of the university

One of the key support mechanisms for research in universities is national scientific foundations, which often represent the main source of funding. However, the capacity of young universities to compete in national foundations’ calls is severely limited due to fierce competition and high qualification barriers. This hinders young universities’ chances to raise research funding and strengthens the Matthew effect. The establishment of proprietary research support infrastructure, in particular, internal research support funds may contribute to the development of human resources and reduce the qualification gap between young universities and classical or research-oriented ones. The purpose of the article is to analyze the practices of creating research support mechanisms in young universities. The study addresses the establishment of the Research and Development Fund at the North-West Institute of Management of RANEPA. We analyze the organizational model of the fund and the algorithm of the application campaign using the pilot call for funding literature reviews as an illustrative example. The main contribution of the article is a detailed description of the model of organizational processes of the fund and the management practices that support it. The article may be relevant for research managers of young universities and university branches, as well as for researchers interested in studying research support mechanisms.