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The Legislative Duma of Tomsk Oblast
The innovative process in the economy of Tomsk Oblast
has taken an irreversible characterThe bill “On the innovative activity in Tomsk oblast” has been presented to the deputies in the first reading at the July assembly of the regional Duma. Development of a new sector of economy and active construction of the innovative infrastructure prove the impossibility to move forward without legal regulation of these directions of activity. But the law, regulating these processes, quite successfully operates in Tomsk Oblast for almost ten years.What is the returning to the law connected with? What will its new edition offer? These and other questions on the given subject are answered by Alexandr Kupriyanets, Vice-president of the regional Duma, Head of the Duma fraction “Edinaya Rossiya (United Russia)”.
 Lest that the movement did not pass into the braking
- Alexandr Bronislavovich, it is clear that there is nothing eternal, but the Law on the innovative activity is effectively working. What is its revision connected with?- Actually, the Law on the innovative activity of 1999 has helped us to turn the economy in the new direction. Owing to this fact, as developers of the new edition declare, the innovative process in the economy has taken an irreversible character which is expressed in constant increase in output of innovative and high-tech production. In 2002 we have accepted and have carried out the first target program of the region’s innovative development. The volume of innovative production dispatched to Tomsk Oblast has made 600 million rubles. Five years later, while carrying out the third innovative program, Tomsk citizens have raised this parameter up to 5,9 billion rubles – an increase of practically 10 times! In 2002 there were only three innovative small enterprises established, but in 2007 there were 47. Their total number is nearby 300. Labor productivity is promptly increasing as well. In 2002 an average output of one employee of an innovative firm has nearly exceeded 330 thousand rubles a year, last year it amounted to far over one million rubles.- Though economic parameters affect the life of Tomsk citizens, they do not catch one’s eye right away. What are more noticeable changes?An infrastructure of the innovative economy has formed and continues to develop. It was not long ago when the first student business-incubator was organized at Tomsk State University of Control Systems and Radioelectronics with the support of regional authority, and today all the leading universities of Tomsk have similar subdivisions. Business-incubators are being created in other municipal formations. A lot of centers for commercialization and transfer of technologies and other elements of the innovative infrastructure have emerged.The technical-innovation zone created on territory of Tomsk appears to be its major part. In the spring of 2006, at the opening of its northern platform, during the visit to Tomsk of Vladimir Putin, the President of the Russian Federation at the time, there was only one resident registered. And there are 25 of them this year. The townspeople see the scale of construction of the special economic zone facilities in the Academgorodok.It is impossible to bypass another bright event in the scientific-educational complex. Three of Tomsk state universities became winners in the All-Russia competition among institutions of higher education, having presented their innovative educational programs. They have done a huge work on introduction of programs into the educational process and continue actively developing in chosen directions.All occurring changes accelerate our advance. Unfortunately, there is no such law at a level of federation regulating the innovative activity. Experts of our regional administration have rethought positions of the former regional law and have offered to the deputies a new edition, which was accepted in the first reading at the July assembly of the Duma.
The field for innovations is expanded
- What is the difference between the new document and the old one?- Developers claim that the new edition is directed on creation of conditions for transformation of the region’s economy into the innovative way of development, further development of the innovative structure and formation of mechanisms for realization of the innovative activity. For this purpose the bill stimulates the innovative activity of small, average and large enterprises by granting them state support.Speaking about the document in greater detail, it is possible to note that significant changes were made to its structure. A number of concepts are specified in the document such as: “innovative activity”, “innovative project”, “innovation”. Under the latter, a lot of scientists implied any opening or invention. Now it is clear what is implied by the term “innovation” or what the given law has in view. The concept “innovation” began to extend on the advanced services as well, which was not the case in the former edition.The bill introduces new concepts in the first article: “high technology production”, “innovative-active organization”, “Register of innovative-active organizations of Tomsk Oblast”, “Coordination council on the innovative activity”.- Some defined concepts are not clear. For example, should not all the innovative enterprises be reckoned among the innovative-active?- Developers refer to the criteria offered by the resolution of the regional administration. The first criterion provides the gain in production or rendering of services not less than 15 % a year. The second one demands the revenue for the innovative production to be not less than 30 %. The third condition – expenses of an enterprise for technological innovations must not be less than 10 % of the total revenue. The fourth criterion is that the enterprise must have protected or obtained in accordance with the established procedure objects of the intellectual property.The enterprises, registered in the regional Register of innovative-active organizations, enjoy the priority right to obtain state regional preference.- Are there a lot of them?- The criteria are strict enough and not everybody will manage to measure up to them right away. So far there are a little over than ten of such enterprises. Not so long ago we had only few innovative enterprises, but now there are few hundreds.- What articles of the bill, in your opinion, are still the most important?- A lot of it is worthy of notice. The new law in one of the first articles differently defines the objectives, problems and principles of the state innovative policy of Tomsk Oblast. One of the main objectives is recognition of not only social, but also economic importance of the innovative activity which reflects transition of the region to another, higher level of development. The law attributes the freedom of choice of priority directions of the innovative activity, as well as unity of the regional innovative system, to main principles of the state regional innovative policy.It is remarkable that with the course of time and development of the territory, the main directions of this policy change as well. The law of 1999 recognized that it was necessary to reveal problems, for solution of which the development of the innovative activity was required, as well as to create conditions for integration of the innovative and the scientific-technical activity. The processes, which took place and are still taking place in our region, found a reflection in the project of the new Law. The main directions of the state regional innovative policy include development of the special economic zone of technical-innovation type in Tomsk Oblast. The development of international cooperation in the innovative sphere, including attraction of foreign capital for realization of innovative projects, is defined by one of these directions. Monitoring of public opinion regarding development of the innovative activity in the region, as well as a lot of other directions, is reflected in the article on the state regional policy.- How did the deputy corps take the offered project?- Deputies do not have to be explained how much the innovative way of development is important to us. It was expressed by the general support of the first reading of the law.
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