Том 6, № 3 (2024)

It is vital for Russian science to recreate the old and create new effective forms of self-organization, as well as mechanisms for interaction with public authorities. In the post-Soviet period, many things were destroyed. And, in the last decade, even much of what was created in the crisis conditions of the 1990s has been lost. In September 2024, the Russian Foundation for the Humanities (RFH), established in 1994 on the initiative of humanities scholars, would have turned 30 if it had not been liquidated in 2016. The experience of establishing and operating the RFH is currently an encouraging example and practically valuable.

In February 2024, the Decree of the President of the Russian Federation approved the updated “Scientific and Technological Development Strategy of the Russian Federation”, the fundamental document of strategic planning in this field. The Strategy was written with a lot of verbiage and little specificity. This clearly does not correspond to the spirit of our times, since the time of ellipticality has passed. The updated version of the Strategy raises many questions that require reflection and discussion.

The article presents comments on certain points of the Scientific and Technological Development Strategy of the Russian Federation (STD) and explains the priority in the scientific policy aimed at encouraging the formation of synthetic scientific disciplines in the light of the need to respond to large challenges, as well as at discussing the ethical aspects of the STD. The author clarifies the importance of public procedures to gain access to resources controlled by the state. These resources are necessary for advancement in the field of STD. Issues related to the development of international cooperation in academic research are noted.

The author considers the requirements of the Decree of the President of Russia “On the Scientific and Technological Development Strategy of the Russian Federation” to the characteristics and principles of functioning of the public administration system in Russia. It is shown that the list of these characteristics and requirements is incomplete and insufficient for the implementation of the Decree. The main gaps in the requirements formed by the Decree relate to limiting the reconfiguration of the management system to only one subsystem, management in the field of scientific and technological development.The article argues that the complex nature of grand scientific and technological challenges implies profound changes in the public administration system as a whole, the transition from a structural and functional management system (a combination of meritocratic and client-oriented models) to a project management system (indicative and public-state models). The changes should affect the nomenclature and the scheme of interaction between structural divisions of state bodies, increase the level of project intra- and interdepartmental coordination.In addition, significant changes must be made in the public service system. We should organize training of specialists capable of using data analytics tools and data-based decision-making technologies as well as of carrying out an indicative assessment of project implementation indicators. The structure of the civil service should be associated with project offices and temporary performance of duties in these offices, and not only with permanent functions, taking into account the specifics of project service activities and project teams within government agencies. Civil servants should actively interact with independent expert structures and with civil society, which is the ultimate beneficiary of science and technology projects.

The Russian bureaucracy has come to view science as an activity that is beyond immediate utility and therefore, in economic sense, located in the periphery of distribution priorities. In the early days of the reforms, the bureaucracy came up with an obviously absurd idea of making science commercially self-sustainable. Later on, the idea of reducing public financing of science led to the plans to define the so-called “research priorities” and closure of other less promising fields of research. This “childish” managerialism resulted in the underfunding of Russian science and consequently in the loss of cadres and general degradation. The article states that the idea of foreknowledge by reducing science to several key directions is fallacious in itself. Science chooses its own priorities in each period of its development. These priorities tend to change the perception of science, its possibilities and the future of society. Russian science can only survive if both decision makers and society change their attitudes to it.

The structure and activities of science, technology and innovation organizations should be reviewed in planning for change in accordance with (a) a framework operating model, (b) principles of organizational structures and (c) value chains in order to identify (1) areas of inefficiency, (2) the existence and maturity of chain links as well as (3) gaps with best practice. The operating model of organizations, whose support, development and effectiveness are influenced by legislation, budget and external factors, includes many components, from management policy to culture. Changes in organizational charts together with renaming of departments sometimes look like promising reforms. However, in any case, values brought by organizations should be put on the agenda. Social effect of science, technology and innovation as a contribution to public good or a measure of the social good extend to groups in society or to the whole of society both directly and indirectly, for example, through other values and social mechanisms of influence. In this article, the following typology of values is used in the context of the innovation ecosystem and discussions on public good: internal, economic, social and humanitarian ones. The last three values are often generalized by the term “impact”. Internal values of science and technology express the essence of development that knowledge is built on knowledge, and thereby increase the level and readiness of organizations. We consider links in the value proposition chains produced by these organizations, from planning to legal support management. Current national macro factors that influence them are formulated. The contemporary generation of the innovation ecosystem in the Republic of Kazakhstan is characterized by a lack of a group of elements that determine national internal and external goals, ways to achieve them, as well as monitoring the results of activities and impact.This article aims to formulate and study the linking of management at the level of the principles of the organizational structure and the framework operating model to the values at the level of the introduced typology, which are created in a certain way by science, technology and innovation organizations.In terms of research and practical significance, this allows for a detailed review, identification of areas of inefficiency and gaps with best practice. And then, by formulating and implementing initiatives, this allows to increase their capabilities and effectiveness taking into account the ambiguity and delayed nature of results of scientific, technological and innovative activities, as well as specific external national and international factors that influence organizations.Comparing value chain links to the typology of values, we have identified a specific distribution of their influence of on the types of these values.In terms of academic and theoretical significance, this study also attempts to reveal contradictions between resulting and procedural values in science, technology and innovation organizations by examining the development of value chains and the context of public good.

The article substantiates the principal trends of research optimization in medical organizations with the use of process-oriented management methods (the case of Ya.L.Tsivyan Novosibirsk Research Institute of Traumatology and Orthopedics). The research is based on the principle of the process approach. It is one of the fundamental principles of the total quality management model that is the most effective management concept based on quality. When developing a system for organizing scientific workflows based on the process approach, planning as well as a methodology of academic research play the key role. For all stages of research activities, processes of planning tasks, their fulfilment and reporting with the determination of responsibility for all types of work being performed and with the development of forms of necessary documents used in the organization of scholarly activities have been framed; approaches to the output of scientific products have been standardized and process regulations have been developed for each of its types. The development of processes is carried out on the basis of the requirements of regulatory documentation, taking into account modern approaches to the organization of research activities. Moreover, all documents containing requirements for processes are reviewed and updated at regular intervals, taking into account changes in regulatory guidance. The development and implementation of a system for organizing scientific activities based on the process approach allow a scientific medical institution to achieve compliance with modern requirements for conducting academic research, as well as to improve the quality and efficiency of scientific activities. The accumulated successful experience can be used in organizations that seek to increase the effectiveness of their scientific activities and meet contemporary requirements for their results.

The author has identified a low level of innovative development of the agroindustrial complex and the reasons for the delay in its growth in comparison with other industries and types of economic activity in Russia. The consequence is a noticeable trend of changes in the positive dynamics of economic efficiency indicators of agricultural production in the recent past. This trend indicates weakening Russia’s food security.The article considers one of the possible options for import substitution of innovative means of production used in the agroindustrial sector in the conditions of external economic isolation of the country. It implies the participation of the state in supporting the development and assimilation of knowledge embodied in the real economy as well as in the financing of national innovative solutions. The option under consideration has the following features: selection on a competitive basis and priority financing of means of production with a high technological potential, which are most in demand among agroindustrial enterprises; reimbursement of payment for information on the state of the markets for technology, means of production, resources, food, raw materials provided by IT specialists, as well as for making calculations to optimize the structure and volumes of production, product exports and technological training to enterprises. This kind of financial support is provided in addition to the current practice of state compensation for losses to low-profit agricultural businesses.An experimental scheme for making decisions on priority financing of innovations is examined. The creators of these innovations are economic entities with the highest indicators of production activities and a high probability of fulfilling an order for the output of innovative products. The list of indicators includes many quantitative and qualitative characteristics. This means that the problem is classified as one that can be solved by using algorithms of multiple criteria modeling.

The article provides a methodology for selecting and further ranking foreign open access journals. This methodology takes into account several bibliometric indicators, as well as an article processing charge. The analysis of applying the methodology was carried out using the example of journals indexed in Scopus (thematic category – “Cell Biology”). Proceeding on this basis, the author has compiled a ranked list of foreign open access journals recommended for publishing research articles. The methodology is universal and can be applied to selecting journals in different subject areas. The Bradford distribution was used to distinguish the “core” and leading journals. While ranking the journals selected by this distribution, a final list of 17 foreign open access journals in the field of cellular biology was compiled (two of them do not charge a publication fee). It is an additional guide for researchers when choosing a journal to publish their works.

This article examines the transformation of models of interaction between science and society in the second half of the 20th century and the early 21st century, taking into account significant changes in communication between them and processes of deinstitutionalization characteristic of contemporary societies. The main attention is paid to the critical analysis of the processes of popularization of scientific knowledge and peculiarities of interaction between professional researchers and science enthusiasts under conditions of network communications. We have identified the main models of interaction between science and society, which include various features of communication between academics and the public.One of the main results of the study is the identification of points of contact between the interests of professional scientists and science enthusiasts. This can contribute to more effective cooperation and knowledge exchange between these groups.

The article analyzes the global practice of using science communication and, in particular, science popularization to recruit volunteers for citizen science projects (CS recruitment). Russians actively participate in global, cross-border online projects. However, local Russian CS projects are less successful. It is shown that the problem of unsatisfactory recruitment is very serious. Science communication and science popularization contribute to recruitment and volunteer retention. Moreover, the role of communication is particularly important in the early stages of a project. The concepts of active and preliminary stages of CS recruitment are introduced to identify the dynamics of volunteer motivation. The experiences considered in the article can be useful for scientific management in Russia.

The reviewed book is based on field research supported by the Khamovniki Foundation for Social Research. The unique nature of the material is emphasized, since this type of activity cannot be viewed externally, representing illegal practices in Russian higher education. The review briefly outlines the main sections of the monograph. A social portrait of authors of commissioned works is described in detail (in the terminology proposed by Aleksandr Davydov and Pavel Abramov – scriptors, i.e. literally the creators of text arrays). Methods identified by the authors for searching customers and the rules for interacting with them are presented. The basic approach of the authors is discussed. They consider imitation practices, including the presence of custom-made works, as a reflection of the shortcomings of higher education in Russia. The review concludes that the approach proposed by the authors certainly deserves public discussion. At the same time, the reviewer expresses confidence that the practices under study are not widespread; the atmosphere existing at a university plays a big role, especially informal internal rules of behavior of students and professors, the level of teaching staff, etc.