Vasily Abashkin

Huge investments into high tech companies is a key innovation development tool in most countries — leaders of the global economy. Employees of the Russian Cluster Observatory of the HSE Institute of Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge made first estimates of the global high tech innovation activity and compared countries’ contribution into the global pool of leading institutions and people in fields of science, technology and creative industries.

The publication prepared by the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Joint stock company (corporation) “Russian Venture Company” and the National Research University "Higher School of Economics", is devoted to the results of the competitive selection of clusters participating in the priority project of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation "Development of Innovative Clusters — leaders in world-class investment attractiveness".

What kind of support innovative clusters need to become world leaders in attracting investments? What affects the success of cluster policies in megalopolises? These and other issues were discussed at the II St. Petersburg International Cluster Conference; Evgeny Kutsenko, Head of the Russian Cluster Observatory, and Vasily Abashkin, its Leading Expert, took part.

Cluster policy tools are being considered for application in the agricultural sector. E.g. an agro-industrial cluster is currently being set up in the Yaroslavl Region, to bring together agricultural producers, individual farmers, technological infrastructure objects, and research and educational organisations. Mechanisms for providing public support to agricultural clusters were discussed at the Yaroslavl regional government a meeting on 21 March, with participation of the HSE ISSEK experts Mikhail Goland and Vasily Abashkin.

Evgeny Kutsenko, head of HSE ISSEK Russian Cluster Observatory, presented results of a study of Russian cluster initiatives at the 56^th Congress of the European Regional Science Association (ERSA 2016) hosted in August by the Vienna University of Economics and Business.