Fifteen Steps to an Innovation Economy: Russia's Leaders Look to NYAS for a Roadmap

Senior staff of the New York Academy of Sciences next week will deliver a report to Russian Federation President Dmitry Medvedev on steps his country must take to evolve an innovation economy. The report, "Yaroslavl Roadmap 10-15-20: 10 Years to Implement, 15 Steps to Take, 20 Pitfalls to Avoid—International Experience and the Path Forward for Russian Innovation Policy," (click title to download PDF), was produced by scientists in the Academy's Innovation & Sustainability program.

Honorable Ilya Ponomarev, Chair of the High Tech Subcommittee of the Russian State Duma, is scheduled to present details from the 83-page document during the plenary session of Global Policy Forum 2010, hosted by President Medvedev, Sept. 9-10 in Yaroslavl. During the conference, the New York Academy of Sciences' President, Ellis Rubinstein, and Vice President, Innovation & Sustainability, Karin Ezbiansky Pavese are scheduled to lead a roundtable dialogue on the report. The Roadmap, a contribution to the historic transformation that Russia is undertaking under President Medvedev's leadership, presents steps that Russia must take and pitfalls it must avoid in order to accomplish the transition to an innovation economy by the country’s stated goal date of 2020.

"The Yaroslavl Roadmap 10-15-20" describes the innovation policies, successes, and challenges of four countries—Israel, Finland, India, and the U.S.—and Taiwan Province, China. Based on analyses of how those regions developed innovation economies, and on a study of the current state of Russia's economy compared to the priorities of President Medvedev, the report offers 15 specific recommendations. It also highlights 20 pitfalls for Russia to avoid.

Academy President Ellis Rubinstein said, "Because of our position as a neutral entity without sector or disciplinary interests, as well as our ability to access an international network of leaders and experts who can address science, technology, and innovation related issues, the New York Academy of Sciences was requested by the Russian Federation to prepare a report outlining a set of recommendations aimed at fostering such innovation."

Academy Vice President and author of the report, Karin Pavese, said, "This 12-week project was focused on thematic trends in how a subset of locales has successfully fostered innovation. The report is meant to be a set of practical recommendations to be used by President Medvedev and his staff as they continue to develop innovation policy for Russia.

"Under President Medvedev, the Russian Federation has set a priority to develop a robust national innovation system, and to transform itself from an economy reliant on natural resource production into a knowledge-based economy," said Pavese. "Modernization of the society as a whole will be accompanied by a thorough integration of cutting-edge science and innovation into productive activity, fulfilling the human and intellectual potentials of the country and creating entirely new areas of world-class technology."

"The Yaroslavl Roadmap 10-15-20" includes recommendations that Russia focus on basic research to ensure a pipeline of cutting-edge technology and human talent, and that the country define mission-oriented grand challenges based on its needs and strengths in areas of energy; communications, transportation, telecomm, and space technology; biotechnology and life sciences; and IT and supercomputing. The "Yaroslavl Roadmap" also advocates establishing trusted and complete intellectual property law and clear IP ownership rules for government-funded research, mandating international standards and regulations, and creating a network of state procurement agencies.

Download the full report here, "Yaroslavl 10-15-20." Or, for more information, please contact Adrienne Burke, Director, Public Outreach, The New York Academy of Sciences, aburke@nyas.org or 212.298.8655.

The New York Academy of Sciences is an independent, not-for-profit organization committed to advancing science, technology, and society worldwide since 1817. With close to 24,000 members in 140 countries, NYAS is creating a global community of science for the benefit of humanity. NYAS' core mission is to advance scientific knowledge, positively impact the major global challenges of society with science-based solutions, and increase the number of scientifically informed individuals in society at large.