The Strategy of Innovation Development in Ukraine Part II: Action Plan

The European Commission’s recommendations on the modernisation of research centers and four reports of the World Bank describing further steps of the Government, that are intended for the relevant new research & development (R&D) laws, were published in recent years to launch the innovation-based economy in Ukraine, its further development and switch from raw material production to exportation of knowledge-intensive and hi-tech products with a high added value.

These documents, in general, analyse the innovation component of the Ukrainian economy and purport global changes in laws (i.e. corruption fighting, Government reforms, reforms of universities and the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine (NASU)). Furthermore, the initiatives of the Reforms Office formed in 2016 as the advisory agency of the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers have been developed, and the Innovation Development Board headed by the Ukrainian Prime Minister has been launched.

In 2017, the Innovations Development Platform published the introduction of the Strategy of Innovations Development in Ukraine offering a clear plan to activate innovation development processes. The strategy meeting was held and the Innovation Development Board was formed in Ukraine. Besides, the Board has held an advisory meeting, and the Plan of Innovations Development in Ukraine has been elaborated. Currently, the Ukrainian economy requires progressing to further stages, i.e. auditing of the current regulatory environment, development and approval of the new legislative framework and further adoption of the new laws.

The aforementioned document combines and summarizes the recommendations of the European Commission and the World Bank in respect of switching to the innovation model of economic development and the results of Innovation Development in Ukraine Strategy Meeting held in 2017 on the initiative of the Innovations Development Platform and with the participation of the Ukrainian Institute of the Future, the Reforms Office of the Ukrainian Cabinet of Ministers, the Investment Engagement Office (UkraineInvest), representatives of McKinsey & Company and representatives of other 32 proactive players of the Ukrainian innovation and investment environment.

In order to ensure efficient implementation of the assignments set out in the Strategy of Innovations Development in Ukraine, it is suggested to form the Project Office responsible for the accomplishment of specific and clearly defined tasks, namely:● auditing of the legislative framework, innovation and investment infrastructure;● coordination of new legislative framework development and approval; and● coordination of development and approval of the comprehensive model of cooperation between innovation environment stakeholders and investors.

The relevant task forces are suggested to be formed to develop the innovation environment model. Based on the analysis of the current recommendations, in particular, the review of the World Bank concerning obstacles to the commercialization of justified research, and the results of the Strategy Meeting, we offer the following vision of Ukrainian legislation improvement:

● Development of the laws enabling the formation of joint ventures that involve governmental institutions and the use of intellectual property rights to develop such joint ventures with both, domestic and foreign partners.● Development of the laws regulating the transfer of technologies and intellectual property rights; ensuring the possibility to implement the spin-off model (i.e. incorporating separate independent entities) and commercializing innovative developments based on governmental financial support.

This strategy is an integral component of any post war recovery strategy.

Dmytro Shestakov & Oleksiy Poliarush (2018). Innovations Development Platform.

The full manuscript is available at: https://www.slideshare.net/DmytroShestakov/strategy-of-innovations-development-in-ukraine-part-ii-action-plan-dmytro-shestakov-oleksiy-poliarush.