Innovation Supercluster to Appear in Moscow

Russian President Vladimir Putin signed Decree No. 672 on November 26 “On the creation of an innovation cluster in Moscow,” thus putting in motion an initiative of Moscow Mayor Sergei Sobyanin that the Higher School of Economics had played an active role in developing. Throughout the past year, HSE specialists studied the best practices of the world’s innovative megacities, worked with the Moscow government to hold a series of expert discussions on the principles of forming an innovation supercluster, and developed a draft concept establishing guidelines for interactions between potential cluster participants. Over time, the planned supercluster has the potential to embrace Moscow’s entire advanced-technology economy.

The wording of the decree

The presidential decree states: “In order to develop the innovative potential of Moscow and to create conditions for the implementation of priority areas of scientific and technological development of the Russian Federation, I consider it expedient to create an innovation cluster in Moscow.” Once the cluster is established in the capital, it will unite the existing business incubators, technology parks, and high-technology companies and organisations working in industry, science, education, and communications.

A special foundation will be created to facilitate the functioning of the innovation cluster and to coordinate the activities of its participants. A deadline of February 2019 has been set for determining how that foundation will operate, formulating criteria and conditions for selecting enterprises to participate in the cluster, and setting key performance indicators.

President Putin approved of the idea for an innovation cluster in the capital soon after Mayor Sobyanin proposed it in April of this year. The Industry and Trade Ministry first conducted a preliminary study, an in August the Economic Development Ministry — that will play a key role in implementing cluster policy — gave its formal support.

HSE’s contribution

Specialists from HSE’s Russian Cluster Observatory, Foresight Centre, and Centre for S&T, Innovation and Information Policies have been involved since June in developing the concept of creating an innovation and production cluster in Moscow. They studied best practices in the development of innovative clusters in megacities and conducted a foresight study to identify promising areas of development of the Moscow supercluster. In particular, they analysed the global political, economic, social, and technological trends that will influence the actors in Moscow’s innovative system in the medium and long term, and created a provisional roadmap for the scientific and technological development of the Moscow cluster.

An analysis of existing federal, municipal, and other measures for supporting participants of Moscow’s current innovative systems helped in formulating the draft concept of the innovation-production cluster and in gauging the comparable needs of its potential participants. Following a discussion with the expert and industry communities, HSE experts put together a package of proposals for the development of cluster policy in Moscow and for improving tools to support potential participants in the Moscow supercluster.

As the cluster project develops, the HSE staff will continue to provide methodological support for the implementation of the presidential decree. They will help formulate a draft strategy for the international positioning of the Moscow cluster as well as the draft concept of a unified information and analytical system that will facilitate cooperation between the participants of the innovation and production cluster in Moscow.

Laboratory for Economics of Innovation

Innovation Supercluster to Appear in Moscow