Innovative activity in
Kazakhstan: obstacles and ways of overcoming them.
ANEL S. SAKHARIYEVA
Kazakh National University named after al Farabi,
Kazakhstan
In the modern world,
when we are witnessing the replacement of technological waves, an innovative activity
– one of the main reasons of “the welfare of nations”, the factor of their
prosperity.
Today innovations
are not only an essential condition of the economic development and security of
the country, but it is a foundation for creation of knowledge economy, which
can bring billion incomes. The process of innovations introduction becomes a
religion of new times for every country, corporation or individual.
In Kazakhstan an
innovative activity was and is still one of the main priorities of the national
economy diversification, aimed at overcoming its raw-material sector
prevalence. It is called for not only provision of the development of
economically perspective sectors, but to solve social problems, including
unemployment.
In 2003 the
Strategy of industrial-innovative development of the Republic of Kazakhstan was
elaborated and accepted as a main state development program and within its
framework since that time new progressive innovative clusters, innovative
infrastructure were created and are maturing from day to day.
The current period
of innovative development of the country can be characterized as a transition
from the scientific understanding of conceptual bases of innovative mechanisms
and related defined problems to the development of own innovative system.
Summarizing the
results of the innovative development of the country during last 20 years, the
following key aspects can be emphasized:
1. A change of universities’
role, which are transforming into real integrators of education, science and
business. They are becoming centers of regional innovative clusters, which dispose
necessary conditions for all phases of innovations life cycle.
2. Step-by-step
work on scientific manpower provision for implementing innovations.
3. Improvement of
legal, administrative and economic state support of innovations development, aimed
at activation of all elements of the national innovative system.
4. Development of sciences, which were defined
as key directions on the bases of world tendencies and resource advantages of
the country.
5. Continuation of
elaboration of new mechanisms of innovations financing [1].
In general, country’s
macroeconomic tendencies demonstrate positive shifts due to improvements of all
elements of the national innovative system, mobilization and development of the
scientific potential. At the same time, according to the conclusions of the
World Bank, currently there is no significant progress in increasing of innovative system effectiveness. It is related to a set of
institutional and economic problems, such as loss of contact between researches
and production necessities, absence of mechanisms of R&D results commercialization,
deficit of venture financing, etc.
According to the investigations of foreign experts, the situation in
Kazakhstan can be characterized by an absence of coordinating system of joint
financing and collaboration between government and private sector. There are
number of other systemic barriers for innovative development in the country.
Among them are the following:
-
poor
physical infrastructure;
-
lack of
innovation culture;
-
high
degree of bureaucracy;
-
small
domestic market;
-
low level
of competition, high level of monopolization;
-
weak
connection and coordination between government, business, science and
education;
-
financial
gap between R&D and commercialization stage, due to high cost of capital,
high risks and limited sources of funding [2].
Resting upon the
leading foreign experience, by defining the factors and reasons negatively
influencing on innovative activity, there is a possibility to elaborate further
steps of innovative development of the country. Obviously, vast majority of obstacles
are related to institutional problems. Thus they can be overcome by conducting a
consistent government innovative policy.
In the conditions
of global competition the education system is considered as a departing point
of social-economic progress. In regard to this manpower policy has to become a main
priority of innovative strategy of Kazakhstan and has to include the following
components:
1. Modernization of study process in the system of higher and postgraduate
education in order to orientation of graduates to obtain new competencies,
allowing create and commercialize their own ideas.
2. Foundation of business schools and programs on innovative
entrepreneurship and creation of highly technological enterprises.
3. Use of “Bolashak” program graduates intellectual potential for setting
up science intensive firms. This will provide a transfer of new knowledge
obtained abroad in the economy of the country.
4. Activation of international collaboration of universities with the
leading research centers of the world through conducting joint R&D,
organization of mirror laboratories, inviting scientific and managerial
experts.
5. Widening of availability and increasing quality of vocational technical
education.
For creation of consistent
and effective national innovative system in Kazakhstan it is necessary to
realize the following organizational mechanisms:
1) In common with
the Office of scientific-technical policy by the President of the United States,
to create an independent body, which activity will be devoted to a promotion of
industrial and regional coordination of researches by defining their priority
directions and excluding doubling.
2) In common with
the British experience to establish a number of industrial work groups, as a mechanism
of monitoring and government consultation with professional society. On the
initial stage the task of the industrial work groups is to determine the most perspective
foreign technologies, subject to transfer to Kazakhstan for setting up own
innovative production.
3) Completing transformation of leading
universities into research and innovative centers. It implies opening of high
technologies zones, which have to become engines of economic modernization of
regions. Their infrastructure has to include research and project institutes, basing
on the Universities’ open laboratories, business incubators, venture funds,
social-entrepreneurship corporations, closely interacting with development
institutes and industries. In order to attract investments, the high
technologies zones have to be granted the status of free economic zones.
4) To increase the
effectiveness of researches in the sphere of fundamental science it is necessary
to move from management of cost to management of results; in the sphere of applied
science and creation of innovative infrastructure it is necessary to provide an
introduction of state-private partnership. Here the Finnish experience is the most appropriate. The Finnish model
of innovative development is based on trilateral collaboration: Universities,
state enterprises and private companies, which unite their research resources.
For providing favorable
conditions of the national innovative system development it is necessary to form
a systemic legislation, regulating all stages of innovative activity and
government support, including intellectual property rights protection. First of
all, requires provision of a maximum approximation of Kazakhstan existing laws to
the international standards. Also regulatory mechanisms have to
stipulate the following aspects [3]:
1.
Conditions of creation of
innovative infrastructure establishments for all stages of innovative cycle.
2. Improvement of legislation in the sphere of intellectual
property rights protection. Currently the most topical issues here are:
· Assessment of intellectual property value and conditions
of its involvement into business activity;
· Participation of authors in incomes or in equity capital;
· Defining the share of the intellectual property in the charter capital;
·
Licensing abroad.
3.
Moral and material accountability
of participants of innovative activity for its results.
4.
Consistent assessment of
innovative activity on a national, regional, industry levels using a system of
target indicators by the example of the European Innovative Board. This
instrument will allow organizing a system of innovative processes management,
oriented on expected results.
Taking into account that the innovative market is very
risky it is necessary to adopt the following indirect economic methods of
stimulation of innovative activity:
1)
tax deductions and preferences;
2)
government co-financing of
start-ups;
3) stimulation of venture funds;
4)
further development of the
national stock market and financial tools;
5)
stimulation of license
trade of intellectual property.
From another side the government has to develop and maintain
competitive environment to stimulate innovations.
Realization of the
suggested institutional and economic measures will lead to forming of effective
national innovative system, in which all parts of innovative processes will be interconnected,
coordinated and mutually supported.
REFERENCES
1. Mutanov G. M. Innovation: Creation and Development. – Almaty: Kazak
Universitety, 2012. – 224 p.
2. Burnston D., Chadotsang T., Dong K. and others. Stimulation of
Industrial-Innovative Development in Kazakhstan. – Columbia University, 2011. –
152 p.
3. Innovation Performance Review of Kazakhstan. – Geneva: United Nations
Publications, 2012. – 155 p.