Infrastructure development as a condition for improving the mechanism of innovative activity stimulation (on the example of Southern Federal District subjects)

The article discusses the concept of the mechanism of innovative activity stimulation, which represents a system consisting of actors with their goals; formal regulations (legislation); informal regulations and rules (business culture, adopted by the economic community); incentives and constraints (economic and non-economic in nature). The authors specify the understanding of infrastructure as a condition of the mechanism functioning, compare rating assessments (by the NAIDIT technique) of innovation activity of subjects of the Southern Federal District (SFD) and reveal significant inconsistencies. The comparative analysis of the main existing infrastructure elements of the innovation sphere (Krasnodar, Volgograd and Rostov regions) let make conclusions about their sufficiency or insufficiency in different subjects of the macro-region. The negative trends of innovative infrastructure development include: the lack of a unified information and analytical database and system for the promotion and support of innovative projects; the lack of consolidated data to assess the development level of the regional innovative infrastructure in formal source; the failure and the need for development elements, such as clusters and science-technology parks, support funds and the creation of extensive networks of centers for collective use. Directions of improvement of innovation activity are presented on the basis of comparing its peculiar indicators as well as analyzing and identifying missing infrastructure elements of the innovation system (scientific and investment, information and analytical, organizational and communicative) with the aim of increasing the efficiency of existing mechanisms of innovation stimulation in the regions. Scientific and practical significance of this work consists in the future use of its provisions and conclusions as additional theoretical and methodological substantiation of scientific developments in research of innovative activity stimulation, and also for its improvement in innovation policy of public authorities on defining the strategic priorities for regional development.