Development of national innovation systems in OECD countries in the context of mission-oriented innovation policy

The purpose of the article is to study the experience of OECD countries in developing national innovation systems when the main objectives of public policy in science, technology and innovation (STI) are directly related to the search for the most effective responses to societal challenges. The article analyzes four main types of public policy aimed at solving such challenges — 1) overarching mission-oriented strategic frameworks, 2) challenge-based programs, 3) thematic mission-oriented programs, and 4) ecosystem-based mission programs. Each of these types is characterized by its own set of tasks, participants, management mechanisms and implementation forms that ensure effective interaction between actors and allow achieving the planned results within the established time frame. The experience of implementing such programs and projects indicates the further development of national innovation systems in OECD countries. Thus, among the participants of these systems in recent years, civil society and citizens have begun to play an increasingly significant role; they are becoming not just end consumers of services, but also take an active part in the planning and implementation of programs and projects. Another important area of development of national innovation systems is strengthening interaction within the elements of the system, in particular between government departments and agencies, between universities and research centers. The experience of OECD countries in implementing initiatives related to societal goals can be used in the Russia’s practice. In particular, the unified STI public policy, which is applied in OECD countries for solving socio-economic issues, ensures the «seamless» flow of research results along the innovation cycle. At the same time, each type of program and project uses its own sets of tools and policy measures.

Keywords: societal challenges; national innovation system; public policy; science, technology and innovation sphere

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Authors