The state cuts investments in science

The state is concerned about the effectiveness of its investments in science, since the results of intellectual activity (RIA), created for budget money, remain “lying on the shelf” in the form of patents received. This may explain the decline in state purchases in the field of scientific research in recent years, recorded by the analysts of Kontur.Torgov. Business interest in the creation of RIA and their protection is also not universal yet – only a small number of companies have patents for digital technologies. The situation itself is not critical – in other countries, patent activity is also shown by a few, but this increases the relevance of managing the created RIA and protecting them, experts say.

The costs of the state (44-FZ) and state-owned companies (223-FZ) for procurement in the field of science and research are declining, follows from the data of the Kontur.Torgi service. In 2020, the amount of such purchases under 44-FZ amounted to 259 billion rubles, in 2021 – 268 billion rubles, in 2022 – 182 billion rubles. According to 223-FZ, the dynamics are brighter: in 2020 – 264 billion rubles, in 2021 – 205 billion rubles, in 2022 – 107 billion rubles. However, in 2022, a sharp decrease in purchases of state JSCs is also explained by the closure of data on them due to sanctions risks, which may distort the final figures.

In general, the reduction in purchases is probably due to the state’s struggle for the efficiency of spending on science – the budget remains the main source of its financing (on average, about 60–70% of R&D expenditures). Earlier, the Accounts Chamber stated that the Russian Federation has developed a science management system that is not focused on the demand for the results of scientific activity, including from business and industrial consumers. Among the protected developments of universities and scientific organizations, there are not so many that are commercialized, Yury Zubov, head of Rospatent, said in an interview with Kommersant (see Kommersant dated December 30, 2022).

“Scientific research and development are associated with risks of failure to achieve an applied result. In the situation of combating sanctions pressure and the deterioration of the financial condition of state-owned companies, as well as reducing budget revenues, the authorities and state-owned companies are forced to prioritize spending and adapt, ”a source close to the White House explained to Kommersant. According to him, a new revival of R&D spending is expected during the implementation of the Technological Development Concept from 2024. The Ministry of Education and Science, however, did not confirm the data on the decrease in purchases to Kommersant – some of the information is not published in open sources due to the risks of sanctions, and “purchases are made not only on the zakupki.gov.ru platform, but also on other sites.”

In the private sector, only a narrow circle of organizations show interest in the creation of RIA and their protection, follows from the rating of patent activity of digital companies in the Russian Federation (compiled by ANO Tsifrovaya ekonomika and ISSEK NRU HSE). The rating was headed by Yandex (411 patents), followed by Kaspersky Lab (408) and Sberbank (305), InfoTeKS (67) and the National Radio Engineering Bureau (29). Among patents, digital security technologies prevail (so far, however, it is far from it – the volume of leaks of personal information in the first quarter of 2023 was estimated to be 2.3 times higher than a year earlier).

Since only a small part of companies patent technologies, the issue of managing the created RIA is relevant for business. Its main goal is to protect its own unique developments, says Karen Kazaryan, director of analytics at ANO Tsifrovaya ekonomika. In addition, recently (largely thanks to Elon Musk) patents are registered and then opened under certain conditions to secure the technological standard in the industry. In the Russian Federation, the situation is comparable to the United States and China, where there are several companies that are most actively investing in R&D and stand out from the rest in patent statistics — “so the number of patents can also be considered a certain measure of business activity in terms of research and development,” says He.

Venera Petrova, Diana Galieva