Assessment of the potential of the region for the commercialization of scientific and technical developments

The innovative potential of the region is a collection of resources that contribute to the development and integration of scientific and technical developments in the economic cycle. The structural element of the innovative potential of the region is a potential for commercialization. Its assessment implies readiness of scientific and technical development to introduction into economic circulation, which eliminates the analysis of the scientific and educational sector of innovation infrastructure. In this context, the resource base of the commercialization of research and development includes the following elements: institutional, industrial, technological, human, financial, and legal. The analysis of scientific literature led to the conclusion that the existing methodology for assessing the innovation potential is based on one of two methods: the method of peer review, representing qualitative data on the potential of the region and the statistical method, representing quantitative information. The article suggests the author's technique of evaluating the potential of the region to the commercialization of research and development based on the synergy of these two methods. This procedure will serve as a “zero” or “preparatory” stage of making a decision on the possibility of commercialization of specific scientific and technological development in a certain area, which should significantly reduce the cost of the preparatory work and improve correlation with the development of the productive sector of the region. Assessing the potential for commercialization involves three stages - preparation, evaluation and final stage. At the first stage the principal possibility of commercialization of scientific and technical development is assessed. At the second stage, the analysis of qualitative and quantitative indicators of innovation infrastructure in the region is conducted. On the basis of the analysis the region is referred to one of four categories: “absolute potential”, “high potential”, “partial potential,” “meager potential”. Positioning of regions according to the results lets evaluating the existing resources and developing an algorithm for the commercialization of scientific and technical development.