Forum "From Science to business" – personal impressions
The Second International Forum "From Science to Business" was held on May 14-16, 2008 in St. Petersburg on the basis of St. Petersburg State University. The Forum program included a discussion of a set of issues covering all key areas of activity of large, medium and small businesses aimed at promoting the innovative development of their countries. Administrative, organizational and legislative aspects of the development of cooperation between science and business were considered. Much attention was paid to the inclusion of small and medium-sized innovative entrepreneurship in new, promising forms of industrial relations, such as public-private partnerships, territorial industrial clusters, and special economic zones. Special emphasis was placed on the discussion of the problems of personnel formation for the development of innovative activities.
Within the framework of the topic "Cooperation between business and Science", O. Amurzhuev (Toronto, Canada), Doctor of Economics, lecturer and head of the programs "Technology Commercialization and Innovative Entrepreneurship" of the Center for Advanced Training of one of the world's leading business schools – the Schulich School of Business of York University, an official business consultant within the framework of state Innovation Synergy Centre programs, expert of the European Bank for Reconstruction and Development, manager of the private consulting bureau AOCS. The report was called "State support for the innovation industry: the experience of Canada and the possibilities of its use in Russia" and included coverage of the main forms of state support for the foundation of small innovative companies (start-up).
One of the forms of support is state subsidization of the project (reimbursement of 50-70% of the costs of creating a start–up company, but only after the money has been spent, which increases the financial responsibility of project managers). There is also a program for compensating research and development costs through the tax system: when preparing financial statements for the year, a company can submit information to the tax inspectorate about research and development costs: up to 42% of investments are returned automatically by the state, taking on the risks of uncertainty of the technical result. Other financial forms of support include insurance of the risk of non-repayment of investments (up to 75% of the invested funds can be returned) and a system of preferential lending. Non–financial forms of support are no less important and are carried out by the Innovation Synergy center - these are consulting and training of project managers, information services, search for partners in foreign markets, organization of contacts and networking through a special Networking program.
There is no such support for innovative business in Russia yet, however, some Russian companies use Canadian forms of support for the production of products in Canada and its subsequent delivery to Russia.
G.A. Sarychev, Head of the Department for Technical and Implementation Zones of the Federal Agency for the Management of Special Economic Zones, reported on the mechanisms of non-financial support for innovation activities in projects of special economic zones. State support for such zones does not consist in direct financing, but in building a complete infrastructure, at the expense of the state budget and local budgets, necessary for carrying out entrepreneurial activities: renting land for less than 2% of the cadastral value, providing complete infrastructure, abolishing almost all regional taxes (on property, on land, on profit), reduction of the single social tax rate by 12 points (from 26 to 14%), the existence of a free customs zone regime.
A.A. Khasin, Director of the Innovation Project Management Bureau LLC (BUIP), International Fund for Technology and Investment (IFTI), reported on the financial mechanisms for supporting innovation activities in Russia and the experience of commercialization of scientific developments (using the example of the IFTI business incubator).
Financing of biotech companies at the seed stage, the most risky stage of development, is not sufficiently developed in Russia. The business incubator gathered around itself a club of private investors investing money in the implementation of innovative projects. To support investments, an infrastructure was created, which is a BUIP, building on the basis of the company's start-up developments. BUIP fully takes over the operational management of the company until the product begins to bring a stable income, and then searches for managers who will develop the business itself.
O.M. Korzinov, Head of the innovation department of another business incubator, TSVT HimRar, spoke about the experience of the High Technology Center in supporting innovative companies in the field of life sciences. The business incubator provides seed financing for biotech and pharmaceutical companies at early stages.
The Forum participants identified the most important criteria for the success of an innovative project:
1) Strong partnership between the company financing the project and the developers.
2) The development team should consist of scientists-entrepreneurs with a good scientific idea and business experience.
3) Positive evaluation of developers by Western companies is important.
An innovative idea is only 15% of the success of an innovative business, the remaining 85% is the merit of a cohesive management team.
Irina Pugacheva, Scientific and Expert Department of the Eternal Youth Foundation
Portal "Eternal youth" www.vechnayamolodost.ru
22.05.2008