2009: Public perception of innovations and distribution of innovative practices in Russian households

The results of the Perception of innovation survey revealed that the problems of stimulating the innovative activity of the population are directly related to the state of innovative potential. At the same time, the way the Russian population understands the aims and mechanisms of innovative development has several characteristic traits that have to be taken into consideration by manufacturers of innovative products as well as developers of state programs in the area of innovative development.

Respondents see innovative potential as a very important aspect for the confident position of any country in the international arena. At the same time, the state of the innovation sector in Russia is generally characterized by pessimistic evaluations: almost two thirds of respondents see Russia as weaker than developed countries in the area of applying technical innovations to everyday life (61%); Results were similar in the area of innovation introduction in manufacturing (56%) and computer availability and Internet development (51%). Only one third of the respondents gave positive evaluations. At the same time, the opinion of the level of Russian science, especially the professionalism of Russian researchers, is very high. Overall, about half the respondents believed that it would take at least 10-20 years to establish an innovation community, but that,eventually,, Russia would catch up with developed countries.

On the one hand, people acknowledge the importance of technological innovations for the modernization of the Russian economy, but they don’t believe that they are the main condition for modernization. Instead they opt for discipline, and law and order. At the same time, economic growth and technological development are regarded only as conditions for the achievement of the key national priority – The prosperity of citizens.