Development of Innovations Within BRICS Countries As a Strategic Vector

K.M. Belikova, Doctor Law, Associate Professor, Subdepartment of Civil and Labour Law, Faculty of Law, Peoples’ Friendship University of Russia, Moscow, Russia

Perspectives of BRICS are rapidly becoming one of the key directions of foreign policy of Russia[1].

BRICS shows an example of the multivector diplomacy aimed at the development of the principles of constructive interaction on the basis of community or proximity of interests. The strategic direction of development for BRICS countries during the modern period is the transition of economy to an innovative way of development. In these countries, the innovative way of development is declared to be a strategy of development[2].

In this format, it is possible to highlight some general tendencies typical for these countries in the sphere of development of innovations:

1) the aspiration to build innovative economy by creating domestic innovations and reducing dependence on foreign technologies. In such a course, the share of expenses on research and development in gross domestic product rises (for example, in China it is supposed to rise up to 2,5 % by 2020, in South Africa - up to 2 % by 2018)[3],

2) ensuring of a scientific breakthrough in strategic areas of technological development of the national economy during a short period of time (that is, information, bio - and nano-technologies, pharmaceutics, nuclear and hydrogen power, space research),

3) increase in the contribution of scientific and technical progress to economic growth,

4) overcoming of technical and economic restrictions on private investments in the development and adoption of new technology. The matter is that the governments of BRICS countries encountered serious challenges to the innovative policy. Business people who focus on profit appeared to avoid increasing the technological size of innovations if it contradicts the purposes of maximizing their expected profit. Thus, in China, a few large corporations are still interested both in applied researches and development as well as in fundamental science[4], Whereas in South Africa, by 2008 local businesses (51,3 %) had become the main source of financing research and development, with the state support accounting for only 33,9 %[5].

5) creation of an innovative system with the defining role of business connected with other components, such as state, scientific and educational and research establishments etc. This should be a system where corporations enlist universities for breakthrough technologies, the state finances and/or participates in development of new generations of commercial technologies (e.g., in China, India) and so forth, and as a result, research “triumvirates” of the state, business and the academic sector are created. In other words, key concepts of modern innovative systems are partnership and cooperation where the private and state partnership appears to be a defining factor for success of innovative systems,

6) transformation of subjects of innovations into the main motivational power in the process of creatiing the national innovative system where small and medium-sized enterprises are considered to be the basic element[6].

In our opinion, the considerable role within the framework of the aforementioned partnership is given to such a subject of innovative development as small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs). Although the share of SMEs in the aggregate consumption of research and development is rather small, SMEs give the sector of R&D the necessary flexibility, generate new products, markets, companies – technological leaders (India, China, South Africa). As a result, the BRICS countries see the systemic growth in a number of small (up to 300 workers) technological firms . For example, in China, the majority of these firms were created within the framework of science and technology parks and business incubators that received considerable state support. And the state still supports these firms in many ways.

The purpose of the state policy of small business support and development in BRICS countries within the framework of development of innovations is declared to be the creation of political, legal, and economic conditions for free development of small businesses, providing, first, increase in social efficiency of activity of small enterprises; and, second, increase in small business development rates as a strategic factor in the social and economic development of the state,

7) to reduce technological dependence, BRICS countries take strategic measures. Among such measures are rendering the state support to the science (including opening youth scientific centers, restructuring higher education institutions, financing grants` development, increase in the amount of research and development allocations and so forth (e.g., in the Republic of South Africa), state special-purpose programs aimed at supporting innovative activity (e.g., in China).

On the other hand, some specialized structures (councils, associations, funds, agencies and so forth) exercise the institutional support of innovative strategy in order to consolidate finance and strengthen the development of the most perspective, in the authorities’ opinion, directions of the applying the innovative potential (space research, nuclear power and so forth)[7].

8) in this context, the most perspective directions of state policy in the sphere of SMEs support and mechanisms of their implementation in BRICS countries correspond to systematic measures of support of small and medium-sized enterprises, including:

- development by executive bodies of programs aimed at supporting SMEs (in China, India, Brazil);

- application of numerous credit lines provided by the organizations subordinated to executive authorities and establishments (e.g., in China).

Thus, it seems that along with the considerable achievements that are demonstrated by the BRICS countries in the sphere of support of innovative activity, there is still a considerable potential of consistent infrastructure regulation that has not been brought into action yet.

Bibliography:

1. K. Belikova, M. Akhmadova. Razvitiie innovatsii v ramkakh BRIKS: na primere Kitaya [Development of innovations within the framework of BRICS: the case of China] // Intellektualʹnaia sobstvennostʹ. Promyshlennaia sobstvennost. [Intellectual property. Industrial property]. 2012. № 10.
2. K. Belikova. Nekotorye aspekty pravovogo regulirovaniya innovatsionnoy deiatelʹnosti: sluchay Brazilii i Meksiki [Certain aspects of legal regulation of innovative activities: case of Brazil and Mexico] // Intellektualʹnaia sobstvennostʹ. Promyshlennaia sobstvennost [Intellectual property. Industrial property]. 2011. № 10. Рp. 70–76.