Innovation Ecosystem of Pridneprovsky Economic Region: Actors, their Quality and Completeness

Abstract

In recent years, interest in the concept of innovation ecosystem has increased significantly in the scientific community: formation processes of innovation ecosystems are exploring at different levels – from virtual to global. This study is devoted to the issues of innovation ecosystems formation at the regional level as the most favorable for innovations. There is no unanimity among scientists as to whether what structural elements and relationships are essential in innovation ecosystems, and what their composition should be. Traditionally, ecosystem actors are divided into Triple Helix or Quadruple Helix models by focusing on institutional sectors, rather than on the functions and roles of actors. To expand the range of innovation ecosystem actors (structural element) and combine them into six sectors, according to the functions and roles performed has been proposed, namely: entrepreneurial, government, scientificeducational, financial support, infrastructural support, public associations. Under this approach, the state of the regional innovation ecosystems across all sector actors in the Pridneprovsky economic region has been analyzed in order to determine their completeness and quality to ensure the integrity and efficiency of ecosystems. Based on the analysis, it has been revealed that the most developed sector actors are entrepreneurial and scientific-educational, with adjustments for their uneven diffusion across the regions, structural imbalance of the industrial complex and the gradual depletion of the human resources of the scientific sphere. It has been predicted these bottlenecks do not reduce the internal reserves of the regions in order to increase the innovativeness and competitiveness of the regional economy. In doing so, such a promising opportunity depends largely on actors in the public sector, financial support sector, and infrastructure support sector. While they are the most critical in terms of both quantity and quality of actors. Emphasis has been given on the exceptional role of the government in innovation ecosystems development, which should consist in creating (promoting the creation) of absent actors, improving the quality of existing and establishing conditions (macroeconomic, institutional, technological) that will support each component of the ecosystems, stimulating their mutual strengthening and cooperation. It has been emphasized that the Ukrainian state needs to develop inclusive institutions, implementing the format of inclusive innovation policy, changing the culture of relations between the government and the public, laying in their basis the principles of openness, trust, and partnership.