National Technology Initiative. NTI and technological development

About the National Technology Initiative (NTI) already a lot. However, time does not stand still, so we decided to make an updated review of the history of the emergence and current state of NTI.

NTI - what is it?

On December 4, 2014, in his message to the Federal Assembly, Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined the National Technological Initiative (NTI), a long-term strategy for Russia's technological development, as one of the priorities of state policy.

This program is aimed at creating high-tech solutions that will determine the main direction of development of the global and Russian economy in 15-20 years. The creators of the program believe that in this way Russia will be able to obtain a tool for forming “markets of the future”, and Russian companies - “national champions” - will receive a significant share in them.

NTI participants

NTI unites technology entrepreneurs, representatives of universities and research centers, large Russian business associations, development institutions, expert and professional communities, as well as executive authorities.

Their actions are coordinated by an interdepartmental working group under the Presidium of the Presidential Council for Economic Modernization and Innovative Development of Russia. The working group is headed by Deputy Prime Minister of the Russian Federation Arkady Dvorkovich and Assistant to the President of the Russian Federation Andrey Belousov.

The Agency for Strategic Initiatives (ASI) oversees the development of roadmaps (action plans) and forms working groups from representatives of the state, business, researchers and developers.

NTI directions

There are nine key areas of NTI (nine promising markets):

  • EnergyNet is a market for smart energy services, an ecosystem of energy producers and consumers that seamlessly integrate into the common infrastructure and exchange energy;
  • FoodNet - an intelligent market for the production and distribution of food and products with individual logistics;
  • SafeNet - new personal security systems;
  • HealthNet - personal medicine;
  • AeroNet - a market for services based on aerospace and unmanned vehicles;
  • MariNet is a market for globally distributed intelligent maritime transport control systems and technologies for the development of the World Ocean;
  • AutoNet - market for drones and solutions based on them;
  • FinNet - a market for decentralized financial systems and currencies;
  • NeuroNet is a next-generation information exchange market whose products and services are based on knowledge about the brain and aimed at expanding brain resources.

NTI products

Technological products developed within the framework of the NTI program are already in demand not only at home, but also abroad. Here are the most interesting of them.

  • Programmable self-driving car platform - AutoNet market product

With the RoboRace system, high school students and engineering students will be able to create control systems for an unmanned vehicle. The kit includes a model of an electric car measuring just over one meter, a navigation chip, sensors and cameras for orientation in space, as well as a control panel and even a laptop for programming the device. The project is being developed by Aurora Robotics.

  • Genetic tests for the HealthNet market

DNA research is a promising and extremely important area of ​​science for human health. Genotek is developing in this area. The “Health and Longevity” DNA test reveals the likelihood of diseases, the “Planning for Children” test determines the presence of hereditary diseases, the “Diet and Fitness” test will allow you to choose the ideal diet, and “Genealogy” will report on the ethnic characteristics of the client.

  • Telemedicine is another direction of HealthNet

For remote consultations with highly qualified doctors, the MMT company has created two services: “Pediatrician 24/7” and “Online Doctor”. Both services allow the user to communicate with the doctor through a browser or mobile application, and store consultation history and media files in their personal account. Doctors on duty, including highly specialized specialists, provide online appointments around the clock.

  • Brain trainers - developments for the NeuroNet market

To increase your efficiency in school, work, or simply maintain mental clarity, the online service “Vikium” was created. The project helps people improve and develop cognitive functions (attention, memory, thinking). First, the user undergoes an entrance test, which determines the current level of cognitive performance. Based on this data, the system builds a personal development program for every day. In addition, Vikium offers an innovative solution for brain training - gaming neurosimulators.

The BiTronics Lab company has created the “Young Neuromodeller” constructor, which allows schoolchildren to study the applied use of neurotechnologies. The kit includes sensors that read electromyogram (EMG), electroencephalogram (EEG), pulse, electrocardiogram (ECG) and galvanic skin response (GSR). The construction set is designed on a LEGO-compatible platform and can work with LEGO Education robots.

Prospects for NTI

In February of this year, the Government of the Russian Federation issued decree No. 255-r, according to which almost RUB 8.5 billion will be allocated to support NTI projects in 2017 (and taking into account the transfer from the previous period - RUB 12.5 billion). These funds are allocated to the implementation of road maps (₽8.46 billion), to the needs of NTI centers at universities (₽2 billion) and to the Fund for Assistance to the Development of Small Enterprises in the Scientific and Technical Sphere (Bortnik Fund, ₽2 billion).

The Foundation has already launched a number of competitions, for example, “UMNIK-NTI” and two stages of “Development-NTI”. According to Deputy General Director Pavel Gudkov, more than 250 projects aimed at overcoming technological barriers were selected, totaling RUB 4 billion.

NTI also plans, according to the roadmaps, to create a 5G mobile communications infrastructure in a number of constituent entities of the Russian Federation in 2018–2025, deploy a unified network of civil cyber defense centers, and build a domestic intelligent urban management system. It is also planned to develop “a domestic compiled language for safe and efficient parallel programming.” And from 2025 to 2035, the authors of the program expect “the introduction of a neural interface, quantum computing, teleportation and the use of natural phenomena to transmit information.”

  • Basic principles
  • Markets
  • Implementation
  • International cooperation
  • Miscellaneous
  • What is on the agenda of the National Technology Initiative (NTI)? Is this about import substitution?

    The National Technology Initiative includes:

    • identification of new markets, including key demand drivers, key market niches and possible types of products and services that will fill these niches;
    • identifying key technologies that will help create products and services in new markets;
    • a set of support and incentive measures, including institutional, financial and research tools, allowing to grow national champion companies in new markets.

    NTI does not have the tasks of import substitution or modernization of existing industries. NTI involves the creation of strategies for developing fundamentally new markets. But some of the key technologies that form the predecessor markets for NTI markets may appear as part of the process of import substitution and modernization.

  • How does NTI relate to the existing system of government, the business community, the scientific system, the education system, etc.?

    NTI develops a matrix of priorities and communities around roadmaps for new markets and key technologies. From this matrix it follows:

    • setting tasks for fundamental and applied research;
    • policy in the field of advanced personnel training - and corresponding tasks for the education system;
    • priorities for investment in new industries by state-owned companies;
    • joint projects between society and business that do not require government participation;
    • directions of international technological cooperation.
  • Russia has already had enough initiatives in the field of technological development in recent years - why do we need another initiative?

    We have made many mistakes in managing innovation. Some of these mistakes were inevitable - we had no experience in building such management models, we sometimes thoughtlessly transferred Western institutions and memes to Russian soil, which worked brilliantly in the USA, but were not suitable in Russian conditions. Now we have gained experience, we understand what works and what doesn’t. At the same time, we cannot return to the USSR; restoring the Soviet system is counterproductive - the command-administrative system no longer exists. Even the USSR, which had the power of a superpower and a human potential of 270 million people, could not withstand the scientific and technological race in the 1970s and 80s. There is no reason to believe that in the second decade of the 21st century, with a potential of 143 million people, Russia will be able to restore the Soviet system, which was also not very effective. This will be a direct route to North Korea.

    In order to create a new innovation management system, you need to go between the Scylla of the Soviet administrative-command system and the Charybdis of the American venture economics model.

    NTI does not involve pumping trillions of rubles into lobbied projects. We do not plan to build monumental structures or conduct propaganda from central television. We propose identifying future markets and forming coalitions aimed at capturing these markets. The rest will follow.

  • And why do you think you will succeed?

    Until now, all the main issues of innovative development were decided by smart officials; this was the sphere of bureaucratic regulation. NTI must create conditions where private money is more important than public money - and we believe that projects with private investment will be more effective. Simply handing out government money is the most ineffective strategy. “Smart” strategies for development management, practices of joint investments, joint funds, crowdfunding and crowdinvesting should appear. Some elements of such an ecosystem have already been created. For example, the fund of funds model of the Russian Venture Company seems reasonable. We will disseminate the best practices of RVC and other development institutions in NTI.

    However, the most important issue is not money or beautiful documentation. Any document that we write will be another “strategy” in a row of many already adopted and not working road maps. A group of like-minded people is more important than a stack of papers. Therefore, we need a network of bright leaders with shared vision and values ​​from the fields of business, science and government - and it is these leaders who will be able to implement any plan in any political and institutional climate. These leaders can be called "tech patriots" - because each of them believes that the country is capable of generating a technological breakthrough, and their trust in each other on high value grounds is more important than the fight for resources. These are people who are ready to extend their personal interests 20 years into the future so that their children and grandchildren would go to the same schools as them - and they would not be ashamed of their grandchildren, or of the schools, or of the country.

  • The country has a poor investment climate, the basic institutions of modern society do not work, and the level of corruption is off the charts. What kind of technological development can we talk about? How are you going to retain high-quality specialists and entrepreneurs - after all, it is easier for many to leave and start a project where the institutions work much better?

    The institutional and investment climate, unlike usual, is changed by the combined efforts of people, and not by the grace of God. Russia has never had a completely business-friendly business climate. Everyone for whom comfort, sun, wine, mountains and the ocean of California are most important, it seems to us, has already left Russia. The rest understand that in Sevastopol the sun, wine, mountains and sea are no worse.

    A bad climate provides no excuse for inactivity. You need to move forward with possible steps, and not wait for someone to change this climate for you. At the same time, each NTI roadmap must contain proposals to change the situation, for which we will fight together. Our experience in implementing the National Entrepreneurial Initiative, the Global Education program, WorldSkills shows that sometimes you get even more than you expect. We must develop positive tools for retaining high professionals in the country.

  • You chose 2035 for your forecast - and in our country no one plans that far. A lot will change over the next 20 years; are you even going to be responsible for your forecasts?

    2035 is the planning horizon, that is, the extreme point to which we extend forecasts and projects. At the same time, NTI roadmaps at the level of practical actions will be built for 2015-2018. with control of implementation every six months. This means that we must look 20 years ahead and act starting today.

    The results of the work in the near future will be new companies, new educational programs, new scientific laboratories - and if everything goes as it should, in a few years we will see a significant increase in high-tech Russian exports.

  • Why is the Agency for Strategic Initiatives involved in the National Technology Initiative? Are you going to replace RVK and FANO?

    The Agency for Strategic Initiatives is a structure whose main task is to launch strategic initiatives commissioned by the country's leadership. We have proven our success in entrepreneurship support programs and in projects related to the development of children's and vocational education. The national theme of technological development lacked precisely these connections - work with entrepreneurs who give orders for new technological solutions, and work with education (including children's clubs and circle movement), which creates competitive skills for the development of technologies and markets.

    We are not going to run science or the venture sector. The Agency for Strategic Initiatives is a platform where it is convenient for different groups and segments of society to come to agreement; our role is that of a moderator, not a boss. ASI does not plan to lay claim to budgets in the NTI management. The whole practice of our previous work is to initiate large processes of change, but at the same time remain a small control structure.

    And who exactly will have to manage NTI will be shown by foresight and subsequent work on creating road maps. As moderators of this process, we have no special secret knowledge.

  • You have chosen nine markets for NTI - EnergoNet, NeuroNet, AeroNet, MariNet and others. Why are you starting with markets? Why "No" - why are they called so strangely? Why these nine?

    The global technological revolution is replacing established industries and creating new markets. Most Western technology strategies use 2035 as a key point: they devote the next ten years to refining technological solutions and introducing new products to the market, and the next ten years will be spent dividing the global market and replacing existing technologies. For example, there are no major car companies that will invest in the combustion engine or the human behind the wheel after 2025 - they are all preparing for autonomous electric vehicles. For now, we continue to invest in the construction of an industry that has 10 years left to live, and which is under the control of foreign manufacturers who are not going to transfer to us intellectual property on the key competencies of the future market.

    Why does the name of all markets of the future contain the word ‘net’, that is, “network”? All emerging new markets either use the physical infrastructure of the Internet, or its protocols, or are built in its image. “Smart networks” will work according to this principle, connecting many producers and consumers of electricity - that is, EnergoNet. This is how the transport systems of the future will be organized - AeroNet, AutoNet and MariNet. Even conservative markets, such as agricultural equipment, are turning into networks of cyber-physical devices that the manufacturer owns, and farmers lease them and renew software licenses. That is, all markets of the future are networks at the same time.

    Why these? We do not believe that there can be a comprehensive model for describing the future, and our recipe is a combination of systems analysis and leadership energy. In our pilot work on NTI roadmaps, we focused on obvious markets where we see similar movements in other countries, and where there are strong leaders and communities in Russia. The list of markets is not exhaustive, and we expect to launch work on new markets every year. If we see that we have missed some significant market, we will start working on it in 2016.

    Those markets that are allocated for work now are organized according to the following logic:

    • three of them relate to the security of the country and its systemic provision of resources: this is the market for food (FoodNet), energy (EnergyNet) and security (SafeNet)
    • three relate to transformations in the transport system: this is the market for unmanned vehicles (AutoNet), air transport (AeroNet) and sea / river transport (MariNet)
    • and finally, three relate to the most important areas of human life, where “crazy” technological changes are taking place: this is the market for “digital” health (HealthNet), new finance (FinNet) and neurocommunications (NeuroNet).
  • Why is the emphasis placed on creating markets rather than advancing science or technology?

    Technology itself means nothing if there is no demand for it. For this, as a rule, a market is needed - and if the technology is not in demand by the market, then its development becomes difficult.

    Of course, the market approach is not the only possible one. Equally important is the national security perspective, which is how many modern markets have evolved, from energy and basic food markets to cybersecurity and space launch markets. But the maximum effect is achieved where both tasks are solved - meeting market demand and state security. An example is the GLONASS project - at the same time it is both state security in the field of geopositioning and a very large market for those companies that have started working with it. Perhaps the 2016 foresight fleet will be organized through this prism.

  • If I think you've missed an important market, may I make a suggestion? What do I need to be heard and my proposal taken into account in further work?

    If you think that there is an important new market that needs to be taken into account in further work on NTI, then first of all answer yourself the following questions:

    • Is there an opportunity to create fundamentally new technological standards in this area? (i.e. whether the market is new)
    • Is there a community of entrepreneurs and scientists in Russia who share the idea of ​​the possible emergence of such a market? (i.e., does leadership energy exist)
    • Are there similar international projects or consortia in the same direction? (that is, is it possible to find international partners with whom the launch of this market can be realized)

    If the answer to these questions is affirmative, then we ask you to submit an application to ASI for inclusion of a new market, and we promise to organize its comprehensive public discussion and inclusion in the event of a positive decision.

  • In our country, more than 80% of the economy is under direct or indirect government control - why do you even put such an emphasis on entrepreneurs and markets?

    We believe that the experiment with building state capitalism in Russia has already shown the ineffectiveness of this model, and the future lies in effective models of public-private partnerships. In general, we cannot do without a significant role of the state, even in new areas of the economy. This is shown, for example, by the struggle between Yandex and Google unfolding before our eyes. But relying only on state giants is futile; we need developed supply chains and ecosystems of medium and small technology companies.

  • Why should we discuss new markets if we have a crisis on the horizon and we will need to feed the country?

    One of the key NTI markets is FoodNet, that is, the food market, which solves the problem of more efficient production, delivery and processing of food products, taking into account the needs of large cities. This market is already forming before our eyes, and although it will reach maturity in 15-20 years, many solutions can be applied now: for example, robotization of dairy farms greatly increases milk yield, product quality control and delivery efficiency to the end consumer - and such technology pays off in a very short period of time. Unfortunately, the consumer is not yet aware of most modern technological solutions and is not motivated to use them - and this is a consequence of the current model of government incentives in this area. Therefore, the state must demonstrate new priorities in order to launch technological renewal. Practice has shown that our country is capable of quickly creating entire branches of agriculture - in less than 10 years, we have turned from importers of chicken into exporters. In this logic, by 2035 we can become leaders in many areas of high-tech agricultural production.

  • Where is the place in NTI for the idea that for global competitiveness a country must solve global problems? Let's say, environmental problems or providing the planet's population with water and food?

    Solving global problems is a possible strategy for achieving global leadership, through which it will be critical to look at all our technology initiatives. We will definitely do this as part of the project, including at the Foresight Fleet.

  • Why should we develop new technology businesses if there is no market for them yet? If they create something valuable, either Russian Technologies or Google will buy them.

    This is one of the key risks of NTI. However, the sale of companies in itself to Russian state-owned companies with global potential (such as Russian Technologies) or even to international technology companies (such as Google) is not necessarily bad - in innovative markets it is one of the market strategies that allows business creators to capitalize on their efforts.

    It is important that there remains a part of new businesses that decide to develop independently and challenge existing giants in the fight for new markets - these are the companies that will be able to become new global champions. The task of NTI is to ensure that there are as many of these companies as possible, and that they retain the potential for global growth. We propose to decide together how exactly to achieve this in the coming months; we are open to ideas and suggestions. One solution is the practice of corporate spinoffs - large corporations must learn to create their own venture funds and allocate promising areas into separate business units. Another is the creation of a new generation of “patent trolls” in unoccupied niches. The third is the practice of transferring IP to the country and quickly growing national champions under state orders, with a pre-established model of export to Asian markets. There are options.

  • We will make 20 development roadmaps - what next? Why do you think they will be implemented?

    To implement NTI, we want to use the successful mechanism of the National Entrepreneurial Initiative (NPI), which allowed Russia to significantly improve its position in world business climate rankings (for example, in the Doing Business ranking, Russia showed record dynamics, rising from 124th to 60th place for 2 years). The NPI is based on the following model: roadmaps to improve the business climate are formed with the coordination of the ASI; Each road map is maintained by a group of entrepreneurs and officials who ensure that the map is not bureaucratically watered down. At the same time, NPI cards are controlled from the highest level of government. A similar mechanism is embedded in NTI.

  • What will happen if the President does not accept the NTI road maps?
  • What financial resources will be used to pay for the implementation of NTI roadmaps? If my project needs funding, how can I get it within the NTI?

    NTI, first of all, is people, not a roof or a pocket. If you need government money for the success of the project, and that’s all, you probably shouldn’t participate in NTI.

    But it is clear that for NTI to succeed, new scientific research must be launched and support must be provided for high-risk technological projects. Therefore, representatives of the Russian Science Foundation, Russian Academy of Sciences, RVC, Skolkovo, the Assistance Fund, the Ministry of Education and Science, the Ministry of Education and Science, and the Ministry of Economic Development are involved in the development of NTI; they will implement the priorities of the NTI in their policies to support new projects.

    The set of institutional decisions necessary to launch the market should be developed by the working group itself. But we are not going to turn this into a lobbying process and predetermine certain decisions. The ultimate criterion is the ability to create a market with maximum growth potential, and not taking into account the interests of individual players.

  • If the state starts NTI, what will happen to existing initiatives and projects? Should we cancel existing government programs to support technological development and close any of the existing development institutions?
  • Why don’t foreign specialists participate in the development of NTI roadmaps?

    When developing a national technology policy, it is important that it starts at the national level. At the next step, we will build systems of cooperation and consortia with international partners, but at the start this issue is primarily national.

    When creating NTI roadmaps, we use the results of all major international, national and corporate foresights in relevant areas. Foresight fleet participants in individual areas are deeply integrated into the international process of developing future market standards.

    In particular, based on the Russian Education Foresight 2035 initiative, the Global Education Futures project was launched in 2014, within which education leaders from around the world create a vision and global standards for the development of new education markets that support learning throughout life.

  • Where in NTI are robotics, the Internet of things, sustainable development, climate change and other topics relevant to the modern international agenda?

    We believe that a number of mistakes in scientific and technological development were associated with the uncritical borrowing of Western meme concepts, behind which there were marketing interests in promoting specific companies. It's important for us to practice semantic hygiene and use terms that point to specific markets and technologies to focus on specific areas with growth potential.

    An example of an uncritical attitude is the concept of a “smart city with centralized control.” Practice shows that behind this there is an attempt to impose ultra-expensive technological solutions, while the most effective solutions are those that support decentralized management based on local communities.

  • The country is in a difficult geopolitical situation. How can you build a technological future while being isolated and under sanctions from the international community, including in the field of technological cooperation?

    When the rocket and space project started in 1932, the country was in a significantly less advantageous position - and it managed. Even in the worst scenario, we are doomed to update and develop our economy - without this we simply have no future.

    However, we hope that the process of developing technology policy will take place in cooperation with the largest countries of the world, with which we have no isolation, and work has already begun on a number of standards - these are China, India and other BRICS countries, as well as a number of rapidly developing new economies. But we hope that science will remain global and that new “iron curtains” will not be created in it. In Russia, a number of projects continue to focus on global cooperation rather than isolation - this is the “5 in the Top 100” program for leading Russian universities, this is the “Global Education” program for training specialists in leading educational institutions of the world with a return to their homeland, projects Big Science, and others.

  • Today's technology standards are global by definition - how are you going to get in with your standards and why will you be listened to?

    According to our definition, new markets differ from existing ones precisely in that they lack established international technological standards. At the same time, you need to understand that in a number of technology markets - including the Internet - the position of the United States is too dominant, and this does not suit many other economies. The overall position of the BRICS countries is that standards for the next generation of markets should not be US- and Euro-centric, and that truly global standards should emerge.

    We see the relevance of the task of building truly global standards for all BRICS countries. Therefore, we immediately enter into dialogue with them on this issue so that it is possible to mutually take into account our national interests - at least in the format of a “second standard”, which can be built on the principles of open architecture. We do not limit the participation of the US and EU countries in this dialogue, but it should take place on common rules. And over time, it is very likely that the condition for admission to the markets of the BRICS countries will be the ability to meet the formulated standards - just as it is now happening with admission to the markets of the European Union and North America.

  • What is the relationship between NTI foresight and the scientific and technological forecast that the Higher School of Economics makes at the request of the Ministry of Education and Science?

    NTI uses the results of scientific and technological forecasts. His co-authors work in all NTI groups.

  • The project also includes entrepreneurs who failed to create high-tech industries and brought large losses to investors. Why do you invite not only successful but also bankrupt businessmen to the project?

    The most valuable property of a businessman is his practical experience, which can only be gained in battle. If we don’t send into battle all those who have lost once, then we won’t have any fighters left. In this case, you need to look at the achievements of each specific leader, including scientific and social ones, and his ability to recover from defeats.

  • To what extent does NTI rely on the scientific and technological resources that exist in our country?

    NTI builds its work from the future and from the needs of markets. Relying only on groundwork, which has served as the basis for scientific and technological policy in recent decades, has already shown its ineffectiveness. We cannot endlessly rely on the Soviet experience; the time has come to create new foundations where their potential can be maximally used.

NATIONAL TECHNOLOGY INITIATIVE

The launch of NTI takes place during an unfolding global technological revolution. The explosive development and spread of new technologies, their penetration into all spheres of human activity are currently leading to rapid and dramatic changes in global markets, in the very structure and nature of modern industrial production and the economy. The transition to a new technological structure will lead to the formation of completely new large markets in the world over the next 10–20 years, offering consumers advanced technological solutions and fundamentally new products and services.

NTI on includes a set of projects and programs aimed at actively including Russia in the formation of standards for global markets of the future and for Russian companies to gain a significant share in these markets.

In his Address to the Federal Assembly on December 4, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined the National Technology Initiative as one of the priorities of state policy.

“Based on long-term forecasting, it is necessary to understand what challenges Russia will face in 10-15 years, what advanced solutions will be required in order to ensure national security, the quality of life of people, and the development of industries of a new technological order” -V. Putin ( from the message to the Federal Assembly).

XX/XX.2035

NTI is initially built as a broad coalition action, which involves the formation of groups of like-minded people from technology entrepreneurs, representatives of leading universities and research centers, large business associations in Russia, development institutions, expert and professional communities, as well as interested executive authorities. At the same time, NTI forms butnew and strengthens existing programs to support scientific and technological development, ensuring the formation and transmission of requests from potential leaders of new markets to the public administration system.

NTI MARKETS

NTI concentrates on new global markets that will form in 15–20 years. Most markets will be networked in nature (inheriting approaches that exist on the Internet, or using the infrastructure of the Web). New markets will be human-centricend consumer, the distance between the manufacturer andthe consumer demand for them will be minimal. Russia, within the framework of NTI, will focus on those markets in which there is an opportunity to create industries of a new technological order that are significant from the point of view of ensuring national security and a high standard of living for citizens.

NTI WORKING GROUPS

A distinctive feature of NTI is that the content of the list of measures for Russia to achieve leadership in new markets is formulated by the high-tech business itself. For each market area, a Working Group is formed, which is headed by an established technology entrepreneur, a professional in the relevant thematic area, and a specialized deputy minister of the responsible federal executive body. The NTI Working Group includes representatives of business, scientific and educational communities, executive authorities and other interested participants. Currently, there are 12 working groups that are working on road maps for the development of nine promising markets and three cross-market areas.

ROADMAPS AND NTI PROJECTS

“Road maps” are strategic planning documents containing a set of activities interconnected by tasks, implementation deadlines, performers and resources. The main categories of road map activities are the creation, development and promotion of technologies, products and services that ensure priority positions for Russian companies in emerging markets; improving the regulatory framework to remove barriers to the use of advanced technological solutions; creating a system of incentives for their implementation; improving the education system to meet the personnel needs of companies, scientific and creative teams participating in the creation of NTI markets. The implementation of road maps is carried out through the launch of specific NTI projects.

“Based on long-term forecasting, it is necessary to understand what challenges Russia will face in 10–15 years, what advanced solutions will be required in order to ensure national security, a high quality of life for people, and the development of industries of a new technological order.”

In his Address to the Federal Assembly on December 4, 2014, Russian President Vladimir Putin outlined the National Technology Initiative as one of the priorities of state policy.

NTI implementation plan in 2017

The NTI implementation plan in 2017 was approved on February 14, 2017 by the Presidium of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for Economic Modernization and Innovative Development of Russia.

The implementation of the Plan in 2017 is designed to ensure the readiness of the state, business and society for the new economic and social realities created by the technological revolution. At the same time, an important task for 2017 is to put the National Technology Initiative on a sustainable development trajectory, regardless of external market, technological or other circumstances.

Key results of the implementation of the Plan at the beginning of 2018:

    A sustainable system of management and coordination of NTI has been created.

    Existing state development institutions, as well as federal executive authorities, are involved in the implementation of NTI.

    A mechanism for “opening markets” for promising products and services has been formed.

    NTI competency centers for “end-to-end” technologies have been created at universities, and research and educational programs have been launched in priority technological areas for NTI.

    In the interests of developing talents in the scientific and technical field, the activities of a “circle movement” were organized and the concept of the “Technology” lesson was developed.

    A mechanism for popularizing scientific and technical activities and technological entrepreneurship among the general public has been developed and launched.

    The regional NTI policy was “piloted”.

    Operators providing support for different categories of NTI projects and NTI services have been identified.

    A groundwork has been formed to regulate the intellectual property market and the smart capital market for the development of NTI at subsequent stages.

  1. An NTI development plan for 2018-2024 has been developed and agreed upon.

NTI: implementation status

NTI is based on representatives of the most successful high-tech companies, who, as part of working groups with the support and participation of government officials, development institutions, scientific and educational organizations, develop and implement “road maps” for 9 main NTI markets. Created 10 NTI working groups, in which they participate 451 companies, 869 experts.

The Presidium of the Council under the President of the Russian Federation for the modernization of the economy and innovative development of Russia approved 6 road maps of the EnergyNet, Healthnet, Neuronet, Marinet, Autonet, Aeronet and cross-market Technet markets. Road maps are being prepared for 3 markets: Finnet, Safenet, Foodnet. Interdepartmental Working Group (IWG) under the Presidium of the Council for Economic Modernization and Innovative Development of Russia approved 12 draft roadmaps for four NTI market areas, who will receive government support. In total, about 120 projects were supported by the NTI Foundation and the Innovation Promotion Fund.

In 16 regions Russian Federation, selected based on the results of a competitive selection, is being developed regional model for the implementation of NTI. Applications for 54 Russian regions applied for participation. In 2017, Foresight Navigation events will be held in 12 regions, at which participants will develop plans for the development of territories in the context of NTI.

In 2016 Throughout the country, technological creativity spaces have been opened for schoolchildren - fablabs, CMITs, and a network of children's technology parks "Quantorium" has been deployed. In the communities of summer school curators “Lift to the Future”, “Innopraktika”, “Sirius”, and student project curators in a number of universities, a network of mentors for talented schoolchildren is being developed. NTI project shifts started at the Sirius Educational Center, a series of summer “space schools” for children and adults were held, and a series of engineering educational events were held at the accelerator sites “Steel” and “Biokey”.

Mechanisms for supporting NTI from development institutions, financial organizations, and government bodies have been identified.

The well-being of the population directly depends on the state of the national economy. The Russian crisis of recent years, which arose due to falling prices for hydrocarbons, has once again proven the need for fundamental changes. The National Technology Initiative is designed to highlight the most promising sectors of the economy and stimulate them. Their development will entail the development of the entire economy as a whole and will help overcome dependence on hydrocarbon prices. For people, this means prolonging life and improving its quality.

The National Technology Initiative (NTI) as a direction was first officially announced in December 2014. It was during this period that Russian President V.V. Putin emphasized it in his message to the Federal Assembly and identified the officials responsible for the implementation of this program. The essence of NTI is to identify promising sectors of the economy and create Russian enterprises in them. If chosen correctly, such a strategy can bring multi-billion dollar turnover in the future. Russia will be able to compete on equal terms with the most developed countries and conquer an ever larger share of the world market. The greatest attention is paid to industries related to advanced technologies. One of the trends in medicine, in particular, is life extension. However, the success of the implementation of NTI depends not only on the government. support is undoubtedly important, but the greatest attention should be paid to creating an effective system in which errors are quickly identified and corrected. According to the director of the “Young Specialists” direction D. Peskov, NTI should be a system of priorities, a management matrix. The National Technology Initiative should not be considered as the basis for the creation of a large government structure.

Historical discourse

The concept of “national technology initiative” was first used in the report of the Minister of Education and Science of the Russian Federation at a meeting of the presidium on economic modernization and innovative development in September 2014. It was about developing a project related to new production technologies (NPT). His goal was to accelerate the development of industries. The project received the status of the National Technological Initiative (NTI - NTP). However, they started talking about him only in December 2014. This surge of interest was due to the fact that NTI was given special attention in the Address of the President of the Russian Federation to the Federal Assembly. As planned, the National Technology Initiative should become a tool with the help of which Russia will be able to take a leading position in the markets of goods and services. The need to make the right strategic choice comes to the fore.

On the issue of prospects

It is very important to determine what will determine the economy in the future. For example, intelligent transport systems are considered one of the most promising areas today. Their operation is directly related to data transfer. This is how one industry leads to another. Another direction is the development of air transport, which would significantly reduce the time required to transport goods and passengers. However, only time can tell whether this choice is correct. For example, at the beginning of the 2000s, it was believed that a revolution in the Russian Federation related to nanotechnology would soon occur. In 2006, the growth rate of this market was expected to be 40% per year. But that did not happen. The implementation of the nanotechnology development project in the Russian Federation did not lead either to the reindustrialization of the country, or to getting rid of dependence on raw materials, or to a noticeable increase in the level of economic growth.

Priorities

The Russian government is developing the NTI concept in pursuance of the instructions of the President of the Russian Federation. The so-called new production technologies were identified, which should become the engine of development. They are expected to be used to create a domestic system for designing, modeling and automating the work of knowledge-intensive industries. The minutes of the presidium meeting in September 2014 contained a list of technologies that should receive support within the NTI framework. Among them:

  • Robotics and automation tools, intelligent transport systems.
  • Technologies for designing materials and structures.
  • Digital production tools.
  • Domestic programming technologies that are necessary to create products.

The Ministry of Industry and Trade of the Russian Federation proposed similar directions. In recent years, technological development programs have been implemented in all developed and newly industrialized countries. World experience shows that their implementation gives a tangible socio-economic effect and makes it possible to strengthen the competitiveness of the national economy.

Criteria for identifying markets

It is important not only to combine the efforts of business, science and government, but also to correctly find the points of their application. Therefore, NTI should be built on long-term forecasting, with the help of which it is necessary to determine what challenges Russia will face in 10-15 years. The National Technology Initiative is based on the following hypotheses:

  • The starting point is the needs of people, which change over time.
  • The markets of the future are networked in their design.
  • The planning period is 2018-2035.

NTI markets are identified based on the following criteria:

  • The global volume by 2035 will be more than 100 billion US dollars.
  • At the moment there is no market or there are no generally accepted technological standards on it.
  • Focus on people as the final consumer.
  • Network construction of the market, in which intermediaries are replaced by software.
  • The importance of the sphere for Russia to ensure that the basic needs of people and national security are met.
  • Availability of conditions in the Russian Federation for achieving competitive advantages.
  • The existence of entrepreneurs’ desires to create new companies in this high-tech market.

Assessing Russia's potential

Within the framework of NTI, it is planned to create nine new high-tech markets:

  • EnergyNet.
  • FoodNet.
  • SafeNet.
  • HealthNet.
  • AeroNet.
  • MariNet.
  • AutoNet.
  • FinNet.
  • NeuroNet.

One of the indicators by which one can assess the potential of a state's leadership in the development of production technologies is the number of patent documents it has published. The absolute championship in this indicator belongs to China. Almost half of all patents issued as of 2015 were in China. Russia is not in the top 10 for this indicator. The Russian Federation accounts for only 0.18% of the global number of documents protecting new technological solutions. Foreign technology companies register 4 times more patents in Russia than residents.

Risks and criticism of the project

The implementation of NTI in the Russian Federation is associated with the following problems:

  • The patent portfolio of Russian residents is hundreds of times smaller than that of the leading countries in new production technologies. Among them are countries such as China, USA, Japan and South Korea.
  • Up to 60-95% of Russian patents are issued to non-residents of Russia.
  • Companies are leading the world in the field of new industrial technologies. In Russia, patent holders are mainly research and educational institutions.

Current state of affairs

At a meeting of the NTI working group, which was created by the Agency for Strategic Initiatives, which took place on June 22, 2016, the prospects for introducing teleportation (secure message transmission), quantum communications and a separate Russian programming language in the Russian Federation were discussed. The goal of implementing such a project is to reduce losses from cybercrime by 2035. It is expected that these measures will help maintain 0.1% of GDP. The SafeNet project involves the transition in a number of entities to the 5G communication standard, the creation of a network of centers for protecting the population from cyber threats, the development of domestic intelligent management systems, operating systems, autonomous transport and a compiled programming language. By 2035, the Russian Federation plans to create a quantum communications infrastructure that will ensure completely secure communications. The implementation of this project requires about 10 billion rubles. Moreover, most of it should be financed by the state, including through development institutions.

conclusions

Leadership in the intended areas of NTI requires extraordinary efforts. The new ones undoubtedly have enormous potential for economic development, but there are significant problems in implementing the planned program. Their solution requires a long-term orientation. However, global experience shows that achieving technological leadership is possible in an extremely short time. For example, China only needed about seven years. This result is based on the formation of personnel, the multiplication of existing reserves, and the interaction between universities and business.