Development, Security, and Cooperation

Office for Central Europe and Eurasia (OCEE)

Innovating for Profit in Russia: Encouraging a "Market Pull" Approach

Through this project, U.S. and Russian experts addressed questions of industrial innovation in the Urals region of Russia, which has a number of industrial enterprises with strong technological capabilities, but with a continuing need to improve these capabilities. Challenges of market competitiveness and technological advancement in Russian scientific institutions and industries are especially acute in the closed cities of the Urals, which have extensive research capacity, yet are currently underutilized. Achieving greater appreciation and support for the many dimensions of technological innovation and improved linkages between enterprises and research institutions were specific issues addressed.

An NRC committee, in consultation with Russian specialists, organized a workshop in Yekaterinburg, Russia, that brought together leaders of industrial enterprises located in the Urals region with researchers from the closed nuclear cities to explore how industrial and municipal technological needs can be effectively addressed by researchers.

A summary of October 2004 workshop, Innovating for Profit in Russia, presents the experiences of researchers from the closed nuclear cities, American experts in technology transfer, and representatives of the Russian Academy of Sciences.

List of Committee Members

Workshop Agenda, October 25 and 27, 2004

Sponsor: United States Department of Energy

Responsible Staff Officer: Glenn E. Schweitzer, Director, Office for Central Europe and Eurasia.

For more information about this project, contact Rita Guenther at rguenther@nas.edu.