Assessment of the development of innovation activities in the regions: Case of Ukraine

Abstract

The development of innovation activities is of great importance on the path to achieving the goals of sustainable development. Success on this path is closely related to the presence of comparable information on the development of innovation activities at the regional level. The aim of the paper is to assess the development of innovation activities in the regions of Ukraine and identify differences in results. The study is performed using relative indicators for the assessment of the development of innovation activities in the regions of Ukraine. The indicators were averaged and normalized. To analyze how innovation activities change over time, the dynamic indices based on the geometric mean of the growth rate of the relative indicators were used. The obtained results have significant differences in the regions being assessed. Most regions have a heterogeneous development of innovation activities. At the same time, they are at the top and bottom of the rankings of the regions in different indicators of the development of innovation activities. Only Cherkasy and Zaporizhzhia oblasts are at the top of the rankings in at least 75% of indicators. However, in 2017‒2019, all indicators improved in at least 29% of regions. In addition, 75% of indicators improved in at least 54% of regions. Therefore, over time, most regions progressed in the development of innovation activities. Management decisions for the development of innovation activities should be complex for all regions and implemented primarily in the regions where there is no improvement over time. AcknowledgmentsThe paper is prepared within the scientific research project “Sustainable development and resource security: from disruptive technologies to digital transformation of Ukrainian economy” (No. 0121U100470).