Volume 17, issue 1/2022

Analysis of the Principles, Models and Mechanisms of Financing of University Science in Russia

Abstract

Introduction. The development of university science is one of the pri­orities of the state scientific and technical policy, as evidenced by the increase in funding and organisational and legal changes in the func­tioning in this field. The Decree of the President of the Russian Federa­tion "On the National Development Goals of the Russian Federation for the Period up to 2030" dated July 21, 2020, sets the goal of "ensuring the presence of the Russian Federation among the 10 leading coun­tries in the world in terms of the volume of research and development, including through the creation of an effective system of higher educa­tion". In this regard, according to the authors of the article, it is relevant to study the existing principles, models and mechanisms of financing of university science, as well as an assessment of the current amount of funding for research in universities by the main sources and mech­anisms of financing on the basis of available statistics. Methods. The methods of statistical data analysis, comparison and generalisation of the obtained results, methods of comparative analysis of socio-eco­nomic information, international methodology of calculation of so­cio-economic indicators, agreed by the OECD, UNESCO and Eurostat were used in the paper. Results and Discussion. The contribution of university science to the scientific complex of the country remains in­ significant. The peculiarities of the Russian sector of higher education are the predominance of basic funding over competitive funding, as well as the priority of funding of "academic science" over higher edu­cation. In general, the extensive growth of university science in recent decades is mainly associated with state support. At the same time, this growth is uneven due to the concentration of this support on a small group of leading universities, especially federal, research and reference universities. Conclusion. According to the authors, the achievement of the national goal of ensuring the presence of Russia among the 10 leading countries in the world in research and development by 2030 will require a review of the approach to funding scientific research of universities of different profiles in Russia.

Keywords

Financing of science, university science, science in univer­sities, mechanisms of financing of science, applied research, basic re­search, public policy, science governance

Information about the authors

Gulnara A. Krasnova, Dr.Sci. (Philosophy), Leading Researcher of the Competence for International Services of Educational Organisations Centre, Russian Presidential Academy of National Economy and Public Administration (82 Vernadskogo Av., Moscow 107000, Russia), ORCID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4848-4935. Her research interests include social philosophy, international relations, science governance.

Emil R. Burangulov, Cand.Sci. (Political Sciences), Deputy Head for Communications, Senior Lecturer, Ufa State Petroleum Technological University (1 Kosmonavtov St., Ufa 450064, Russia). His research interests include science and higher education governance.

Authors’ contribution:

G. A. Krasnova — development of the concept of the article, preparation of the text of the article; formulation of conclusions;

E. R. Burangulov — collection and processing of information; literature review.