Organizational and economic mechanisms and measures to support innovative infrastructure in the regions of the Northwestern Federal District

In the context of sanctions pressure and Russia's transition from a raw materials-based to an innovation-based economic model, an effective innovation infrastructure is becoming a key factor in regional competitiveness. Using statistical analysis, this article identifies systemic challenges to its development in the Northwestern Federal District: uneven development (the gap in innovation activity between St. Petersburg and the Republic of Karelia reaches 14.1 percentage points), a shortage of private investment (only 35% of demand), a low share of venture capital investments in the early stages (15%), and low commercialization of grants (22%). An additional macroeconomic challenge is the 7% decline in the number of research personnel in Russia from 2010 to 2020, compared to growth in China (+47%), the United States (+10%), and the EU (+20%). The authors proposed a set of measures to improve the economic component of the mechanism: expansion of public-private partnerships (PPP) with target parameters (share of private capital 40-60%, budget savings 25-40%), introduction of differentiated tax incentives for start-ups (exemption from income tax for 2 years, reduced insurance premiums of 15%) and technology park residents (0% property tax for 5 years, income tax of 13.5%), creation of a regional fund of funds with a volume of 5 billion rubles to stimulate the venture market, as well as implementation of a multi-level grant system with three types of grants (seed up to 500 thousand rubles, R&D up to 3 million rubles, commercialization up to 5 million rubles). Calculations of the expected budget efficiency have been performed: each ruble of tax incentives returns 1.8-2.3 rubles. additional taxes, and each ruble of grant funds will amount to 2.8–3.5 rubles. Implementation of the proposed complex will increase the volume of innovative products in the Northwestern Federal District by 180–220% by 2028, create 25,000–30,000 high-tech jobs, and ensure an increase in tax revenue of 45–55 billion rubles annually.