State financing of the scientific, technological, and innovative development of the country: A scientometric analysis

Aim. To reveal the patterns in the formation of the thematic structure and dynamics of scholarly publications in the subject fields State Financing of Scientific and Technological Development and State Financing of Innovative Development on the basis of a scientometric analysis of data from the Russian Science Citation Index (RSCI). Objectives. To assess the general indicators of publication activity in two thematic areas (number of publications, citation counts, impact factor, and Hirsch index); to characterize the thematic structure of publications and calculate the Pearson correlation coefficient between the number of publications and citations; to analyze keywords, authorship, and the affiliation of publishing organizations; to construct the dynamics of publication activity over time and compare it with political and economic periods; to formulate substantive differences between the financing of scientific and technological development and the financing of innovative development. Methods. The research employs the scientometric method, based on empirical data from the Russian Scientific Electronic Library ( eLibrary.ru ) and the analytical add-on of the RSCI (sample as of January 20, 2025). Methods of comparative analysis, grouping, correlation analysis (Pearson coefficient), time series analysis, as well as content analysis of keywords and author affiliations, are used. Two samples were compared: Financing of Scientific and Technological Development (132 publications) and Financing of Innovation Activity (2,048 publications). Results. Quantitative estimates of publication activity are obtained for two subject fields: Financing of Scientific and Technological Development (132 publications) and Financing of Innovation Activity (2,048 publications). It is established that the volume of publications on innovation topics is 15,5 times higher. The thematic structure is presented: financing of scientific and technological development is most often associated with fundamental disciplines (physics, chemistry), while financing of innovation is associated with applied fields (medicine, management). The Pearson correlation coefficient between the number of publications and citations is 0,99. The most frequently mentioned keywords are identified (innovation, investment, financing, state support, and their English-language equivalents). The dynamics of publications show growth, with peaks in 2013–2017 and 2020–2022. The main publishing organizations are universities, institutes of the Russian Academy of Sciences, scientific foundations, and the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of Russia. Conclusions. The topic of state financing of science remains in demand. However, scientific and technological development, as a more fundamental direction, is reflected in scholarly sources to a lesser extent than innovation. The obtained analytical relationships and quantitative estimates provide an empirically substantiated basis for improving the instruments of budget support for scientific research and for developing state scientific and technical policy. Taking into account the identified differences in the structure of publication activity makes it possible to develop more targeted financial support measures for fundamental and applied fields of science. The results of the analysis can serve to substantiate the relevance of ongoing research in the field of innovation.