Content №1 от 2016

The capabilities of innovative development, as well as designing and devising an innovation-oriented model to explore natural resources in a region, have numerous aspects. Among them, the most crucial ones are regional factors and conditions. An analysis of controllable factors is ofpractical interest. The article examines the theoretical base and innovation development experiences of most successful primary producing countries. The analysis shows that the state assumes the key role in the development of innovation; national innovation systems are forming with due regard to the specific commodity-centered nature of the economy. Government control focuses on comprehensive promotion of entrepreneurship and private sector initiative; therefore a significant pro­portion of R&D investment is provided by the industry. The practices of innovatively developed Russian regions rich in raw materials (Tomsk Oblast, Khanty-Mansi Autonomous Okrug and the Republic of Tatarstan) assure that the development of the innovation sphere helped improve their public image and conditions for attracting investment and highly skilled professionals. An innovative component can give impetus not only to developing traditional industries but also addressing social and economic problems of territories. There is a tendency to take into account the peculiarities of commodity profiling in strategies of regional innovation development, but a deficiency or absence of relations between the innovation sector and mineral companies in a region are still present. The share of minerals sector in the economic structure is not a determining factor allowing for successful innovation (or preventing it) because there exist other relevant factors and conditions. The regional level of government plays a critical role in forming and developing innovative processes: along with technological innovations, managerial, organizational and marketing ones are becoming increasingly important; institutional change, political competence and the role of regional authorities are coming to the fore; good performance can be achieved through active participation in federal initiatives devoted to promoting innovation