Characteristics of the spatial development of innovations in legislative acts of siberian macroregions

Objective: to assess the level of inclusion of the innovation space characteristics into the legislative acts on innovation activity in the macroregions of Siberia.Methods: a spatial approach, which allowed considering the innovative development of a macroregion through the characteristics of length, connectivity, density, and uniformity; a synchronous method, which made it possible to compare legislative documents in the macroregions of Siberia by the representation of spatial characteristics in them; a qualitative content analysis, used to identify words and phrases characterizing the spatial development of innovations in the texts of legislative documents on innovation activity.Results: the paper revealed the increased attention of foreign and Russian scientists to the search for ways of improving the effectiveness of legislative regulation of innovation activity. It was determined that the regional legislative acts of the macroregions of Siberia (Ural-Siberian and South-Siberian macroregions) regulating innovation policy do not actually reflect the characteristics of the innovation space (such characteristics as interaction, cooperation, communication, and partnership are highlighted). In less than half of the analyzed documents, there are no characteristics of spatial development of innovations, in a third – interterritorial cooperation is mentioned as a characteristic of spatial development. In the studied documents, the predominant form of cooperation and interaction is the formation of clusters and the coordinated development of science, innovation, production, and education.Scientific novelty: for the first time, the article evaluates the representation of spatial characteristics of innovation development in the relevant legislative acts of the macroregions of Russia. It is shown that the territories of macroregions should have denser, more intensive links in the development of innovations in order to meet their intended purpose. The author suggests improving the legislative regulation of innovation activity by including the requirement for regions to develop intersectoral and interterritorial interaction.Practical significance: the analysis of legislative acts presented in the article in the field of innovation support and innovation development from the viewpoint of the spatial approach can be useful for correcting the existing and developing the new approaches to spatial and innovative development of macroregions of Russia. The research results are intended for public authorities involved in the formation of the innovation policy of the regions.