Public administration and development of the Russian innovation system

Effective public administration of the innovation system is a complex task that can be resolved through qualitative analysis of institutional arrangement, institutional environment and infrastructure. The article aims to identify relevant judgments about the rules, routines and institutions that are of key importance for the innovative development. The authors rely on the narrative analysis when dealing with the discourses of the innovation system’s actors (entrepreneurs, scholars, and public authorities). Methodologically, the study rests on original institutional economics and narrative economics. The targeted sample includes the narratives of actors from 43 ranking sources of mass media, magazines, and online resources provided by the Integrum electronic database. The ranking sources were selected using the Medialogia analytical system. The research timeframe covers the period from January 1, 2010 to July 1, 2021. We identified five “failures” of public administration, which had a negative impact on the functioning of the Russian innovation system: 1) path dependence in determining the priority areas of research and technological development; 2) the rise of “artificial competition” for administrative monopolies (financial and managerial resources); 3) overregulation of the market for innovations and excessive bureaucracy; 4) inconsistent and dispersed management model; 5) low speed of implementation of innovative projects. The research findings prove the necessity for alternative directions for the development of research and technologies in the context of the global innovation market.