Bridging the Digital Divide in the Era of Lockdowns

This research aims to determine the prospect of overcoming the digital divide in the era of lockdowns through the refinement of innovation management. It explores the experiences of the top 20 most innovative economies in the world in 2023 based on the criterion of the Global Innovation Index values as assessed by WIPO. To achieve the stated objective, the authors used econometric modeling to determine the relationship between indicators of information society development and indicators of innovation financing using regression analysis. As a result, the authors concluded that overcoming the digital divide requires the optimization of the innovation financing structure, which means increasing the volume of investments from the most promising sources — government funding for R&D and foreign investments in innovation. The novelty of this research lies in its departure from a majority of existing publications, which merely measure the digital divide, instead focusing on finding ways to diminish it, for which innovation management is proposed as an innovative applied solution. The scientific novelty of the obtained results lies in the ability to reconsider the practice of innovation financing in terms of its consequences for the digital inclusiveness of contemporary society. The fundamental significance of the authors’ conclusions is rooted in the fact that they have created an opportunity to manage the development of the information society — through innovation financing. The empirical value of this research is expressed in the recommendations it offers for improving Russian innovation management practices, which will aid in overcoming the digital divide in Russia. The authors’ conclusions also possess social significance as they have strengthened scientific and practical support for social adaptation in the era of lockdowns by proposing recommendations for overcoming the digital divide.