Minnikhanov: AIRR needs an efficient information exchange

Association of Innovative Regions of Russia (AIRR) is to establish an effective information exchange between the participating regions, more actively cooperate with the Russian and international development institutions, which will contribute to the weekly meetings by videoconference, stated the President of Tatarstan, the AIRR Board Chairman Rustam Minnikhanov.

Within the VII Kazan Venture Fair on Wednesday Minnikhanov held the meeting of the chairmen of the AIRR committees, which identified their prospects in 2012.

the association mission is to establish effective information exchange and ensure proper distribution of tasks in the chain - from research organization to finished products of the enterprises located in our region, - Minnikhanov said at the meeting.

AIRR work, in his opinion, should be based largely on a joint interest in securing government orders of ministries, state corporations and institutions of regional innovation development.

Especially Minnikhanov noted the need to establish cooperative ties of the Association with the current Russian and international development institutions - Vnesheconombank, the corporation RUSNANO, Skolkovo, the Russian Venture Company, the Fund for promotion of small enterprises in scientific-technical sphere and the others which are to become reliable strategic partners of the association.

The AIRR Board Chairman offered for the greater effectiveness of the committees to hold videoconference every week. Once a month, such video conferencing Minnikhanov, as he said, is ready to conduct himself. Face to face meetings of regional representatives, AIRR members, are planned to be organized at least once a quarter.

Only regular and systematic work can bring results, - said Minnikhanov.

According to the president of Tatarstan, the tasks of each committee should be directed to the dynamic development of the entire association, and therefore it is logical to introduce a single assessment system for these tasks. According to him, in the nearest future AIRR together with the Ministry of Economic Development will generate a list of basic criteria to be met by any innovative region.

One of the criteria for assessing the activity of the participating regions and association corporate bodies will be the quantity and quality of legislative initiatives. In general, it is necessary to intensify our work with federal, state, legislative bodies and governmental structures of the Russian Federation in the form of experts’ participation - said Minnikhanov.

The memorandum on establishing the Association of Innovative Regions of Russia was signed in May 2010 in Tomsk, during the XIII Innovation Forum Innovus. The Association includes Tomsk, Novosibirsk, Irkutsk, Kaluga Regions, the Republic of Tatarstan and Mordovia, Krasnoyarsk and Perm regions, JSC RUSNANO, JSC RVC, Russian Academy of National Economy and the Public Service under the President of the Russian Federation. The permanent collegial management body is AIRR Board Association.

The association purpose is promoting effective innovation development of the participating regions, built on the recognition of various models of scientific and technological growth. The AIRR tasks include in particular encouraging the exchange of accumulated experiences to create a favorable legal, economic, social, creative environment of innovation development, organization and promotion of joint innovation, economic, scientific, technological and educational projects. AIRR members also intend to promote joint innovation, economic, scientific, technological and educational projects in the state authorities of the Russian Federation, to carry out a joint search for investors.