Features of Planning in Innovative Activities

Abstract

The article is devoted to the study of the features of innovative activity to improve the planning processes and state regulation of the innovative sphere of the economy. Although national legislation regulates the requirements for innovative projects and provides for the possibility of their state support, innovative activity in Ukraine is in a state of stagnation. One of the key reasons for this problem is the state ignoring the specifics of innovative processes, the features of planning innovative projects and their implementation. Innovation planning is the subject of many scientific studies. Despite the development of the theoretical foundations of innovation management, the issue of taking into account the specifics of innovative activity in the practice of planning innovative projects and in state regulation of the innovative sphere of the economy is not sufficiently covered in the scientific literature. The purpose of the study is to identify the features of innovative activity and analyze the specifics of planning of innovative projects in order to adapt the legislation of Ukraine to modern trends in innovative development. To achieve the goals of the article, general scientific research methods such as analysis, synthesis and abstraction were used. The scientific work identifies the features of innovative activity and compares them with standard business. Unlike routine cyclical operational processes, each innovation cycle is unique and unrepeatable. In addition to the stages of idea formation, research, development, testing and implementation, the modern concept of the innovation cycle includes the commercialization stage. This stage should be considered as a zonal transition from innovation to operations, which lasts from the moment of innovation implementation until the stability of operations and an acceptable level of risks are achieved. The forms of innovation results are analyzed: outputs, outcomes and impacts. It is found that impacts are of a deferred nature and may carry risks for society, the environment, human health, etc. It is argued that the differences between the stages of the innovation cycle exist in the nature of uncertainties, risks, priorities, resource needs, which necessitates the development of separate plans for each of them. It is proven that taking into account critical risks is an important component of planning an innovation project. The feasibility of phased development of innovative project plans, combining classical and flexible planning methods, is substantiated. Taking into account the features of innovative activity is necessary both in the practice of planning innovative projects and in state regulation of the innovative sphere of the economy. Based on the results of the study, it is proposed to harmonize the provisions of the Laws of Ukraine «On Innovative Activity» and «On Scientific and Scientific-Technical Activity» regarding innovative projects, to introduce a holistic mechanism of state support for innovative activity, unified regulatory requirements and methodological recommendations for planning of innovative projects for each stage of the innovation cycle.