Discussing the establishment of the Technological Development Agency.
Excerpts from Dmitry Medvedev’s opening remarks:
Meeting of the Presidium of the Presidential Council for Economic Modernisation and Innovative Development
Today we will discuss issues pertaining to the creation of a technological development agency. We are not going to establish one more federal executive agency; it will be a non-profit organisation that should eventually become financially viable.
The agency will have a specific mandate for technology transfer, which is a popular method for enhancing industrial competitiveness. It is widely used around the world, allowing national companies to acquire the necessary competencies in order to gain a footing in markets and be able to develop proprietary goods and services.
Simply copying foreign-made products and localising them will only produce a short-lived effect. This is necessary sometimes, but the key priority is for cutting edge technology to take root and start growing in this country, providing a basis for further development, regardless of external factors.
This new agency should help businesses find the necessary technology both in Russia and abroad, and also offer them legal and consulting services. At the same time, it should connect Russian customers to Russian designers and also help those who create new technology and plan to commercialise it here in Russia.
We have to buy foreign-made products, but only in the absence of competitive Russian-made analogues.
The agency will collect information about promising Russian and foreign projects. It fact, it will be involved in analytical work, trying to determine which technology will beat the gun, which one holds promise, and which one will become obsolete very soon.
We’d like the agency to become involved not only in import substitution matters, but also in creating the foundation for new markets, including those we are considering in the framework of the National Technology Initiative.
We propose announcing a competition for the position of agency CEO.
