Center for Social Policy Studies | Newsletter | Autumn 2021

Special materials: 

• The Role of Universities in the Development of Public Sector Innovations
• Social participation of students in Russia and Armenia: the institutional context and the unmatched potential of the non-profit sector in the socio-cultural development of regional cities
• The well-being of residents in an urban environment: The case of a Russian megapolis

The Newsletter is published 4 times a year by the Center for Social Policy Studies, the School of Public Administration and Entrepreneurship, Graduate School of Economics and Management, Ural Federal University named after the first President of Russia B.N.Yeltsin. The mission of the Center is to create advanced scientific and applied research in the field of social policy and facilitate international scientific cooperation.

The Role of Universities in the Development of Public Sector Innovations

Sergey Polbitsyn
Innovation Journal

Studies on public sector innovation often treat this type of innovation as something that emerges within public sector organizations. However, innovation theory argues that external sources of innovation are more fruitful sources of ideas. We claim that universities must be treated as a mandatory element in public sector innovation. This paper is aimed at clarifying the place of public sector innovation in the classification of innovations currently used in the literature. It also seeks to conceptualize an approach for future research on the topic. Our primary goal is to identify the role of different actors in the development of public sector innovation. We analyze the advantages and disadvantages of different forms of university involvement in public sector innovation. The paper consists of two parts. The first defines concepts of innovation in general and public sector innovation viewed as a variation on social innovation. The second is dedicated to an analysis of the experience of Russian universities in enhancing collaboration between actors in the public innovation system

Social participation of students in Russia and Armenia: the institutional context and the unmatched potential of the non-profit sector in the socio-cultural development of regional cities

Maria Pevnaya, Elena Shuklina, Lilit Asoyan

Zhurnal Issledovanii Sotsial'noi Politiki (Journal of Social Policy Research)

Studies on public sector innovation often treat this type of innovation as something that emerges within public sector organizations. However, innovation theory argues that external sources of innovation are more fruitful sources of ideas. We claim that universities must be treated as a mandatory element in public sector innovation. This paper is aimed at clarifying the place of public sector innovation in the classification of innovations currently used in the literature. It also seeks to conceptualize an approach for future research on the topic. Our primary goal is to identify the role of different actors in the development of public sector innovation. We analyze the advantages and disadvantages of different forms of university involvement in public sector innovation. The paper consists of two parts. The first defines concepts of innovation in general and public sector innovation viewed as a variation on social innovation. The second is dedicated to an analysis of the experience of Russian universities in enhancing collaboration between actors in the public innovation system

The well-being of residents in an urban environment: The case of a Russian megapolis

Anna Bagirova, Olga Notman

Administratie si Management Public

Studies on public sector innovation often treat this type of innovation as something that emerges within public sector organizations. However, innovation theory argues that external sources of innovation are more fruitful sources of ideas. We claim that universities must be treated as a mandatory element in public sector innovation. This paper is aimed at clarifying the place of public sector innovation in the classification of innovations currently used in the literature. It also seeks to conceptualize an approach for future research on the topic. Our primary goal is to identify the role of different actors in the development of public sector innovation. We analyze the advantages and disadvantages of different forms of university involvement in public sector innovation. The paper consists of two parts. The first defines concepts of innovation in general and public sector innovation viewed as a variation on social innovation. The second is dedicated to an analysis of the experience of Russian universities in enhancing collaboration between actors in the public innovation system

News & Events

Step towards youth

Sociologists of the UrFU  together with the Ministry of Education and Youth Policy of the Sverdlovsk Region held a seminar on August 24. The topic of the seminar was "Interaction between the state and the non-state sector in case of education and youth policy". The event was held within the framework of the traditional August pedagogical meeting of employees of the education system of the region, it was attended by more than 160 participants.

SONKO's Digital Transformation

The International Industrial Exhibition of  Innoprom was held in Yekaterinburg on July 5-8. It gathered participants from 38 foreign countries, including Italy, Japan, Belarus, Belgium, Germany, Hungary, Zimbabwe, Kazakhstan, Poland, the Czech Republic and Uzbekistan. As part of the Innoprom program, an open meeting of the coordinating council for the development of socially oriented non-profit organizations of the Sverdlovsk region was held. The event was organized by the Ministry of Economy and Territorial Development of the Sverdlovsk region. Maria Pevnaya, Leading Scientist of the Center for Social Policy Studies, moderated the panel discussion "Digital transformation of “SONKO”  within the framework of the event.

Digitalization of the non-profit sector of the Sverdlovsk region on the way to its digital transformation was discussed in two directions. SONKO’s leaders presented their projects, new digital services and solutions to social problems of citizens. Also they told about the problems the  researchers faced during the coronavirus pandemic. Measures of state support for social initiatives, conditions under which the digital transformation of the third sector can be productive and effective for citizens and non-profit organizations themselves were discussed as well.

Scientific expedition to Armenia

Sociologists of the Center for Social Policy Studies organized a scientific expedition to Armenia. They collected empirical data on the social participation of young people in the socio-cultural development of Gyumri.

The researchers met students and teachers of the Armenian State University of Economics. They conducted a series of expert interviews and collected photos and videos. The rich history of the territory, especially, mentality of the population, as well as the prolonged period of social anomie leave a special imprint on the activity of young people and urban development in Armenia.

The fieldwork allowed the scientific group to get assess to the cultural and historical background of the Shirak region in case to evaluate the ideas of Gyumri youth about significant urban symbols of public places. The sociological expedition provided an opportunity to get directly acquainted with the implemented urban programs and projects of the non-profit sector. It was necessary in order to compare Armenian data in the future with the Russian experience, as well as the practice of working with urban youth in other post-communist countries.

UrFU and the Institute of Demographic Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences have signed a cooperation agreement

There was a meeting Sergey Ryazantsev and Tamara Rostovskaya with scientists of the Center for Social Policy Studies on the 2 of June, 2021. Sergey Ryazantsev is a Member of the Russian Academy of Sciences and Doctor of Economics. Whereas Tamara Rostovskaya is a Doctor of Sociological Sciences. The Rector UrFU Viktor Koksharov welcomed  Moscow colleagues. He noted that the Sverdlovsk Region faced serious demographic problems. Such as: low birth rate, the postponement of the birth of the first children, the low reproductive attitudes of young people, migration etc. In this sense, Sverdlovsk  is both a receiving and a "giving" region. Sverdlovsk region makes an attempt to implement  national project  of "Demography".

In addition, the rector noted that Ural Federal University has been engaged in the study of demographic problems related to fertility, parenthood, a healthy lifestyle, the older generation, and the effectiveness of demographic policy for a very long time. Ural Federal University and the Institute of Demographic Research of the Russian Academy of Science have signed a cooperation agreement. This cooperation should be productive. It is aimed  to increase the volume and quality of human capital in the Sverdlovsk region and Russia as a whole.

XII Ural Demographic Forum

The XII Ural Demographic Forum was held on 3-4 of June 3-4, 2021. Ural Federal University was as a co-organizer of this event. The forum brought together the  best demographers from all over Russia. The Forum has become a platform for discussing paradigms and models of demographic development, problems related to the implementation of the national project "Demography" this year.

At the plenary session Professor Anna Bagirova shared the results of the regional stage of the sociological study "Demographic well-being of Russian residents". It was organized with a huge support of the Ministry of Social Policy of the Sverdlovsk region. The survey was conducted by scientists and undergraduates of the UrFU.

Professional standard "Demographer"

In February-March 2021, A group of the Institute of Demographic Research of the Russian Academy of Sciences started developing a professional standard "Demographer".  This standard has been discussed on many scientific events all over The Russian Federation. Scientists of the Ural Federal University take  part in the development of this standard.