The most significant results of research and development in the field of natural sciences, social sciences, humanities and engineering:
History, methodology and sociology of science and technology.
Using an original methodology developed by the Institute, historical and current scientific information was analysed to identify and compile bibliographic records for more than 650 scientists working abroad in the fundamental and technical sciences who originated from Ukraine. These findings led to the first publication of the Biographical Encyclopaedic Dictionary ‘Scientists from Ukraine working abroad in the fundamental and technical sciences’. It contains biographical information on Ukrainian scientists who left their homeland for various reasons and subsequently became well-known abroad. Their achievements enriched world science and contributed to Ukraine’s positive scientific reputation.
A scientific and methodological toolkit for studying migration intentions has been developed as part of the annual electronic monitoring of the socio-economic status of young scientists of the NAS of Ukraine and young teachers of higher educational institutions, which is initiated by the Council of Young Scientists at the Department of Informatics of the NAS of Ukraine and is carried out with the scientific, organizational and personnel support of the State Institution "IDNTPIN named after G.M. Dobrov NAS of Ukraine". The next survey in 2017 showed an increase in migration intentions (up to 51.2%) of young scientists due to the deterioration of their socio-economic status. The results of the study were published in the journals "Science and Innovation" and "Common", and analytical materials were also presented in the project "Strengthening the public's influence on European integration processes in the field of scientific, technical and innovative development of Ukraine" of the International Renaissance Foundation.
The concept of the content of the modern professional activity of a scientist working in the competitive environment of globalized science has been developed, the main characteristic features inherent in a modern scientist have been identified: the ability to meet the requirements of intellectual mobility and carry out intensive communications with colleagues, the ability to positively discuss to establish one's ideas, seeing paradoxes and critical perception of existing knowledge, strict adherence to scientific ethics and social responsibility. The directions and trends of further changes in the content of the scientist's professional activity have been determined. The monograph "Scientist in Market Conditions: Ukrainian and World Format" has been prepared for publication.
Using an original methodological approach, a list of the most important achievements of researchers at the NAS of Ukraine over its 100-year history was compiled for the first time in historical scholarship. These achievements include new theories, discoveries of phenomena and patterns, inventions, technologies and machines, new materials, medicines, plants and other outputs of scientific and technical research. They make a substantial contribution to world science and support innovation-driven socioeconomic development in Ukraine. The book ‘National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine: outstanding achievements, 1918–2018’ was published, presenting the Institute’s new model for reconstructing the history of science.
Using an original method for identifying key facts and events in the history of science—ideas, theories, discoveries, inventions, instruments and installations, monographs, and so on—a historical chronology was reconstructed for the physical and mathematical, chemical and biological sciences, and Earth and space sciences. In particular, 500 facts and events with the greatest influence on the subsequent development of world science were identified and described. Drawing on these findings and on encyclopaedias, reference works and archival materials, facts relating to Ukrainian researchers were identified separately. A manuscript of the reference work ‘Chronology of the Fundamental Sciences’, totalling 40 printed sheets, was prepared.
A theory of the formation of the attractiveness of the scientist profession has been developed and an assessment of the modern attitude of Ukrainian society to science and the attractiveness of scientific activity has been carried out. It has been shown that in modern culture, the professional activity of scientists is characterized by heterogeneity, dynamism of values and meanings, instability, risks, and globalization challenges. An assessment of experts (employees of the National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine) regarding the state of prestige of the “scientist” profession in Ukraine has been presented. Modern Ukrainian and world experience in solving the problems of popularizing science, attracting young people to science, and training scientific personnel has been summarized. Practical recommendations are formulated for effective solutions to the problems of increasing the attractiveness of the scientist's profession, the positive attitude of Ukrainian society to science, and attracting public and private capital investments for the development of fundamental and applied science in Ukraine. Based on the results of the study, the monograph "Scientist in Postmodern Culture" was published.
Science: systematic research of scientific and technological
and Innovative Potentials
Science studies
The forecasting and analytical methodology for substantiating the parameters of scientific and technical potential that are rational for specific internal and external conditions of the country's socio-economic development has been improved, taking into account systemic ideas about its place, role, influence and relationship with all components of social life. Based on its use, the main quantitative and qualitative parameters of scientific and technical potential have been predicted, necessary for its revival as the main factor ensuring the innovative development of the economy, the social progress of the country and national security. The main directions and priority measures for the implementation of state policy to achieve the specified goal have been formulated.
Based on the original scientometric toolkit for the content analysis of texts of regulatory and legal acts developed at the Institute, changes in Ukrainian legislation in the context of their science content (saturation with words about science, technology and innovation) were studied. Two stable trends in the development of legislation for 1991−2017 were identified: de-intellectualization due to a decrease in the science content of the texts of regulatory and legal acts and increased bureaucratic interference in scientific life due to excessive institutionalization of legal mechanisms of state management of scientific and scientific and technological activities. These trends were especially clearly manifested during the implementation of the action plan of the Cabinet of Ministers of Ukraine for the implementation of the provisions of the law "On Scientific and Scientific and Technical Activities", from which only measures related to internal scientific life were implemented, and most measures regarding state support for the development of science were traditionally not implemented. The results of the study were published in a number of articles, in particular abroad, and were also sent in the form of a report to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine.
Generalization of directions of activity and approaches of international organizations to solving problems of gender parity in science and assessment of possibilities of their use in scientific practice in Ukraine. It is shown that in gender policy in domestic science it is more urgent to ensure the principle of equal opportunities, since gender parity in quantitative terms in Ukraine, unlike other countries, has been achieved and, conversely, there has been a steady tendency to reduce the number of male researchers at a faster rate than female researchers. This trend is accompanied by a number of structural age and professional changes in the human resource potential, which require a deeper study of the problem of human resource policy in Ukrainian science in general. In particular, this concerns the clarification of the reasons that determine the corresponding changes in the gender "balance", leading to a bias towards older age groups of male researchers in natural and technical sciences, weak representation of female researchers in the leadership of science, the academic corps and other forms of scientific life.
A comprehensive methodological approach to the analysis of the creative activity of a scientist has been developed, which allows comparing information on the quantitative dynamics of his productivity with changes in the issues of scientific interests, communication ties, cooperation with colleagues and other areas of scientific life. Using the example of the analysis of the creative activity of a group of scientists, it has been proven that there is a positive relationship between the level of creative activity of a researcher and the intensity of changes in his scientific interests, the expansion of communication ties and the circle of cooperation with other researchers. Scientists in whom such a relationship is the most positive are characterized by a high level of citation of their works, even after the completion of their scientific activity. Active posthumous citation of a scientist's works can be considered an additional important indicator of the significance of his research. The results of the research have been published in a number of professional publications, including foreign ones.
A new method was developed to forecast changes in the research workforce. It reflects the systemic nature of research capacity, including the interdependence of researchers’ age groups, and models changes in the workforce’s age profile over several decades. Applying the method showed that, to restore Ukraine’s research support for innovation to the average level of EU countries, the number of young people entering research must increase by 15% each year for at least 20 years. At the same time, decisive measures are needed to retain middle-aged researchers in research institutions. Without these measures, Ukraine will lose another half of its researchers within the next decade.
A statistical database has been created to monitor the development of the academic sector of science in Ukraine. Materials for the next scientific reference publication “National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine: Statistical and Scientometric Analysis of the Efficiency of Scientific Potential” have been prepared.
A scientometric analysis was carried out on a bibliography of Ukrainian Antarctic research publications from 2007–2017. It covers work published in Ukrainian and international outlets and recorded in materials produced by the international bodies of the Antarctic Treaty System. The analysis showed an upward trend in Ukraine’s contribution to contemporary Antarctic research, particularly that of the NAS of Ukraine. The bibliography provides the world’s most comprehensive account of Ukrainian researchers’ participation in Antarctic research. This work was commissioned by the State Institution ‘National Antarctic Scientific Centre of the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine’ under the State Targeted Science and Technology Programme for Antarctic Research, 2011–2020.
Statistical, scientometric, and webometric methods for analyzing the effectiveness of scientific academic systems have been improved, with the help of which the results of the NAS of Ukraine's activities were assessed in comparison with foreign academies, in particular by the criteria of publication activity, participation in international scientific cooperation, and the implementation of scientific achievements in public practice. It has been proven that, considering the "cost" of preparing and publishing one article in journals indexed by the Scopus database, the NAS of Ukraine is at the level of science of the most developed countries in Europe. The Academy is the largest executor of international projects in Ukraine, makes a significant contribution to the formation of the country's intellectual potential, and is conducive to the modernization of the organization of activities based on the preservation of positive traditions and world experience. The results of the study were published in the scientific reference publication "National Academy of Sciences of Ukraine: Statistical and Scientometric Analysis of the Effectiveness of Scientific Potential".
The main criteria for selecting web search engines suitable for relevant search of scientific information and conducting web scientometric research related to assessing the state and identifying trends in the development of science in Ukraine and the world, in particular academic research, are substantiated. It is shown that the selection of a universal information search system (IRIS) suitable for scientific research in a special field of science should be carried out taking into account the specifics of the subject of research, the language in which the search is conducted, and the volume of the IRIS index. Of the studied universal IRIS, the most suitable for searching for scientific and technical information and conducting scientometric research, in particular in the Ukrainian web segment of the Internet, should be recognized as foreign search engines Google, Yandex, and the domestic one - META.
Based on a comprehensive analysis of the state of the scientific and technological sphere management system in Ukraine, the main trends of its transformation over the years of independence were identified. It is proven that the system of state management of this sphere, which was created in the 90s of the last century as a supra-sectoral state structure, gradually degraded to the sub-sectoral level within the Ministry of Education and Science of Ukraine, where in financial terms it accounts for no more than 2.5% of the total funding of the Ministry of Education and Science. As a result, at the level of state management there are no such key elements of the system that would perform the functions of forming and implementing national scientific policy, determining priorities in the field of research and development and ensuring their financing, implementing a system of stimulating scientific and innovative activity at the level of world standards, strengthening the research and development sector as the main source of economic growth of Ukraine on an innovation basis. Recommendations have been developed to improve the management system, change the volumes and rules of state funding of research and development. Ways and specific indicators of personnel renewal of the potential of science, the principles of forming the infrastructure of science, and the implementation of European experience and standards of state support of science in Ukrainian scientific practice have been substantiated.
Knowledge of the theory of the "triple helix", which determines the relationship between science, the state and business in the reproductive process, has been deepened, and the possibility of using its provisions to assess the real state of science in Ukraine has been substantiated. It has been proven that the deep decline in the demand for scientific results is caused by the long-term de-technologization and de-industrialization of the country, which, in turn, were the result of the underestimation in state policy of the key importance of science as a source of innovative economic development, social upliftment and ensuring national security. The current state of relations between science, the state and business makes it impossible to carry out constructive reforms in the scientific and technological sphere without refocusing the country on innovative economic development and optimizing state policy, reorienting it to priority support for the pre-commercial stage of the reproductive process (education, science, people's health) and creating conditions for the growth of innovative business activity at the commercial market stage of this process. An approach to the formation and implementation of a program of reforms in science is proposed, which is based on the principles of the "triple helix", which involves coordinated reform of the internal life of the scientific sphere with the implementation of corresponding changes in state policy, economics and other areas. The results were published in a number of articles and the monograph "Scientific, Technological and Innovation Policy: Basic Mechanisms of Formation and Implementation" (2nd revised and supplemented edition) / edited by Doctor of Economics, Prof. Malitsky B.A. – K., Dobrov Institute for Scientific and Technological Potential and Science History Studies of the NAS of Ukraine, 2019. – 342 p., as well as in 4 reporting thematic notes to state authorities.
A method for indirect assessment of the knowledge intensity of GDP through the degree of linguistic reflection in the legislation of Ukraine of scientific, scientific and technological and innovative activity has been developed. Based on its use, a tendency to reduce the level of representation of these areas in the legislation has been identified, which is somewhat consistent with the trend of decreasing knowledge intensity. It is proved that the profile legislation is not consistent with the general legislation in terms of taking into account the issues of scientific, technological and innovative development, business motivation to support science. In the process of multiple transformations of the profile law, the norms of state responsibility for the state of science were lost in it and, on the contrary, the norms of bureaucratic interference in the internal life of the scientific community were strengthened. The need for the development and adoption by the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine of the Framework Law “On the Fundamentals of State Policy in the Sphere of Science, Technology and Innovation” and bringing other legislative acts into line with its provisions was substantiated. The justification in the form of a corresponding report was sent to the Chairman of the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Education, Science and Innovation.
An endogenous forecasting method for the research workforce was used to analyse changes in the age structure and performance of researchers at the NAS of Ukraine. New trends were identified that differ substantially from earlier patterns in staff composition and in the relationship between researchers’ age and publication activity. In particular, among highly qualified researchers, peak publication activity has shifted to ages 20–25 years older than before, now averaging 55–65 years of age. The study also showed that the existing age imbalance cannot be overcome without additional measures to increase the annual inflow of young people into research by at least 15%. Proposals and recommendations were developed to improve the age structure of the research workforce. A corresponding memorandum was sent to the leadership of the NAS of Ukraine.
Based on the generalization of information, reference and analytical data on the activities of national academies of sciences and other academic-type scientific organizations of 117 countries of the world, as well as 28 international academic organizations, the most holistic picture of the organization of the world academic society has been formed to date. It is shown that academic science unites in its ranks the most authoritative creators and bearers of scientific knowledge - and this is the basic criterion for determining the academic form of science organization. The classification of organizations of academies of sciences according to their functions, methods of financing, relations with the state and other important factors is carried out. A number of academies are singled out, which served as a typical model for the creation of academies in some other countries of the world. The prospects for the development of academic science in the world and the place of the NAS of Ukraine in this process are substantiated. A multi-author monograph, ‘Academy-based research around the world’, was prepared from the study’s findings (Editor-in-Chief: V.L. Bogdanov, Academician of the NAS of Ukraine; State Institution ‘Dobrov Institute for Scientific and Technological Potential and Science History Studies of the NAS of Ukraine’). Kyiv: Feniks, 2020. 630 pp.
Innovation studies
As part of scientific and innovative research on the life cycle and information and technological process of transformation of formalized fundamental and applied knowledge in the form of R&D results in the process of producing innovative products, a methodological approach to evaluating R&D results through the indicator of the added value of the produced products using these results is reasonably based on the representations of the classical Cobb-Douglas production function. A method for comparative assessment of scientific results obtained in various interdisciplinary studies using a single scale of their measurement is proposed. The results obtained will contribute to the wider use of virtual methods for managing complex innovation systems.
A comprehensive method for preparing innovatively directed macroeconomic forecasts has been developed, which is based on the use of formalized international macroeconomic methods in combination with original (author's) methods of nonlinear modeling of macroeconomic growth on an innovative basis. The long-term use of this method in the development of quarterly macroeconomic forecasts at the request of the Ministry of Economic Development and Trade of Ukraine has demonstrated good opportunities for improving the quality of macroeconomic forecasts taking into account the innovation factor.
For the first time in the theory of innovative economic development, the influence of the process of distributing the created added value between social groups on the structural completeness and balance of the elements of the innovation cycle has been revealed, which proves the need to strengthen political economic approaches in the study of issues of economic development on an innovative basis.
The regularity of changes in the form of knowledge at the standard stages of the innovation life cycle has been established (knowledge production, transformation of knowledge, practical implementation), the possibility of increasing the effectiveness of the innovation process through optimizing the innovation infrastructure by ensuring its relevance to the innovation cycle.
The study demonstrated that Ukraine’s underdeveloped intellectual property market, particularly for outputs of scientific and technical activity, inhibits creativity among Ukrainian producers of such intellectual property. This leads to substantial losses in their personal income and the undervaluation of assets in the research and technology sector, especially during privatisation. To address these problems, principles were proposed for comprehensive legislation governing the domestic market, taking intellectual property rights into account, together with a mechanism for accounting for intangible assets. A memorandum setting out the proposals was sent to the Verkhovna Rada of Ukraine Committee on Education, Science and Innovation and to the Presidium of the NAS of Ukraine.
An adaptive dynamic model of the system for managing innovative factors of sustainable socially oriented economic development has been developed, which incorporates a regulated parameter - the modified human development index, which is an integrated reflection of the level of satisfaction of vital interests of the population and provides, unlike the generally accepted human development index, a comprehensive consideration of environmental, social and economic indicators.
Strengths of the Activity
The defining strength of the Institute and the basis of its effective functioning are highly qualified personnel in the field of history, sociology of science and technology, science studies, and innovation. A significant part of the scientists has dual professional training, which is an important condition for competent research of such complex scientific problems as the history of science, theory, economics and organization of science, interaction of science with industry. Along with this, among the strengths of the Institute, which have a decisive influence on the high efficiency of its activities, the following can be noted:
- Many years of experience in cooperation with state authorities, public organizations and international institutions, which indicates the recognition of the Institute as one of the most authoritative scientific academic institutions;
- interaction between scientific units, coordination of research topics, stimulation of the formation of complex teams for the implementation of topics, especially additional projects, which ensures the avoidance of duplication of research topics, the thoroughness and comprehensiveness of results, maintaining healthy competition and team cohesion;
- supporting the development of the Dobrovsk School of Science, in particular through cooperation with specialists from other institutions in Ukraine and abroad, attracting specialists from universities to postgraduate and doctoral studies;
- demand for the Institute’s specialists as experts and analysts at national and international levels;
- the presence of its own periodical scientific publication - the international journal "Science and Science of Science";
- regular holding of international scientific symposia on science, history of science and innovation under the auspices of UNESCO and MAAS;
- at the Institute of postgraduate studies (in two specialties) and doctoral studies, as well as a special council for the defense of doctoral dissertations.
