THE INFLUENCE OF DIGITALIZATION ON THE INNOVATIVE DEVELOPMENT OF THE REGIONS

Abstract

The article is devoted to highlighting the impact of digitalization on the innovative development of regions and the country as a whole. It was found that in modern society, digital technologies are becoming a key stimulator of economic growth, improving the quality of life of the population of the regions and social progress. Changes in the position of Ukraine according to the Global Innovation Index in 2018-2023 have been analyzed, which generally demonstrates that Ukraine has lost 12 rating steps over the past six years, but still remains in the first half of the countries according to this rating. The impact of digitization on the spheres of life and economic activity of economic subjects is singled out. The problems of innovative development have been clarified, which include: an ineffective and weak mechanism for introducing innovations into the sphere of economic activity and their further commercialization; insufficient state support for innovative projects; insufficient use of all opportunities defined in the Association Agreement between Ukraine and the EU; insufficient level of cooperation of research, educational institutions and innovative enterprises. It is justified that digitalization should be considered as a tool for significantly increasing the efficiency of the functioning of the national economy, improving the quality of life of citizens and solving various social challenges. The forecast of the change in the share of the digital economy in the GDP of Ukraine was considered, which confirms the importance of the impact of digitalization on the development of the economy. The proposed group of measures to increase the activation of innovative development of territories in conditions of digitalization, which include: establishment of close cooperation between universities and the market; development of incubators and innovation hubs; spreading the development of technoparks, industrial parks; expansion of local and regional government cooperation programs with small and medium-sized business entities; increasing the activation of participation in the European Institute of Innovations and Technologies; increasing the competitiveness of innovative and active enterprises; creating programs to attract investments in the innovative development of territories and business entities; simplification of the procedure for obtaining patents for inventions; formation of powerful innovation clusters.