In an era where digital is becoming commonplace, innovation creates new competitive advantages for businesses. How to competently build an innovation development program and evaluate the effect of its implementation?

About the expert: Alexander Bogutsky, chief manager of the “Cultivation of Innovation” program at IT_One.

Could it be too late tomorrow? Innovation as the driving force of business

In the 1980-90s, the VUCA concept arose in scientific circles close to the American military structures, the defining idea of ​​which was the instability, uncertainty, complexity and ambiguity of the model of the surrounding reality. In the late 2000s, this concept, which largely challenged traditional ideas about the world order, began to actively take root in the corporate environment. Managers in business practices have adopted the idea of ​​a world whose key attributes are variability ( Volatility ), uncertainty ( Uncertainty ), complexity ( Complexity ) and ambiguity ( Ambiguity ).

This concept was widely used until 2020, until events related to the pandemic and its consequences made adjustments to it. Then VUCA was replaced by the acronym BANI, which more accurately characterizes the “new normal”: fragile ( B rittle), alarming ( A nxious), non-linear ( N on-linear), incomprehensible ( Incomprehensible ).

According to the BANI concept, we do not and cannot have a model that gives a complete understanding of what is happening, and, accordingly, methods that guarantee the accuracy of forecasts and decisions.

The modern world is prone to absolutely unexpected and abrupt changes, to abrupt and unpredictable transformation. But we have the opportunity to understand which management approaches and thinking models are effective in the new reality, and which will limit us.

The key skill for effectiveness in new conditions is not the ability to plan and make forecasts, but the ability to quickly recognize changes and find solutions adapted to them.

In such a paradigm, innovative thinking and innovation become success factors, and sometimes the only condition for survival. We need the ability to operate with a flexible picture of the world, adaptively change mental models and find solutions to problems that seemed impossible just yesterday.

If you do not develop innovations today, tomorrow may be too late. According to the Accenture Technology Vision 2021 report , based on a survey of more than 6 thousand business and IT leaders, companies that use effective digital platforms and quickly adapt to innovation grow revenue five times faster.

At the same time, due to the development of visual programming platforms and special systems based on artificial intelligence, the ability to create and develop digital solutions becomes available to employees performing business functions, that is, not to IT specialists. Information technology is no longer the domain of narrow professionals. What trump cards then remain for specialized IT companies?

Thanks to innovation, the company achieves a number of goals

Ensuring sustainable business growth in new conditions.
Finding a market niche and new competitive advantages in the post-digital era.

Responding to changing customer needs: forecasting and modeling demand, a flexible approach to the development of goods and services.

Qualitative improvement of personnel, creation of a positive image. The most qualified personnel, carriers of an innovative culture, are more willing to work for a company that has experience in innovation.

Simply put, innovation brings profit. This is not only and not so much about the development of new projects, spin-offs, and startups. The focus is on the task of being able to effectively grow a business in a changing reality, timely find successful answers to unexpectedly emerging new challenges, constantly generate and competently implement new ideas.

Innovation matrix: defining goals and choosing a strategy

According to one of the definitions accepted in international practice, innovation is the final result of innovative activity, embodied in the form of a new or improved product introduced on the market, a new or improved technological process used in practical activities or in a new approach to social services. Simply put, innovation is an innovation that has been introduced and ensured a qualitative increase in the consumer qualities of a product or the efficiency of its creation processes .

There is no universal algorithm or universal tools that will ensure the effectiveness of corporate innovation. Each organization has its own specifics, tasks and capabilities. Accordingly, in order to select the most suitable model, it is necessary to decide what goals the company intends to achieve and what resources it can devote to this.

To determine strategic goals in the field of innovation, well-known strategic management tools are applicable. And to identify possible options for the development of innovation and determine a suitable model, you can use a tool such as the “Innovation Matrix”.

The most famous matrix is ​​proposed by the Board of Innovation. The innovation matrix is ​​a square divided into four sections. It has two axes: the vertical one indicates high or low levels of investment in innovation, and the horizontal one indicates a focus on external or internal innovation. Thus, depending on the volume of planned investment (large or small volume) and focus (internal or external projects), it divides innovation strategies into four types: “hunters”, “builders”, “explorers” and “experimenters”.

The Hunter  is an innovator archetype, characterized by a high level of investment in innovation with a focus on external sources. Typically, this type of strategy involves a heavy focus on collaborations with startups, acquisitions, and the creation and financing of new businesses.

Builder  – This type of strategy involves significant investment in innovation, but the development of innovations occurs primarily within the company. This means that Builders are investing significant resources in transforming their organization, creating innovative divisions and spin-offs.

The Explorer , like the Hunter, looks for new opportunities primarily outside of their company. Typically, these are organizations that understand the need to explore new opportunities for their business, but are not yet ready to invest too much. They also see that they lack the internal capacity to innovate, so they mostly look outside the company for new ideas and opportunities.

And finally, the Experimenter . This archetype is typical for those who are just starting their innovation journey and want to move carefully. Experimenters have a lower level of investment in innovation and focus on creating their own innovations. With this strategy, organizations focus their attention on internal work, such as innovative training sessions and testing innovative ideas.

Based on what you want to achieve, you can determine your type of innovation development model, develop an appropriate program and estimate the resources that will be required to implement it. And in implementing this program, you will need to use innovative practices and tools.

An example of an innovative practice with a good set of tools is the TRIZ methodology (the theory of solving inventive problems). TRIZ was developed by the Soviet scientist and engineer-inventor Heinrich Altshuller based on an analysis of 40 thousand patents and a generalization of invention techniques. Although the founder of the theory initially developed it to solve technical problems, later this theory was used to solve any problems of increased complexity. It is suitable for solving creative problems in almost any field. In fact, now mastery of this methodology can be considered as a valuable problem solving skill in the business environment.

Ideas and solutions prepared using TRIZ are an order of magnitude more effective than those implemented without it. This means that applying this practice saves time and resources.

Other successful tools that have proven useful are Design Thinking and Foresight.

Design thinking is classified as a user-centric method, that is, focused primarily on consumers. Key questions that an innovator asks himself: “Who will use my development?” and “How will my development affect the human condition?” In accordance with this, work on innovation here begins with the empathy stage, after which the analysis and definition of the problem, generation of ideas, prototyping and selection of the best solution takes place.

As for foresight , this is a methodology for forming an image of the future, which is based on the assumption that the future is not deterministic. It appeared back in the 1950s-1960s in the USA, but since then has undergone significant changes. Thus, by the 2020s, an “open foresight model” appeared, a variant of which is Rapid Foresight. Researchers work in a collective session, where each participant forms an idea of ​​the future and makes individual decisions within a certain segment of their competencies.

By combining these segments like pieces of a puzzle, analysts get the desired forecast model. It is extremely important that rapid foresight allows, when creating an image of the future, to make maximum use of those sources that, on the way to this future, will occupy influential positions and, to one degree or another, will influence its formation.

Innovation program structure

The main objective of the innovation program is transformation, which leads to the achievement of certain goals. For this process to be effective, a number of mechanisms are used, combining and prioritizing them taking into account the individual characteristics of the company.

1. Innovations are made by people  – and not by individual enthusiasts, but by a team of like-minded people. To engage in innovation on an “industrial scale”, you need to have knowledge of certain practices. If there are many such people in a company, then the company is lucky. But now this is rather an exception to the rule. Most often, it is required to develop innovative thinking skills and knowledge of practices for solving innovative problems in employees.

For this purpose, special training programs are organized with the involvement of relevant experts. These programs are often built on the basis of internationally recognized training standards in TRIZ and Design Thinking. TRIZ training programs, organized according to the standards of the International TRIZ Association, include methods for activating creative thinking. And TRIZ itself is a good tool for solving creative problems. This tool can be mastered by anyone, regardless of their mentality and previous experience.

The second important aspect of the development of innovative thinking is the practice of solving innovative problems. And therefore, these training programs should be combined with solving creative problems that are valuable for the practical activities of the company.

2. It is advisable to form a community of employees interested in the development of innovation and ready to take part in it: a community of innovators. There are many people in the company who are interested in uniting for certain professional goals and interests. One of the goals of such an association is the exchange of information and best practices. In this case, employees can be united around best practices for solving creative problems and solving problems of increased complexity, sharing experience and expertise in solving such problems, and becoming familiar with advanced methods from world practice.

Another unifying factor can be the joint solution of innovative problems that are important for the company. This is attractive both from the point of view of receiving subsequent benefits – encouragement, opening up new opportunities, and satisfaction from a beautifully solved complex and important task.

3. It is required to organize a special system for collecting ideas  – a corporate resource on which everyone can formulate their idea and track its further fate. Separately, it is worth highlighting the system for collecting information on existing innovations. Perhaps the potential of some of them has not been fully exploited.

4. It is not always possible for an employee to independently express an idea in such a way that its value is clear. We need a mechanism that will help formulate and correctly formalize the idea – for example, open meetings of expert councils on innovation. They may have different names, but the essence is the same: this is a place where anyone can come and receive qualified help.

5. A mechanism is required to motivate employees to innovate . It is determined individually for each company, and most often includes both types of motivation – material and intangible. The system of material incentives for an employee is linked to the size of the economic effect that was achieved through the use of innovation. Separate motivation for managers is usually implemented in the form of KPIs. Non-material motivation is an expression of public recognition of an employee’s contribution to the development of innovation: mention in the corporate press, on physical or electronic information resources.

6. Let us note the introduction of the principles of gamification as a relatively new independent motivational mechanism. A competitive incentive appears, for example, as part of an idea competition , where anyone can propose a solution to a problem that has practical value for the company. This is a kind of analogue of hackathons, only the tasks in it are more complex and usually cannot be solved by traditional methods.

Performance metrics

Performance metrics help measure results and determine the extent to which the company’s goals and objectives have been achieved:

Economic goals are varied, but in general they boil down to improving economic indicators (or, as a special case, to ensuring their stability in deteriorating conditions). Traditional metrics for measuring economic impact are used here. A key place among them is occupied by ROI (Return On Investment) – an indicator characterizing the return on investment. In the case of innovation, there is a special name for this term – ROII, Return On Innovation Investment).

Diversification and expansion of business. Metrics: opening new successful business lines, entering new markets, emergence of a spin-off (spin-off of an innovative subsidiary).
Solving important business problems: technological, production organizational, marketing and others. Metric: number of solved problems.

Increasing the attractiveness of working in the company. Metrics: reduction in staff churn rate; an increase in the number of resumes received by the company; reducing the average cost of selecting a candidate for a vacancy due to a higher quality candidate base and reducing the number of refusals of an offer; increasing the attractiveness rating of working for the company in independent surveys (HeadHunter, RBC and others).

Increasing the degree of creativity of the company’s team and preparedness to solve problems of increased complexity.

Correctly assessing trends and anticipating the future is difficult. In world practice, there are many examples of both successful and unsuccessful innovations. But the most striking cases still show how a missed chance to develop an innovation led to serious consequences for the business. The story of Kodak, which failed to adapt properly to the rapidly advancing era of digital photography, is a classic illustration of this.

That’s why it’s worth thinking seriously about innovation now: considering strategies, studying tools, involving people and building a community.

Neural networks help build a sustainable future: curb global warming, preserve nature, develop smart cities and solve social problems. We talk about the most interesting AI solutions for ESG transformation

There are technologies that have changed the path of human development, immeasurably increased human potential and created the world to which we are accustomed today: fire, the wheel, printing, telegraph, computer. In the 21st century, such an iconic technology is artificial intelligence (AI). It not only raises a person’s capabilities to a new level, but also helps to harmonize relationships with the outside world.

Neural networks have become one of the most important tools for achieving sustainable development goals, and today artificial intelligence technologies are making a significant contribution to the well-being of society, business and the planet.

Carbon neutrality and forest conservation: AI to combat climate change
Temperatures on Earth have already risen 1.1ºC above pre-industrial levels, the Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change (IPCC) says . As a result, extreme natural events are increasingly occurring, causing enormous damage – on average, its economic assessment over the past 20 years has reached $16 million per hour .

Global warming is undermining humanity’s efforts to achieve the UN Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), experts from the World Meteorological Organization warned in September. It is obvious that the problem requires new approaches and solutions. Nature stated that AI will be able to help achieve 79% of the SDGs thanks to its powerful analytical capabilities. AI provides greater insight into vast amounts of data to develop powerful, simple tools to improve climate resilience and natural resource efficiency.

For example, the online platform Global Forest Watch (GFW) uses AI to analyze satellite imagery to identify forest loss. Thousands of people use GFW every day to prevent illegal logging and forest fires. In addition, GFW helps countries implement national conservation programs.

In addition, AI technologies can synthesize new carbon-neutral materials and optimize production processes to reduce carbon emissions. For example, AI searches for chemical structures that have specific properties, such as the ability to absorb carbon dioxide or retain energy from sunlight.

Thus, AI gives us the answer to one of the global challenges facing humanity: how to maintain the development of production and at the same time reduce greenhouse gas emissions.

Agile Energy Management: AI for the Energy Transition

AI is a critical technology for the transition to clean energy, says Eurelectric study. It is expected that by 2025, 81% of energy companies in the world will implement artificial intelligence. The transition to renewable energy sources, which are characterized by instability, is also increasing interest in these technologies. Therefore, for their effective use, a flexible and decentralized system controlled by neural networks is required.

Experts surveyed by McKinsey also believe that AI will help make the most of solar, wind and hydropower. Algorithms can forecast generation and consumption volumes minute by minute, eliminate electricity losses and ensure the redirection of electricity to where it is needed at the moment. Thus, large green energy projects such as connecting solar and wind power plants in Morocco to the UK power grid via undersea cables could become a reality.

In addition, digital companies themselves, which use a lot of electricity, are reducing their carbon footprint with the help of AI. For example, the AIRI Institute of Artificial Intelligence, with the support of Sber, has developed the open Eco4cast library, which allows reducing CO 2 emissions by up to 90% when performing resource-intensive calculations, including when training neural networks on supercomputers.

And Google is using AI to save up to 40% on data center cooling energy. At first, the cooling system simply used artificial intelligence recommendations. But later, having assessed the effectiveness, all control was completely transferred to AI.

Typhoon monitoring and flood forecasting: AI for climate risk assessment
Artificial intelligence is a revolutionary technology in terms of assessing and analyzing climate risks, says Ecological Processes, because a neural network can provide more accurate forecasts and calculations of the consequences of extreme weather events.

For example, Sber created its own AI model for predicting climate risk events – fires, floods, storms, thawing of permafrost. According to the company, over the past 60 years, fires have become 6.5 times more common, heat and cold waves – ten times, floods – 12 times. The model automates the assessment of financial risks and helps farmers, industrialists and companies from other industries build a strategy for their development, taking into account forecasts. According to Sberbank’s Senior Vice President for ESG Tatyana Zavyalova, such an assessment of financial risks taking into account climate risks will reduce the bank’s losses to 1 billion rubles. in year.

Amur tigers, polar bears and drones in the Arctic: AI and biodiversity

According to the UN, about 1 million species of plants and animals are at risk of extinction, that is, approximately 25% of the entire living world. This highlights the urgent need to improve environmental measures. Artificial intelligence technologies can help here too.

Artificial intelligence opens up fundamentally new opportunities for studying and monitoring the state of flora and fauna. In particular, it will be much faster to process photographic data from drones and camera traps.

One of the solutions in this area is CAPTAIN (Conservation Area Prioritization Through Artificial Intelligence – AI for prioritizing conservation areas). It helps accurately model changes in biodiversity in a specific area due to human-induced factors such as construction. The CAPTAIN service allows you to protect on average 26% more species.

Another direction in this area is tracking rare animals that are in danger of extinction. Portland-based nonprofit Wild Me has developed a neural network model that recognizes zebras and giraffes by their patterns.

In Russia, they plan to use AI to recognize Amur tigers and to count the number of polar bears, walruses, polar gulls and wild reindeer in the Arctic using drones.

Sensors, housing and communal services and smart heat supply: AI for development and smart cities

The UN Economic Commission for Europe reports that cities, as the dominant form of organizing space and people’s lives, play a central role in sustainable development. On the other hand, urbanization also brings with it many problems that slow down the achievement of the SDGs.

For cities to become truly “smart” and sustainable, it is necessary to introduce AI, machine learning, the Internet of things and cloud solutions – the global expert community agrees. “Smart” solutions will allow you to effectively manage resources and reduce the negative impact on the environment.

One of the striking examples of a “smart” city is Oslo. By 2025, they plan to abandon all types of transport except electric ones, digitize all city and municipal services, equip all buildings with sensors, as well as energy and waste management systems based on AI.

In Russia, the Smart City concept is already being implemented in 213 cities with a population of over 100 thousand people. In particular, Rosatom is involved in the development of “smart” cities: the company is implementing AI in the housing and chemical sector to prevent accidents and reduce resource losses.

Sber, in turn, is building a new district in the west of Moscow according to the principles of a “smart” city – SberCity. One of the features of the quarter is a predictive energy management system.

“Smart” energy centers will be located on the upper floors of the buildings. Their special software will monitor the weather and the operation of various devices, such as ventilation systems and heating devices, in real time.

In this way, a comfortable temperature will be created in the houses, and resources will be spent rationally. SberCity also plans to widely use solar panels as facade material – the energy obtained in this way can cover up to 30% of general building needs. The project also provides for the installation of charging stations for electric cars in parking lots. AI will help manage all systems.

Education, medical diagnostics and targeted assistance: AI in the social sphere
The former head of DeepMind and one of the founders of Inflection AI, Mustafa Suleiman , is confident that artificial intelligence will become a tool for achieving social justice and equality thanks to “smart” solutions implemented in medicine, agriculture, as well as for the production of cheaper and more reliable building materials.

AI also has good prospects in the education segment, according to UNESCO. They note that technology makes knowledge more accessible and makes education more individual and of higher quality. AI is also useful as an assistive technology for teaching people with disabilities and health conditions. AI models help them with reading and writing, ensuring an inclusive learning environment.

Neural networks also open up new opportunities in healthcare – “smart” technologies assist surgeons and have learned to select the most effective treatment methods for patients. Various AI models are also being considered for the treatment of depression : they can record changes in the patient’s brain and identify areas that require attention.

And Sber has developed a comprehensive solution based on artificial intelligence that helps diagnose cases of cerebrovascular accidents and provide assistance to patients with stroke as quickly as possible. The service is already used in the Primorsky Territory and is being prepared for launch in the Novosibirsk region.

Finally, some social services are already using AI. For example, social workers in Pennsylvania are using predictive models to proactively provide assistance to families in need. As a result, the number of cases of deprivation of parental rights decreased by 47%.

The Evolution of AI for Sustainable Development

The interaction between artificial intelligence and the surrounding world is not one-way. In other words, it’s not just AI that is having an impact. It may also be the other way around: for example, neural network developers “look” for solutions from nature itself.

According to Semyon Budyonny, managing director, head of the development department for advanced AI technologies of Sberbank, AIRI scientific consultant, sustainable development and artificial intelligence are two large interdisciplinary areas of knowledge aimed at the future. And at the intersection of these two topics, more and more specialists are being cultivated who want to develop technologies to achieve sustainable development goals. Semyon Budyonny emphasizes that now is the time for AI, inspired by both the SDGs and the laws of nature.

For example, the area of ​​swarm intelligence (Swarm Intelligence) for the orchestration of multi-agent systems is developing quite actively. Algorithms are created inspired by the behavior of ants , fireflies and bats . Such models can be used in robotics, route planning and in various industries.

Evolutionary algorithms based on Darwin’s theory imitate the processes of natural selection of living organisms and are suitable for data analysis and process optimization. And artificial neural networks (Artificial Neural Networks), created according to the example of the work of the human brain and the interaction of neurons in it, make it possible to recognize and classify data with enormous speed.

Thus, it is no coincidence that at the world’s largest conference in the field of artificial intelligence, Artificial Intelligence Journey (AIJ), which will be held on November 22–24, a separate track will be devoted to the synergy of artificial intelligence and sustainable development. You can also learn more about how artificial intelligence helps create a sustainable future and creates new opportunities for humans in special podcasts on the AI ​​Journey conference website .

Neuroimplants for the blind, a cure for cancer, quantum satellites – all these solutions are becoming real thanks to startups. We talk about the most interesting projects of technology

companies in 2022

Industrial developments: quantum space and energy

At the beginning of 2022, QSpace, a Skolkovo resident, raised $1 million from Gazprombank to develop a small CubeSat satellite, which will carry a quantum key distribution system transmitter on board . The launch of the satellite is scheduled for 2023.

Quantum key distribution  is the core technology in the field of quantum communications, which allows for the highest possible level of information security. The technology is limited in that the key is transmitted via optical fiber. That is, taking into account the requirements for the speed of key generation, the maximum distance for transmission is 200 km. The development of QSpace eliminates this problem: the satellite will be used as a trusted node.

In addition, in June 2022, the Ural resident of Skolkovo ReinnolC entered into contracts for the supply of coolers for network water samples for power units of the Rooppur NPP in Bangladesh. Sample coolers help detect impurities in water, avoid exceeding their concentrations and ensure normal operation of the nuclear power plant.

Coolers are a new product for ReinnolC. But thanks to strong engineering competencies and deep expertise in heat transfer processes, the company quickly mastered the production of equipment. The first deliveries will begin in January 2023.

Technological sovereignty: factories and airports

In September 2022, the machine-building division of Rosatom, the Atomenergomash company, implemented an online equipment monitoring system at its enterprises. It provides real-time control, analyzes the workload of machines and notifies about emergency situations. The solution was developed by the Tsifra company. The project budget is almost ₽200 million. A grant of more than ₽95 million was provided by the Skolkovo Foundation as part of the Digital Economy program.

Earlier, in February, the NeoLabs company for the first time in Russia transferred the equipment of the Ufa International Airport from a foreign platform to a domestic software package of its own design. The AIST system—that’s the name of the software package from NeoLabs—implements the concept of a digital passenger journey. AIST helps to automate the inspection of documents and passenger data at the airport when crossing various zones, register passengers, and monitor the location and status of baggage. The system speeds up registration by 15–30%. It is also used at Sheremetyevo, at the international airports of Chelyabinsk, Kaliningrad and Krasnoyarsk.

In the process of ensuring technological sovereignty, Skolkovo residents do not forget about establishing cooperation with foreign partners, including from Europe. In December 2022, Velter, a startup that produces shielding devices for blocking radio signals from smartphones and electronics, partnered with the Belgian brand Stolp. Velter will test European products using its own methods, antennas and software.

Biomed: against cancer and coronavirus

Skolkovo startups from the biomedical technology cluster – Ruspharmtech and Betuvax – have successfully completed the first stages of clinical trials of their drugs.

The Ruspharmtech company reported that its drug for the treatment of stomach cancer demonstrates high efficacy rates with significantly less toxicity than other medications. It is expected to hit the market before the end of 2025.

In September 2022, Betuvax completed a clinical trial of the first and second phases of the Betuvax-Kov-2 coronavirus vaccine. The company noted that the results confirmed the high immunogenicity, safety and good tolerability of the new recombinant vaccine.

At the beginning of the year, another member of the biomedical cluster, Sensor-Tech, installed the ELVIS visual neuroimplant in a monkey for the first time in Russia. This is an important part of the project aimed at the socialization of blind people. The first blind volunteers will be able to test neuroimplants in 2024, and in 2027 the operation to install them will become publicly available.

Cybersecurity: promising solutions for IT protection

More than 90 Skolkovo residents are members of CyberHub and provide services in the field of cybersecurity. The project is aimed at finding and developing technology teams and entrepreneurial initiatives, consolidating expertise and resources in the field of information security. In the summer of 2022, the selection of promising teams for the Skolkovo acceleration program began on the basis of CyberHub. They will be able to test their solutions at the National Cyber ​​Test Site and demonstrate them to the largest government and commercial organizations.

In 2022, one of the Skolkovo residents, InfoWatch ARMA, received an award for the best Russian solution for protecting IT systems in industry. The solution includes a certified next-generation industrial firewall, a single control center for network protection, as well as software that protects automatic process control systems from threats at the supervisory control level.

EdTech: new approaches to education

The Skolkovo EdTech hub is designed to develop technologies in the field of education and is needed to support innovative educational startups. On September 1, 2022, the hub celebrated its anniversary.

And in July, one of the hub participants, the Webinar company, attracted strategic investments from MTS. It was reported that the transaction amount was ₽2 billion . Webinar is a developer of a service for online meetings, a platform for webinars, online events and training for employees, clients, partners and students. At the time of the deal with MTS, 22 million people used the company’s products, and 10 thousand different organizations became clients.

FinTech: a driver of financial innovation

Over the seven years of operation, the Skolkovo FinTech hub has become an important center of competence for the Russian financial industry and has united more than 200 organizations. The platform develops the financial sector through collaborations between small technology companies and large corporations.

The FinTech hub has prepared a ranking and map of startups developing solutions for the financial sector, a rating of innovativeness of banks and 12 innovative digests. The materials help banks and venture investors find digital partners, investment targets and rely on quality market benchmarks when shaping their digitalization strategies.

With the support of the hub, one of its participants, TenChat, expanded its audience 10 times in 2022. TenChat is a social network and super app for work and business, which is based on AI technology. The application helps you select government and commercial tenders, bankruptcy tenders, and set up interaction with banks and counterparties. It also has advanced business intelligence and forecasting tools. TenChat is used by more than 1.7 million people.

Billions for innovation

Investments in high-tech companies are a key tool for the innovative development of most leading countries in the global economy. In Russia in 2021, the volume of venture investments reached $2.4 billion , according to the results of the first half of 2022 – $658 million . Similar figures for the global market: $643 billion and $282 billion .

The Skolkovo Foundation actively supports innovative businesses. For example, for the last three years, Skolkovo has been the operator of the federal project “Digital Technologies”. During this period, 24 pilot projects in the field of IT development for import substitution and digital transformation received ₽1.65 billion. The amount of grants in 2022 increased from ₽120 million to ₽300 million (state co-financing covers 80%). In addition, this year the fund launched a grant program worth RUB 1.7 billion for developers in the field of artificial intelligence.

Also, since 2019, Skolkovo has had a program to support private investors: business angels who invest in fund residents receive a 50% refund. Over three years, Skolkovo residents raised RUB 2.8 billion in this way, and investors returned RUB 1.4 billion. During this time, a community of 270 business angels was formed, and 185 companies received investments. The foundation works in several areas.

In 2022, a similar approach was extended to university startups that are not residents of the fund. It is expected that by 2025 they will be able to attract RUB 6 billion in private investment. In general, in 2022, the fund’s financial support for technology companies reached RUB 6.1 billion. RUB 527 million was allocated for microgrants (one application – up to RUB 1.5 million).

The support of the fund allows residents to show real results in a variety of areas – from industry and cybersecurity to innovative medicine and fintech.

What is a creator economy?

The creator economy is an industry in which people make money primarily from content and creating their own products. For example, they write music and upload it to the platform. Listeners receive positive emotions and pay the creator for the product. Today, the creator economy is primarily driven by digital and creative professions, media, and influencer marketing.

According to UNESCO , the creative economy is one of the fastest growing sectors of the economy, contributing 3% of global GDP.

At the end of 2021, the creator economy involved more than 50 million people producing content. Of these, 2 million people are professionals with permanent employment, that is, they earn a stable income from content. The creator economy market size has exceeded $104 billion and could reach $1 trillion by 2023. Moreover, venture capital money is flowing into the creative economy: from October 2020 to August 2021, startups in this industry raised $800 million. Investors mainly invest in digital platforms for influencer marketing – this market increased 40% in 2021 and reached $13. 8 billion. And the volume of services in influencer marketing increased by 26%.

But the economy of creators is not only conditional bloggers who gather an audience around themselves, sometimes not even with a product with measurable value, but simply with charisma and the ability to interest. The creator economy includes GameDev (game development), banking products, applications and technology products, as well as real goods such as jewelry, confectionery, and accessories. That is, everything related to content and the creation of exclusive products by people themselves.

In the creator economy, not only content authors, but also other market participants make money. Primarily the platforms where this content is published. The greatest interest among foreign investors is Patreon (since August 7, 2022, Patreon has been blocked in Russia): a platform for monetization through subscription. The author posts something, and his fans get access to it for money. Patreon’s capitalization grew to $4 billion in the spring of 2021. For comparison, in September 2020 it was valued at only $1.2 billion.

Companies that develop tools for content creation also make good money. For example, photo or video editors: VSCO, Lightroom, Final Cut and others. Their revenue primarily depends on subscriptions – the user pays monthly or annually to work with the full functionality of the tool. For example, a subscription to VSCO X gives photographers access not only to a wide range of filters, but also to educational materials. In 2020, VSCO  had 4 million paying users – 2 times more than in 2018.

What are the benefits and risks of the creator economy?

pros

Low entry threshold. In fact, all you need is a smartphone and an Internet connection. Certain skills in some area will also be needed – for example, in graphic design or writing text. But this is not the same as mastering the conditional profession of a doctor. If there is a desire to create something, a smartphone and the Internet, a person is already one step away from entering the creator economy.

There is no ceiling on income. What the audience pays for the content is what you will get. If you develop an excellent game that will appeal to a million people, you will collect ₽300 from each person for a subscription, and you will receive ₽300 million. To do this, you need to try and this is not a wonderful story of earning money in a month.

However, the financial opportunities are enormous. Almost 50% of content creators who have been working in the creator economy for 4 years or more earn $20 thousand annually. And for 78% of professionals for whom content is the main source of income, the amounts are even higher: $23.5 thousand. This data is provided by Influencer Marketing Hub . And this is not the limit: top writers on Substack earn $500 thousand a year.

The number of potential consumers is constantly increasing. The more people in the world gain access to the Internet, the more technology and communications develop, the more the audience of content producers grows. And the emergence of more and more new payment tools like NFT tokens and smart contracts makes monetization easier. Large companies are actively following the trend and striving to make their contribution to the creator economy: for example, TikTok has created a fund to support creators – it currently contains $200 million.

Minuses

It is difficult for beginners to enter the world of digital content . The entry threshold is low – competition is high. A person posts a product and instantly disappears in the ocean of thousands of similar creators. Because the algorithms are complex, platforms show already known accounts first, and newcomers get lost.

It is impossible to accurately predict how this market will grow and change. The maker economy is a young phenomenon that has accelerated with the pandemic. The quarantine released a wave of talent and their creativity, and consumers were interested in content during the lockdown. The two sides found each other, this became an incentive for the development of the economy of the creators. But how it will develop further is not yet entirely clear.

Tools for creating and selling content

There are several ways for content creators to monetize content:

Advertising collaborations with brands – sponsored posts on social networks, video inserts, and so on. This is one of the most common ways to earn money.

Collaborations with brands or other content makers , joint marketing campaigns.
Ambassadorship – the content creator becomes a brand representative, enters into an advertising contract with him and periodically advertises in his products.

Paywalls for subscribers, donations and sponsorships are how platforms like Patreon or Boosty work: fans pay to see or use new content. But to make money using this model, you need a loyal audience.

Nearly 80% of content creators surveyed by Influencer Marketing Hub make money through brand deals. But this primarily concerns bloggers and influencers – not conventional game developers or educational courses.

As the Influencer Marketing Hub report shows , most creator economy participants use social networks to sell content. In first place is Instagram (the social network is banned in Russia by a court decision as extremist): 72% of Influencer Marketing Hub respondents choose it as the main channel. TikTok is in second place in popularity with 13% of the votes, and YouTube is in third place with 9% of the votes. In addition, the top five included the options “own blog” and Facebook (the social network is banned in Russia by a court decision as extremist).

The choice of a tool for selling content depends on what exactly a person produces. Social networks are more relevant for bloggers and streamers. In addition to TikTok, musicians also use iTunes, Spotify, Pandora, and Soundcloud. It is convenient to monetize podcasts through Apple Podcasts and the early access function for donation (payment).

For designers and developers, social networks will be more of a promotion channel, and sales will go through the Google Store, App Store and other similar application stores. Or through the already mentioned Patreon or Boosty.

Photographers and graphic designers also monetize content on social networks, but among the main three, only Instagram is their priority. It is complemented by Snapchat, VSCO with the internal social network Grid and Pinterest. The latter platform is more of a visual search platform than a social network through which brands are promoted whose products can be sold through a picture.

At the same time, most platforms now act as intermediaries between the content consumer and the producer. They are centralized and dictate their own rules, how much money the content creator will receive, and how much the platform will take for itself. For example, Apple and Google have the App Store and Google Play. Monetization there is 70:30 – 70% goes to the content creator, 30% goes to the platform. On YouTube, content creators earn money by inserting advertisements into their videos. That is, the dependence on platforms is direct and very strong. Content creators have to adapt to these rules.

What principles will work in the creator economy?

Despite the fact that content creators in the creator economy are motivated by money and turn their hobbies into a source of income, their main principle is rather “do what you like.” There are a lot of people who are passionate about something. And often they don’t work where they want. Because money is a priority: you need to live on something – support yourself, your family.

As the creator economy develops, this will change. Including opportunities for those who are part of it. For example, now creators who make a product needed by the masses receive more money, and then a large brand comes to them with advertising. Those who create content for 100 people earn much less. For the creative economic class to develop, and for people to truly do what they like, everyone must have the opportunity to reach consumers and get enough from their content. For example, through direct donations. That is, both promotion algorithms on platforms and monetization mechanisms must change.

Creators’ economic development forecasts

The growth and transformation of the creator economy is tightly linked to Web3: a new Internet will develop – new platforms and technologies will appear. People who want to make money from content dictate the rules, and platforms will adapt to them. They will become decentralized and change monetization.

The idea of ​​direct donation will begin to develop more actively, when it is not conditional YouTube that pays a reward to the blogger, but the content consumers themselves: through subscriptions or one-time transfers. What Patreon is doing now, other platforms will do. This will give the creator more freedom and the opportunity to make real money. They won’t have to give up a huge portion of monetization to platforms, and consumers will be able to receive a more original and creative product. The creator economy will be characterized by ecosystems and platforms that are directly dependent on users.

Brands interested in selling their advertising and expanding their audience will follow creators to new platforms and new conditions. That’s why large companies always go where the user is. Perhaps the creator economy will actively develop in conjunction with metaverses – this is a good platform where each creator can produce content and be valued at the level of a large brand like Pepsi. This equalizes the opportunities of an ordinary person and a multimillion-dollar company.

In Russia, in the current situation, the development of the creators’ economy is now slowing down. The world’s main promotion channels and content sales have become unavailable or limited. If they don’t exist, there is no connection with subscribers; this is a Web 2.0 problem. There are no complete analogues of TikTok or Instagram. YouTube has only removed monetization so far; bloggers earn only from direct advertising – contracts with brands. If it closes, all the big three disappear. Content creators have to master new platforms.

On the one hand, if a person is talented, creates a high-quality product, content or service, and has a large and sincere attention of subscribers, little changes from switching to a new platform. You have to adapt to a different interface, other promotion tools, but a person will continue to make money from content anywhere.

On the other hand, forced transitions are an additional waste of time. You need to study the platform and its conditions, new tools, opportunities, and audience. In addition, not all subscribers will follow the content maker from TikTok to another platform, even if they are very loyal. This means that for some time the income will be less.

Now there is only one option – to actively study new platforms and tools. Later, with the development of Web3, creators will not have such dependence on the site. The transition from one to another along with your group of subscribers and clients will become simple and seamless. Because it is not the platform that should dictate the rules, but bloggers, content creators, journalists, and product creators.