iR&Dclub is a professional community based on membership of top managers in large companies responsible for scientific research and development for the purpose of enhancing business competitive ability in different branches of Russian economics.

The Club was set up in 2011 at the initiative of big business and state corporations on the basis of the HSE Institute of Innovation Management (HSE IIM) with the support of the Ministry for Economic Development of the Russian Federation, Russian Venture Company (RVC) with the participation of HSE University and VEB Innovation Fund.

The Club’s main object is to create a positive environment for the professional community to change experience and to improve innovative processes in Russian companies. The mission of the Club was defined by its members as: ”to promote the development of innovative culture in the country”.

The main goal of the Club is to give enough authority to the professional community of R&D directors, to raise not nominal but real profile of R&D as the key driving power in the growth of the innovative economics. The aims of the Club also include formulation and solution of interindustrial, organizational, communicatory, staffing, administrative and other problems in the area of research, development and introduction of innovations.

The Club Members are vice-presidents, assistant general managers , department directors of the companies with state participation, responsible for realization of corporate programs of innovative development and R&D directors of the private industrial companies. The whole over 100 companies take part in the Club’s events.

To become a Club Member a legal entity must meet the following criteria:

• big business with annual turnover at least equal to 10 billions rubles;

• a representative of the company (with corporate membership) must have enough powers properly confirmed for decision making either in questions of the Club’s activities or in managing the field-oriented determination of the company (science, innovations, research and development);

• a company must be a resident of the Russian Federation or must have an authorized representative office/branch on the territory of the Russian Federation with an operating unit in the area of science, innovations, research and development.

If a company meets all the requirements but does not have enough turnover, then in the presence of two recommendations by Club Members, it can get a status of the Club Participant which confers equal rights with the members of the Club except the right to elect and to be elected into the governing bodies of the Club.

The work of the Club is organized in the form of regular topical sessions, meetings with the representatives of public authorities, national and foreign experts in the sphere of R&D and management of innovations, other events. It is expected to create a virtual ground of the Club in the Internet by the analogy with the traditional English club open for its members day and night and providing them with everything they want to find: up-to-date information according to the interests and a full library as well as hot discussions and assistance in solving specific targets.

The Club is not just the ground for communication. Club activities in certain thematic trends have their own logic, arrangement which is mostly based on project approach: problem definition, its specification, formulation of technical task for problem solving, performance of this technical task, bringing the results to the attention of bodies who take a decision, control of the situation changing, statement of a new problem and etc.

At the present time the following main thematic concepts (sections) have been announced by the Club members:

1. Human resources and education

2. Policies, patterns and organizing instruments of R&D and innovative units

3. Legislative environment of R&D and innovative business activities

4. International cooperation

***

The General Assembly of all Club members determines the objects and goals of the Club, the main principles of its activities. The General Assembly elects the Governing Board of the Club responsible for the solution of issues of the Club current operations including the enrolment of new members, confirmation of the business events plan, partnership relations and others. Executive directors of the Club ensure the performance of the Club and the Governing Board. The Club Coordinator is in charge of their activities.

The Supervisory Board of the Club is qualified to fulfill patronage of the Club current operations, to assure the Club with the necessary level of support, and also to maintain control over the adequacy of the Club activities with its charter objectives and goals. It is planned to engage the directors of subject ministries and departments, institutes of development, the leaders of the professional public associations.

***

The expected results of the Club activities. The Club must become a centre of the professional association of supervisors of technologic policy and innovative business development, a sort of a conductor and reliable source, an example of motivation for development, progress, for new achievements in applied science and engineering, for a commercial success, recognition for Russian engineering intellectuals with the main purpose to contribute to competitive recovery of the country in the context of accelerated scientific-technical progress.

For the Club members:

• Enhancement of efficiency in solving general and particular problems of interindustrial nature at the cost of integrating efforts and delegation of performing coordinated decisions to professional supervisors.

• Improvement of mutual understanding with the main participants modernization of economics: power, HEIs, scientific organizations and others.

• Upgrading the real status of R&D units in their companies.

For the members of the Supervisory Board, sponsors and partners (government authorities, scientific, public, educational and other organizations):

• Direct access to the opinions of the most competent professional community regarding actual state of things in the area of innovative business development (the feedback of high quality)

• Direct translation channel for the key target audience either of concrete decisions of state importance or the expectations of the policy and public elite from modern business activities.

For the national business: increasing of returns from the activities of R&D units – the competitive recovery of companies in the domestic and foreign markets.

For the community of innovators and small innovative companies: formation of an objective order for innovations on a systematic principle.

Total social and economic effect:

• Creation and performance of self-regulated tool of domestic demand making on innovations

• Promotion of attraction and status of the engineer’s job and R&D employee in the society

• Formation of relatively new and significant internal resource capable of playing an essential part in assuring success of events on economic diversification and quality positioning of Russia on the global technologic market.

***

The contacts of the Club: office +7 (495) 772-95-90 extension number 3830, email address — event@irdclub.ru, website — http://irdclub.ru.