Management of Science: Theory and Practice
ISSN 2686-827X (online)
Publication frequency: quarterly. Founded in 2019.
Editor-in-Chief - Evgeny V. Semenov, Doctor of Philosophy
Publisher: FCTAS RAS
Indexation: RSCI, VAK RF
Double blind peer review
Open Access
The thematic framework of the journal "Management of Science: Theory and Practice" covers a wide range of issues at the intersection of several disciplines, primarily sociological, philosophical, legal and economic.
The problems considered in the journal include: analysis of socially significant functions and tasks of science in modern Russia; prospects for the development of the scientific and technological sphere, the scientific and technological complex and the scientific and technological potential; formation and development of scientific and technological policy; analysis of global challenges for the development of Russian science; study of international experience in science management and its comparison with the Russian context.
The journal also pays special attention to the connection between theory and practice in the field of science management, in connection with which the magazine widely covers topics such as analysis of managerial decisions and forecasting the risks of science management; monitoring the regulatory framework of science; assessment of the conceptual foundations of scientific and technological policy, research of mechanisms and tools for science management; An examination of existing and forthcoming government decisions and documents is carried out.
Current Issue
Vol 7, No 1 (2025)
Editor's notes
The Globalist Ideology in Russian Science and Technology Policy Has Yet to Be Overcome
Abstract
A year has passed since the approval of the updated version of the Scientific and Technological Development Strategy of the Russian Federation. It is too early to talk about the results, but it is necessary to mention the shortcomings of its conception, which can predetermine future results in many ways. The Strategy contains a deep contradiction between the stated goal of achieving the technological sovereignty of Russia and the persisting globalist ideology of its science and technology development. The document needs to be significantly revised taking into account Russia’s national interests. This implies the rejection of the globalist ideology.
Management of Science: Theory and Practice. 2025;7(1):9-12
9-12
Scientific policy
Research Institute as a Functional Unit of Scientific Activities
Abstract
The development of Russian science gave birth to a system of organizations that were tangibly different from the institutions of science in the West embedded in universities. The main element of the system is a research institute. In the Soviet times founding the institutes under the auspices of the Academy of concentrating staff and material resources in the chosen directions. Higher education institutions were also engaged in research, but their main task consisted in training professional cadres for the rapidly expanding Soviet economy. The public consciousness and Russian culture as a whole viewed and keeps viewing a research institute as a key element in the production of scientific knowledge and a place that employs real researchers whose whole life is dedicated to science. In the institutional order that emerged in the post-Soviet times the institute fulfills a number of important functions. Firstly, the institute is engaged in the production of authentic scientific knowledge using traditional research methods to verify it through standard procedures. Secondly, the institute is charged with the task of reproducing the community of researchers “demographically” and ideologically as a group of people who share the values of scientific endeavor. Thirdly, the institute plays a decisive role in communication with society as a whole, passing on in abridged form the essence of scientific discovery. The reforms of Russian science as part of the general policy of destroying old Soviet institutions did not bring about any improvements in the Russian science complex. Their effects were opposite to what they were set to achieve inflicting heavy damage on the entire realm of research complex.
Management of Science: Theory and Practice. 2025;7(1):13-28
13-28
2024: The Year of Completion of the National Project “Science” (“Science and Universities”)
Abstract
In December 2024, the national project “Science and Universities” was completed. Its main achievements include the scientific equipment upgrade program. At the same time, the continuing negative trends noted in the Presidential Decree “On the Scientific and Technological Development Strategy of the Russian Federation” (No. 145 of February 28, 2024) are alarming. They include the concentration of science and technology potential in a limited number of regions of the country. Taking into account the demographic situation in Russia, the task of rejuvenation of research personnel adopted in the national project “Science and Universities”, which has been continued in the programs for the development of research organizations, set up by the end of 2024, will lead, in our opinion, to the strengthening of this negative trend. This is also facilitated by the logic of the development of modern science, which obeys the law formulated by V.V.Nalimov back in the 1960s: every 10 years the amount of scientific information doubles in the branches of natural sciences. The limited capacity of the human brain to process new information forces researchers to narrow the field of their scientific interests. But even here, the information flood, reinforced by the products of “paper factories” producing fake science, poses intractable problems of analyzing new achievements. The business of publishing services is already entering the automatic mode of production of pseudoscientific output, and as long as the evaluation of a researcher’s performance is determined by the number of articles, the negative trends noted by the President of Russia will only intensify.
Management of Science: Theory and Practice. 2025;7(1):29-38
29-38
Formation of a Mobilization Mode of Science Management in Russia
Abstract
The article examines theoretical approaches and practical steps to the formation of a mobilization mode of management in the Russian science policy. The introduction of such a mode is connected with the pressure of sanctions and other restrictions that have appeared since 2022 and the increased task of ensuring technological sovereignty. The aim of the study is to identify the characteristics of the mobilization mode in science and on their basis to analyze the processes occurring in civil science management in Russia in the last 2–3 years. The central questions are how the mode of mobilization is formed and whether all the necessary components ensuring the development of technological sovereignty are taken into account.A mobilization mode in science is generally understood as such management of scientific and technological potential and allocation of resources, under which the primary science and technology tasks of national importance should be solved in an accelerated manner. Drawing on the analysis of previous works, we identify four attributes that should characterize such a regime. They include (1) changes in goal setting, focusing on priority areas of development and restructuring of legal and regulatory frameworks in line with the new goals, (2) growth in research funding and increase in the scientific workforce, (3) organizational changes characterized by increased coordination and centralization, and (4) search for international partners who share the country’s goals and objectives in science and technology.Contemporary Russian science policy is further analyzed on the basis of these attributes. The regulatory and legal framework of science, changes in the system of management and international cooperation, as well as current and planned personnel and financial parameters are considered. We conclude that although the mobilization mode of science management is officially proclaimed, not all its components are developing at the pace and scale required to address new scientific and technological challenges. The most vulnerable components are related to funding and human resources.
Management of Science: Theory and Practice. 2025;7(1):39-54
39-54
Mechanisms of a state regulation of a scientific activity
Effectiveness of the Assessment of Higher Education Institutions: The Case of a University in a Single-industry Town
Abstract
The article examines the effectiveness of the current unified approach of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian Federation to evaluating the performance of federal higher education institutions (HEIs). The criteria used by the Ministry for monitoring their activities and published in 2024 with data for 2023 are analyzed. The study raises the question of whether these criteria are suitable for assessing the performance of universities in Russian single-industry towns (monotowns). Using the case of one of the key universities in monotowns – Polar State University in Norilsk, the largest university in the Russian Eastern Arctic – the author demonstrates that the performance indicators established by the Ministry (educational, international, financial and economic activities) do not fully reflect the realities of universities operating in monotowns. The researcher proposes changes to the groups of indicators, not limited to universities in monotowns, which will contribute to the improvement of the government’s criteria for evaluating HEIs’ performance.
Management of Science: Theory and Practice. 2025;7(1):55-66
55-66
Research and Development Labor Rationing: Problems and Perspectives
Abstract
Research and development labor rationing can not only help to solve the problem of overwork and emotional burnout among researchers, but also to make planning more efficient and improve the productivity of academic labor and the scientific and technological level of R&D.This overview considers Russian and foreign approaches to the rationing of R&D labor. The existing approaches are described. The author analyzes their advantages and disadvantages in the context of the peculiarities of research labor, which distinguish it from other types of activities. The article provides a comparative assessment of the approaches, which helps to identify those that best contribute to solving the problems arising in the rationing of R&D labor.
Management of Science: Theory and Practice. 2025;7(1):67-82
67-82
Normative legal framework of science
Know-how as a Form of Legal Protection of Scientific Results in Russian Universities
Abstract
The urgent need to develop domestic technologies in all advanced branches of science and technology, to ensure the technological sovereignty of the country, which Russia has faced in connection with the sanctions, poses new challenges for universities. Although scientific research, the framing and commercialization of protectable results of intellectual activity are not new tasks for universities, today their solution is becoming a matter of national security. Scientific and technical solutions created at universities should not only receive legal protection, but also should have market attractiveness so that the business sector is interested in their implementation and the creation of innovative products using them. In these conditions, it is logical to turn to the only result of intellectual activity, the condition of legal protection of which is the existence of commercial value – to a trade secret or know-how. The authors identify key areas of applying know-how in universities, including ensuring confidentiality in the period before filing a patent application, formalization of IP in case of non-compliance with the conditions of patentability and as a form of legal protection for student developments. However, the priority direction of using know-how is not to replace patent protection, but to supplement it, i.e. to support the receipt of a patent for the main technical solution by recognizing the relevant information necessary for its practical implementation as a production secret. It is this legal structure that allows for maximum protection of a scientific development and makes it commercially attractive. Along with the advantages provided by know-how, the authors also highlight the problems that universities face when using this form of legal protection of scientific results. The main ones are related to the difficulties of ensuring the confidentiality of information in the research community, to issues of remuneration of developers if another protected IPR is recognized as know-how, as well as to the assessment of the cost of the exclusive right to know-how. The problem of applying the principles of trade secret protection is highlighted as a special issue when it comes to performing R&D under a state defense order.
Management of Science: Theory and Practice. 2025;7(1):83-99
83-99
Issues of Legal Regulation of Information Intermediaries’ Responsibilities in the Context of Research and Educational Activities
Abstract
The aim of the study is to determine the status of the information intermediary in Russian legislation. Attention is focused on two key aspects: the lack of a legal status of the information intermediary beyond relations arising from intellectual property infringements, and the need to develop clear criteria for classifying various types of information intermediaries, which reflect the features of their activities and the character of relations with users. The author proposes a definition of the concept of information intermediary, which in the current legislation is defined only by specifying the types of activities carried out by these entities. The core idea of the article is to revise the existing classification of information intermediaries in order to determine the degree of their responsibility depending on the type of an intermediary and, consequently, the degree of subscribers’ involvement in law violations. The researcher has outlined the form of guilt, in which the responsibility of the information intermediary begins. The article lays down conditions for the exemption from liability of one of the types of information intermediaries, which most often turn out to be research and educational web portals. Three categories of information intermediaries are identified by drawing on the criterion of user autonomy, which is a key parameter for determining the presence/absence of an information intermediary’s fault. It has been found out that there are a lack of uniformity and ambiguity of solutions in the practice of determining the degree of responsibility of an information intermediary and its subscribers in cases of intellectual property infringement. The author’s conclusions and suggestions can serve as a basis for improving the legal regulation of the institution of information mediation in Russia. They also can form the basis for further research. The results of the study emphasize the significance of an interdisciplinary approach to the examination of issues at the intersection of digital technologies, law and management. This opens up new horizons for future research and practical applications in this field.
Management of Science: Theory and Practice. 2025;7(1):100-115
100-115
Digital Environment and Problems Of Digitalization
Prospective Capabilities of the Dimensions Information Platform
Abstract
The article provides an analysis of the capabilities of the Dimensions platform as an information product, which in recent years has increasingly been considered as an alternative source of information for performing bibliometric research. This resource has attracted the attention of not only foreign researchers. Some Russian studies are also carried out today using its functionality. The evaluation of the search and analytical capabilities of the free version of the database is conducted based on studying the topic “Altmetrics”. The trends in the development of altmetric research are studied, the authors and teams of authors who are developing these areas are identified and the analytical capabilities of the resource are characterized in the form of a visualized assessment of search results. The article also gives attention to paid services based on artificial intelligence created by Digital Science (Research GPT, AI Summarization, API for import, etc.). The author considers the general source base of the platform and its main functions. Statistics of document types are presented. It has been found out that articles currently make up 80% of the total volume of documents. It is concluded that the free version of Dimensions is not suitable for all tasks when conducting a bibliometric analysis; in particular, the use of this version will not allow for a comprehensive description of the development of research areas in relation to different countries.
Management of Science: Theory and Practice. 2025;7(1):116-132
116-132
From the History of Scientometric Citation Classifications. The First Two Works and Russophone Publications. Part 2
Abstract
The apparent diversity of citation motivations and the idea of possible differences in citation functions led to the first attempts at scientometric classifications of citations as early as in the 1960s (i.e. at the dawn of the appearance of a toolkit called the Science Citation Index). These classifications were developed based on the assumption that their application would make it possible to obtain more accurate data on both characteristics of cited documents and the very nature of scientific citation. They were also supposed to help refine information retrieval. The creation of such classifications is considered here in the context of the need for a correct understanding of the reflection of the properties of scientific documents by their citedness. In this work, the Russian-language articles on this topic published in the period from 1968 to 1975 are analyzed.
Management of Science: Theory and Practice. 2025;7(1):133-146
133-146
On the Main Trends for the Development of Artificial Intelligence Technologies as a Research Tool
Abstract
The article was prepared on the basis of a report presented at the interdepartmental round table “The Use of Artificial Intelligence Technologies for Pursuing Research in the Humanities” that was held on September 27, 2024. The work provides an overview of certain provisions of the National Strategy for the Development of Artificial Intelligence for the period up to 2030, which was updated in February 2024 and is aimed at expanding the application of AI technologies as a research tool. The overview of the provisions is accompanied by a description of the advantages that scholars gain using AI technologies within the framework of generally accepted stages of research work. Along with the advantages for researchers, the article presents the possibilities of applying certain AI tools in relation to other tools, including the benefits of large AI models and strong AI. The article also contains a list of possible results of the use of AI technologies in a number of humanities disciplines and fields – in sociology, economics, medicine, etc. In particular, the specific tools of Russian researchers created on the basis of these technologies are taken from the practices of AI research centers established in 2021–2023.
Management of Science: Theory and Practice. 2025;7(1):147-157
147-157
Scientific community
Chinese Humanities Scholars in Russian Postgraduate Education: Expectations and Realities
Abstract
The growing number of Chinese applicants forces us to talk about “educational expansion”, the benefit from which is small for Russian science. Survey data of Chinese citizens studying in Russia indicate that the quality of the training they receive does not satisfy their demand for educational services. The obviously lowered requirements for “Chinese dissertations” devalue Russian academic degrees and contradict the desire to increase the competitiveness of national science. The article examines some apparent problems that arise when teaching Chinese citizens in humanities postgraduate programs at Russian universities and research institutes (drawing on the case of art history). The study is based on data on defenses of Chinese applicants provided on the website of the Higher Attestation Commission of the Russian Federation. It draws attention to the duplication and insignificance of selected research topics, the weakness of academic supervision, the “easiness” of requirements for the quality of dissertations and the insufficient preparedness of universities and dissertation councils to work with foreigners in general.
Management of Science: Theory and Practice. 2025;7(1):158-176
158-176
The Formation and Development of Sociological Associations in Russia
Abstract
The article examines the process of the formation and development of professional associations of sociologists in Russia. The authors use collections of published archival materials and regulatory legal acts, ego documents (memoirs, diaries and letters) and studies pursued by Russian sociologists as sources. The ontological and epistemological prerequisites for the emergence and development of professional associations of sociologists are studied. We undertake an analysis of the institutionalization of the leading Russian sociological communities (M.M.Kovalevsky Russian Sociological Society, the Soviet Sociological Association, the Russian Society of Sociologists, as well as modern professional associations of sociologists). The history of their origin and formation, goals, objectives and results of their activity are discussed. The conclusion is made about the possibility of periodization of the genesis and functioning of Russian sociological associations.
Management of Science: Theory and Practice. 2025;7(1):177-191
177-191
Science and pseudo-science
Science and Politics: Risks of Possible Symbiosis
Abstract
Science and the research community can be used by various political forces to their advantage. In the proposed article, the author attempts to trace some aspects of the functioning of the relationship between political power and the academic community. The examples show the effects of feedback loops between government structures and scientific organizations and individual researchers. It is noted that the emergence of the phenomenon of unreliable scientific information (misinformation about science) often meets the local, image-building interests of individual scientists and scientific communities. In modern Russia, this situation is further aggravated by the low level of mutual trust between science and society, science and political forces, as well as within the research community itself. Apparently, this is due to the adaptation of science to the labor market, when the ideals of the professional autonomy of science are weakening. At the same time, thanks to the phenomenon of misinformation, an anti-scientific position can become an official ideological and political platform, even despite the high level of government support for scientific research. And in this sense, we can talk about the scientific ideology and the special individual responsibility of each scientist. It is clear that this is an ideal model, which is unlikely to be fully implemented. That is why it is concluded that it is important that the scientific community remains independent and adheres to scientific principles and ethics. Scientific research should be conducted in accordance with academic standards, and expert conclusions should be based on facts and evidence, not on political motives. Scientists should strive for honest and objective research which will help prevent manipulation and the use of science for political purposes.
Management of Science: Theory and Practice. 2025;7(1):192-205
192-205
Book reviews
It is an experience worth revisiting... Review of the book “Novosibirsk State University. The First Decade (1959–1968)” by V. A. Vybornova and M. P. Fedoruk
Abstract
The monograph shows the history of Novosibirsk State University (NSU) from its foundation in 1959 to 1968 when the transformation of the HEI’s structure was basically completed and the staff and educational processes were stabilized. The authors trace the mechanisms of adaptation of the Moscow Institute of Physics and Technology model during the development of a new type of university, created in conjunction with the Siberian Branch of the USSR Academy of Sciences and focused on training personnel for scientific activities. In this context, the process of the formation of the teaching staff is shown, the emphasis is made on the principle of combining the work of researchers in the institutes of the Siberian Branch of the Academy of Sciences and NSU, the role of the physics and mathematics school at NSU is discussed. Special attention is paid to the personal contribution of the organizers to the development of NSU. For this purpose, the authors used the prosopographical method and selected 176 key persons. The book also presents the trajectories of scientific and teaching growth of young researchers who worked at the university and examines extracurricular activities of students. The authors focus on the description of the activities of the key actors in making the image of the university.
Management of Science: Theory and Practice. 2025;7(1):206-219
206-219
“Gerasim-at-home” and prospects for a national CS platform. Review of the book “Citizen Science: Let’s Do Research Together”
Abstract
The review emphasizes the importance of the monograph “Citizen Science: Let’s Do Research Together”. The team of authors shares their experience in creating the first Russian national platform “People of Science” for citizen science (CS) projects. The platform operated from 2021 to 2023 and became an important CS aggregator. The book clarifies the role of volunteering in modern science projects, outlines the foundations of this research form and introduces concepts related to the collaboration between scientists and the public. The authors propose a new classification of citizen science projects taking into account the types of activities of scientific volunteers. One of the first Russian projects mentioned is the volunteer computing project Gerasim@Home. The book offers practical recommendations for citizen science managers, including methods for recruiting and retaining volunteers, as well as principles for organizing project infrastructure. The results of the activities of the “People of Science” platform show a significant increase in the number of volunteers and the volume of data collected. The authors estimate that the number of scientific volunteers in Russia will reach 100,000 people. This will strengthen the public need for modern CS aggregators.
Management of Science: Theory and Practice. 2025;7(1):220-225
220-225