Business acceleration is a popular and effective tool for stimulating innovation. To date, it is the most effective means for building rapid communications between teams of scientists and entrepreneurs on the one hand and investors on the other. As practice shows, acceleration programs always contribute to the accelerated development of economic sectors by facilitating their accelerated technological re-equipment. In 2020, such a program was launched in the Russian road industry.
A platform for startups
One of the key tasks of the national project "Safe and high-quality highways" is the selection and implementation of the most effective and modern technologies of road construction and repair. For this purpose, the ROSDORNII FAA created and launched a Register of new and best technologies, Materials and Technological Solutions for Reuse (RNNT).
Among the main advantages of RNNT is its openness. The information contained in the Registry is available to everyone subjects of the industry: starting with contractors and manufacturers of materials and equipment, ending with industry departments. Thus, each interested specialist or company can not only get acquainted with new technologies, but also learn about the experience and results of their practical application at specific facilities, assessing the effectiveness and economic feasibility of using a particular solution. On the other hand, any promising technology, being included in the Register, becomes available to a wide professional community and gets the right to live nationwide. At the same time, the technologies included in the Register are constantly in the mode of natural selection under the close attention of the entire expert community.
The use of technologies and materials from the Register is mandatory for the regions participating in NP "BCAD". However, it is important not only to organize the exchange of information between specialists and organizations, but also to stimulate the development of innovations. To do this, ROSDORNIA has developed a model of an industry accelerator – a platform for technological re-equipment of enterprises. industries.
"The purpose of this project is to create a comfortable environment for young scientists and entrepreneurs, support their technological and scientific projects. We are building an ecosystem in which the creators of innovative technologies will be motivated to work effectively and fruitfully at all stages of the life cycle of their projects: from the formation of an idea to its practical implementation, scaling and turning into a successful business," ROSDORNIA FAA said.
Accelerator as part of the national project
The idea of acceleration is perfectly suited to solving the problems of industry modernization, which makes business accelerators an effective means of accelerating the implementation of national projects. To date, Russia has already accumulated considerable experience in using such tools, both in certain industries (for example, implemented jointly with RVC "Russian Railways Accelerator") and of a general industrial nature. Among the latter are acceleration programs implemented within the framework of the national projects "Labor Productivity and employment support" and "Small and medium–sized entrepreneurship and support for individual entrepreneurial initiatives".
The first accelerator of the road industry is an industry platform created for the tasks of a specific industry. Its unique feature is that the participants of the program are given the opportunity to receive not only support in business development, but also technological expertise of innovations based on the FAA "ROSDORNIA" with subsequent testing in pilot regions and scaling within the industry.
"We have modern laboratories for technology expertise, and the Institute's expert council has the necessary set of competencies to assess their effectiveness in solving the tasks of the national project "Safe and High–quality Highways". Within the framework of the BCAD NP, agreements have already been concluded with pilot regions, thanks to which accelerator participants will have the opportunity to test their technologies in these regions. If successful, the solutions will be included in the RNNT and replicated to other regions," explain the mechanism of the accelerator in the FAA "ROSDORNIA".
According to experts, the purpose of creating the platform is to consolidate the efforts of the industry communities for finding new knowledge and solutions, selecting and supporting the best projects. Operating on the basis of the Institute, the BCC unites the interests of all industry players: federal authorities represented by relevant ministries and departments, associations of the road industry, municipal and regional customers, contractors, scientific and educational institutions, venture funds, technology parks and manufacturing enterprises. The role of the industry coordinator of the project will be assumed by the Ministry of Transport of Russia, and the operator of the site will be ROSDORNII. A specially created Internet resource will help optimize the interaction between the platform participants and make its work as transparent as possible accelerator.
Innovation at the start
Work on the search and implementation of innovations begins already at the start of its implementation of the accelerator project. So, for 2020, the following project directions have been identified for work:
1. Technologies used in the construction, repair, reconstruction of highways;
2. Technologies used in the design of highways;
style="text-align: left;"> 3. Machinery, mechanisms and equipment used for road design and construction of highways;4. Materials used in road construction and improvement of resource provision;
5. Intelligent transport systems;
6. Technologies used in the design and testing of unmanned vehicles;
7. Technologies that ensure safety and reduce road deaths;
8. Digital technologies of transport planning and modeling;
9. Resource management of industrial enterprises.
Each of the directions meets the goals and objectives of NP "BCAD" and is developed in accordance with the Strategy of Innovative Development of the Russian Federation. The selection of the best projects will be carried out using the most modern methods of attracting and communicating with startups and teams of professionals. To increase the effectiveness of communication, it is planned to hold online and offline events of various formats, including hackathons – competitions for specialists, implemented in the format of brainstorming.
The first set
On September 10, the first enrollment in the acceleration program started. During the month until October 15, the authors of technological and innovative projects will be able to submit an application on the accelerator's website.
As a result, the authors of the top 10 projects will undergo an acceleration program and make a presentation on their technology at the demo day, where a jury consisting of industry experts will give an initial assessment of the projects on technological and commercial potential.
The participants of the first industry accelerator will gain an understanding of what path the project should go from idea to implementation at a road facility, with whom and how it is necessary to work, how to properly prepare your project for the customer and much more.
The winners will be able to test technologies in pilot regions.
The accelerator invites teams that have an innovative idea or have already been implemented, as well as representatives of the regions who are ready to participate in the testing of pilot projects and in tests.
Modernization of the road industry is one of the key factors in the development of the national economy, increasing the competitiveness of the country and the level of well–being of its citizens. The condition for achieving these goals is the search and widespread introduction of innovations. Creating an industry accelerator is the most effective and fastest way to solve this and related tasks.
Background information:
Business Accelerator is a startup support platform in the format of a social institute or program. The concept appeared and was developed in the 1990s, in the era of the "dotcom boom", and was initially focused mainly on the support and development of Internet projects. It involves assistance to young companies and teams by providing financial and expert support, as well as mentoring or training, in exchange for a share in the capital.
Corporate and venture accelerators are most often distinguished. In the first case, we are talking about acceleration programs launched within the company in order to gain quick access to ideas and teams to increase corporate profits. Venture Capital acceleration is based on the support and investment in the business of young promising companies.
In the 2000s, accelerators spread far beyond the Internet and IT industry and became widely used in various sectors of the economy. Vivid examples from foreign practice: Plug and Play, Y Combinator, NVC, Techstars, etc. Russian accelerators: Skolkovo Community, FRII, VTB Accelerator, INNOPORT, Russian Railways Accelerator, MSU Accelerator, MTS Startup Hub, etc.