LEXONOMICA 
Vol. 11, No. 2, pp. 175-194, December 2019  
 
 
 
Triple Helix as a Social and Legal Phenomenon of Regional 
Innovative Development: on the Example of the Penza 
Region as an Average Subject of the Russian Federation 
 
ALEXEY FOMIN 
1 
Abstract The experience of developed countries (Germany, USA, 
Scandinavia) shows that scientific, technical and innovation 
activities contribute to modernization of the economy, and are a 
stabilizing factor in social development. Coordination and 
structuring of such a relationship at the legislative level is the basis 
of strategic planning of Russia and its regions. Today, the creation 
of new constitutional, social and legal foundations of strategic 
development affects every constituent entity of the Russian 
Federation. The article analyses the need to fill a gap in legal 
research, the development of scientific and theoretical provisions 
related to innovation. The Penza region is a typical constituent entity 
of the Russian Federation, taking into account the peculiarities of 
the geographical location, the number and well-being of the 
population, the development of the business sector, and the level of 
scientific potential. Standard socio-economic problems of the state, 
as well as the resulting status of innovative development are 
characteristic for the Penza region. In the article particular attention 
is paid to the non-hierarchical way of coordinating “government-
business-science” relations in the context of the Triple Helix model, 
which plays a key role in the innovation process as a social and legal 
mechanism of development of economy. 
 
Keywords: • law • government • science • cluster • economy • 
strategy • triple helix model of innovation • 
 
                                                          
CORRESPONDENCE ADDRESS: Alexey Fomin, Doctor of Science (Law), Full Professor, St. 
Petersburg State University of Economics, Law Faculty, Saint-Petersburg, Russia, e-mail: 
fominpenza@mail.ru. 
 
DOI 10.18690/lexonomica.11.2.175-194.2019                                                       UDC: 711.2(470.40) 
ISSN 1855-7147 Print / 1855-7155 On-line                               © 2019 University of Maribor Press 
Available at http://journals.um.si/index.php/lexonomica. 
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A. Fomin: Triple Helix as a Social and Legal Phenomenon of Regional Innovative 
Development: on the Example of the Penza Region as an Average Subject of the 
Russian Federation 
 
1 Introduction 
 
Without both existing and properly executed regulations, it is impossible to improve 
all economic and innovative sectors in connection with the development of the 
information and innovation society (Strand, Ivanova and Leydesdorff, 2017: 
963−988). However, considering the regulatory framework as the basis of all 
processes and the “foundation” of any action, it should be noted that many issues are 
only now being legislated, and much of the legislation is still in its infancy. The so 
called Triple Helix of the “government-business-science” tripartite is an example of 
such a process. This mechanism has already been considered from an economic point 
of view (e.g. Carayannis, Grigoroudis, Sindakis and Walter, 2014: 440−463), but not 
from a legal standpoint. 
 
At the beginning of the twenty’ first century G. Etzkowitz, L. Leydesdorff, D. 
Meissner and other academic economists (Leydesdorff, 2012: 25−35; Meissner, 
2014: 34−56) first introduced the concept of the Triple Helix. The Triple Helix is a 
collaboration of three typical institutional spheres representing science, business, and 
the state, Silicon Valley1 being a typical example. 
 
It is worth noting that the Triple Helix model is applicable exclusively to regions but 
not to state innovation policy. At present, the concept of a radical transformation of 
regions from geographic, political, and cultural actors into entities with the Triple 
Helix model that advance innovation initiatives, is clearly visible (Carayannis, 
Grigoroudis, 2016: 635−655). The science sector occupies a leading position in such 
a system (Ankrah, Burgess, Grimshaw, Shaw, 2013: 50−65) due to the increasing 
number of people who want to secure a decent education (Midtkandal, Sörvik, 2012). 
Thus, there is a process of creating a new economy based on intellectual capital 
(Dudin, Lyasnikov, Senin, 2014: 1256).  
 
In conditions of transformation in economics into an innovative social orientation 
model, and in order for regional legislation to be clearly oriented, it is important to 
analyse the legislative consolidation of the innovative development of the Penza 
region. Since 2015, the Penza region has been included in the top ten regions of the 
                                                          
1 For more information about Silicon Valley's role in business development, see Almeida, Etzkowitz, Mello, 
2010: 206−224. 
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A. Fomin: Triple Helix as a Social and Legal Phenomenon of Regional Innovative 
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177 
 
innovation development ranking of the constituent entities of the Russian Federation 
compiled by the Institute for Statistical Studies and Economics of Knowledge of the 
Higher School of Economics (ISSEK HSE).  
 
2 Research objectives 
 
On the example of analysis of legislative acts and statistical data of the Penza region 
as a typical subject of the Russian Federation, the research aims to trace the 
interaction of government, business and science, as an integral, unified system, in 
which each sphere intersects, and does not exist “in parallel”. In this regard, the 
purpose of this article is to show the successful innovation strategy of the statutory 
legislation of the Penza region, resulting from the adoption of the Law of the Penza 
region of October 25, 2010 No. 1972-ZPO “On Innovation Activities in the Penza 
Region”. The absence of fundamental changes to the law and its successful 
implementation over an extended period of time indicate legal stability in the region 
(parity in the chain of “relevance-law” is observed), and control over the 
implementation of the adopted normative acts. 
 
Determining the regulatory framework in the field of modernization of the Russian 
economy, in addition to references to various kinds of scientific and journalistic work 
based on an analysis of the established practice, is an integral part of state policy to 
implement innovation (Mathe, 2013: 131−137). 
 
3 Methods 
 
We employed dialectic materialism, a universal method for understanding reality, as 
the methodological basis for this research, together with some additional more 
particular scientific methods, namely: the study and analysis of literary sources 
related to the chosen topic and regulatory material; familiarization with court 
practice; formal logical analysis; the comparative legal method; the method of 
historical and legal analysis; and, the complex analysis method.  
 
A theoretical basis of the study comprises works on philosophy, theory of state and 
law, international, constitutional, and other branches of law. A special emphasis is 
devoted to the problems of innovative development of the region, including social 
and legal, and economic characteristics of the Triple Helix model. 
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A. Fomin: Triple Helix as a Social and Legal Phenomenon of Regional Innovative 
Development: on the Example of the Penza Region as an Average Subject of the 
Russian Federation 
 
A regulatory basis for the research is formed by the following federal and regional 
legislative acts: Federal Law of August 23, 1996 No. 127-FZ “On Science and State 
Science and Technology Policy”; Federal Law of June 28, 2014 No. 172-FZ “On 
Strategic Planning in the Russian Federation”; Federal Law of June 29, 2015 No. 
160-FZ “On the International Medical Cluster and Amendments to Certain 
Legislative Acts of the Russian Federation”; Resolution of the Government of the 
Russian Federation of July 31, 2015 No. 779 “On Industrial Clusters and Specialized 
Organizations of Industrial Clusters”; Decree of the Government of the Russian 
Federation of December 8, 2011 No. 2227-r “On Approval of the Strategy for 
Innovative Development of the Russian Federation for the Period up to 2020”; Law 
of the Penza Region of October 25, 2010 No. 1972-ZPO “On Innovation Activity in 
the Penza Region”; Resolution of the Government of the Penza region of October 03, 
2012 No. 700-pP “On Approval of the Procedure for Granting Subsidies from the 
Budget of the Penza Region for the Creation and (or) Support of the Activities of 
Youth Innovation Creativity Centers”; Decree of the Government of the Penza 
Region of February 21, 2014 No. 83-rP “On Approval of the Strategy for Innovative 
Development of the Penza Region until 2021 and the Forecast Period until 2030”. 
 
The author has obtained and summarized statistical data on the operation of 
enterprises of the agro-industrial complex of the Penza region. In the course of the 
research, study included both the analytical materials on the strategic development of 
Russia and of a single subject of the Russian Federation and the Penza region. The 
empirical research materials used in the article are summarized in the conclusions. 
 
4 Legal regulation of innovation as one of the important tools for the 
implementation of federal and regional innovation policy (using the 
example of the Penza region) 
 
Innovation is a documented progressive engine of economic formation of the Russian 
Federation and its constituent entities. At its core are the activities that spawn 
creative, original ideas to help forge finished products, thus combining modernity and 
relevance (Gackstatter, Kotsemir, Meissner, 2014: 293−308; Shegelman, Shchukin, 
Vasilev, 2015: 112−118). 
  
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In these relationships, business and government were traditionally viewed as engines 
of industrial policy, however, over time, when advanced knowledge became easier 
and faster to implement in practice, the situation changed (Höglund, Linton, 2017: 
69). 
 
Today, business structures want to act exclusively in accordance with legal norms 
that provide certainty, developing their sector, thereby strengthening their region, 
and, in general, Russia. In addition, they have, rather, a supporting role in the 
development of scientific research.2 The government, in turn, stands ready to support 
such aspirations, not only by providing funding but also by providing preferential 
(“cheap”) loans, and convenient taxable bases. In this regard, it is necessary to create 
a unified legislative framework that promotes innovative development, as an organic 
systemically holistic phenomenon. 
 
A similar policy is being pursued at the regional level, in particular, in the Penza 
region. To create both a favourable social and economic environment, as well as the 
institutional conditions for enhancing the innovative development of the economy, 
and ensuring its long-term competitiveness, the Government of the Penza region 
approved the Strategy for Innovative Development of the Penza Region until 2021 
and the Forecast Period until 2030 by the Decree of February 21, 2014 No. 83-rP.  
 
5 Social orientation of the Triple Helix model and innovative development 
of the country's economy 
 
Social orientation plays an important role in the development of the Triple Helix 
model. The social orientation of the political, economic and legal systems of the 
Russian Federation in general, and the Penza region in particular, is achieved with 
the development of market relations, strengthening of administrative and judicial 
guarantees of the rights of private owners, the consolidation of the values of the post-
industrial information society and, in particular, through the interaction of 
government, business and science, all of which combine to form a unified system 
within the framework of the concept of the Triple Helix. The proper and coordinated 
interaction between government, business and science contributes to overcoming a 
                                                          
2 The Penza ″Rameev″ Technopark for High Technologies (2019),  
http://www.technopark-rameev.ru/technopark (21. 5. 2019). 
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Development: on the Example of the Penza Region as an Average Subject of the 
Russian Federation 
 
variety of problematic and destructive forces such as the high level of polarization in 
the social and economic sphere, the inappropriate tendency to consumer lifestyle, and 
the growth of poverty while simultaneously increasing the responsibility of business 
in solving acute social problems. 
 
Government, business and science stand together in a relationship we might call 
“dialectical unity”, where together they interact to promote both the construction and 
implementation of sound social policy. In modern conditions, the realization of the 
principles of the social State and the transition of the Russian Federation to a socially 
oriented economy are impossible outside the innovative economy, without the legal 
and democratic organization of government, the awareness of state bodies and their 
officials of the priority of the social project, and in the absence of reliance on 
advanced scientific technologies. 
 
In light of the above, the Triple Helix market model is the most effective. 
Accordingly, it is strongly recommended for the Russian Federation to quickly move 
away from the current administrative and command model of the organization of 
interaction between government, business and science, where 1) government 
dominates and directs other institutions and their activities; 2) initiatives come from 
the top down and 3) universities and research centers take on a subordinate role. On 
the contrary, the market model of the Triple Helix is characterized by the following 
advantageous features: 1) universities, business and government are equal partners; 
2) their interaction is based on consensus and convergence of institutional spheres of 
their functioning; 3) each institutional sphere (universities and science, business, 
government) performs not only its traditional institutional functions, but also acquires 
new, additional functions. To solve the existing socio-economic problems in the 
regions of the Russian Federation requires not only directives from government, but 
also joint cooperation and the desire on the part of all institutional spheres-
government, business and universities in the framework of the market innovation 
economy to work in a corroborative fashion. In sum, the regional Triple Helix model 
grows out of the space of knowledge, consensus and innovation. 
  
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6 Experience of realization of the Triple Helix phenomenon in the Penza 
region as atypical constituent entity of the Russian Federation 
 
As a result of increased interaction between government, business and science at the 
level of the Penza region, additional employment is actively organized, the influx of 
the working-age population in the locality (villages, settlements, townships) 
increases, the social package is expanded, and corporate privileges are created. The 
agricultural field affects the interests of each person, and its formation is crucially 
determined by the economic development of the enterprise. The emphasis on the 
development of the agro-industrial sector in the Penza region was not accidental, but 
rather due not only to the peculiarity of soil and climatic conditions but also the 
economic and geographical position of the region. Agriculture is a priority in this 
region, and the food security of Russia is ensured by the development of the complex. 
 
By way of example, the largest project in the Penza region, and one of the largest 
projects in the country, the DAMATE Group, is aimed at expanding the industrial 
turkey farming complex to 100,000 tons of finished products per year. Total 
investment is 25.6 billion rubles. 
 
The region has a developed what might be called an innovation infrastructure. At 
present, a network of 14 business incubators has been created, in which 215 
organizations operate, and 1,533 jobs are offered. The premises and equipment of 
business incubators are leased to small businesses at a preferential rental rate on a 
competitive basis. 
 
Two technoparks successfully operate in the Penza region: the Yablochkov 
technopark, specializing in information technology, precision instrument-making and 
materials science, and a unique technopark for high medical and information 
technologies, the Rameev technopark, which forms the core of the regional medical 
cluster. There are 39 business entities operating in the areas of the latter. The staff 
number of employees as of January 01, 2019 was 2,285 people; in 2018, the business 
entities’ revenue totaled 6,174.13 million rubles. In 2018, the management company 
of the technology park sent an application to the Skolkovo Foundation for the status 
of the regional representative office of the Foundation. The InVivo Center for testing 
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Development: on the Example of the Penza Region as an Average Subject of the 
Russian Federation 
 
medical products on animals was founded on the basis of the Rameev technopark. 
More than 50 surgical operations have been performed since it began to function.3 
 
In addition, the departments of Penza State University conduct their work on the basis 
of technoparks. The Triple Helix model assumes that universities form the central 
hubs that generate both new technology and new forms of entrepreneurship 
(Pakhomova, 2012: 55). Students are given the opportunity to gain not only 
theoretical knowledge but also the practical skills that will ensure they are prepared 
for success in the engineering profession. The University, in conjunction with the 
regional businesses and government, conducts a thorough analysis of the strengths 
and weaknesses of the socio-economic development of the Penza region and 
participates in the development of legal strategies for the introduction of the 
innovative Triple Helix model. 
 
Penza State University, cooperating with the Kazakhstan University of Innovation 
and Telecommunication Systems, is engaged in training of innovative specialists, 
thereby providing integrated support and personnel assistance to the innovative 
development of the region. Training is one of the priorities (Lilles, Rõigas, 2015: 11), 
and is necessitated by the current lack of young professionals who are able to 
independently perform research, design, marketing and production tasks that are 
critically required in the process of creating and commercializing innovative projects 
in various fields (Borch, Solesvik, 2016: 421−439). 
 
It should be noted that in cooperation with the Ministry of Economic Development 
of Russia, a number of development institutions have been established in the region: 
Penza Regional Foundation for Assistance to Innovation (Venture Capital Fund), the 
Prototyping Center, and the Center for Cluster Development. 
  
                                                          
3 Agreement on Cooperation in the Field of Development of the Innovation Network and Promotion of 
Innovation Development Programs between the Office of the Plenipotentiary Representative of the President of 
the Russian Federation in the Volga Federal District, the Government of the Penza Region, the Foundation for 
Assistance to Small Innovative Enterprises (FASIE), the Penza Regional Branch, the Trade and Industry 
Chamber of the Penza Region of July 01, 2003 No. 03-5A-08/130, http://www.consultant.ru (28. 4. 2019). 
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In particular, the Center for Cluster Development supports four priority industry 
clusters (industrial cluster BioMed, instrument-making cluster Security, cluster of 
light industry, and confectionery cluster). The Social Innovation Center entered this 
cluster in 2017. Its main goal is to both help promote and support social projects of 
small and medium-sized businesses as well as to help support and maintain socially 
oriented non-profit organizations. 
 
The BioMed Cluster provides targeted support to the high-tech segment, namely, 
medical device manufacturers. Cluster products are highly competitive in both 
Russian and foreign markets. This is evidenced, for example, by the leading places 
of the Cluster among domestic producers in such segments of the domestic market as 
artificial heart valves (64%), and suture material (17 percent). 
 
Focused support also is provided to manufacturers of high-tech engineering security 
equipment in the framework of the instrument-making cluster Security. The share of 
Penza products in the Russian market in this segment is 61 percent. The volume of 
products shipped by the cluster enterprises is more than 3 billion rubles annually. 
 
One can find many examples of the implementation of Triple Helix models in the 
constituent entities of the Russian Federation, when, according to the results of 
research activities, the economy of the region focuses on the development of a 
specific resource in the region (or invention). In addition to the Penza region, where, 
as already noted, a number of priority industry clusters were created (bio-medical 
industrial cluster BioMed, which produces such a unique invention as heart valves, 
instrument-making cluster Security, cluster of light industry, confectionery cluster, 
cluster for introducing new feed cultivation technologies, etc.), there are still further 
examples of the implementation of the Triple Helix model in not only the Kaluga 
region (plasma systems for TV), but also the Vladimir region (the latest electric 
motor). It is evident that Russian regions are now undergoing a process of radical 
transformation from the traditional model of geographical, political and cultural 
entities into modern innovative entities employing the Triple Helix model from 
government, business and science, which are advancing new, innovative initiatives. 
The Penza region is a vivid example of the successful development of a region having 
both an average scientific potential and an average industrial reserve, judging by the 
standards of the Russian Federation. The economy of the Penza region is based on 
high technology and is smoothly transitioning from the backward Soviet 
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Russian Federation 
 
technological paradigm to an innovative technological paradigm based on the 
introduction of the Triple Helix model. That is why the experience of the Penza 
region deserves to be studied and disseminated throughout the country. According to 
G. Etzkowitz, one of the founders of the Triple Helix theory, it is important to 
exchange experiences on the formation of the Triple Helix model (Etzkowitz, 2012: 
766−779). First of all, it is necessary to study the examples of the organization of 
innovative activity in one's own country. The Penza region managed to successfully 
create both a regulatory framework and business atmosphere conducive not only to 
innovation but also to the creation of innovative enterprises, thereby contributing to 
the production of new technologies and business concepts as well as their 
implementation in the region. There are regions in the Russian Federation that can 
boast of having an outstanding level of scientific potential. However, most Russian 
regions lack an objective, broad-based understanding of exactly where they stand in 
the innovation hierarchy, their strengths and weaknesses, existing or potential 
regional advantages, and the resulting specific regional differences that would allow 
them to successfully compete in the domestic Russian and international markets. 
 
7 Territorial innovation clusters as drivers of economic growth of the 
Penza region 
 
The transition to the path of innovation development, objectively demanded today in 
Russia to help solve social and economic problems, and to raise the standard of living, 
should be primarily based on advanced products of manufacturing technology, 
scientific and technical, and innovation activities aimed at increasing the number of 
predominantly new generation equipment and technologies that require reform in the 
same direction as the legal basis of social relations (Carayannis, Grigoroudis, 2014: 
199−218; Foray, Goddard, Beldarrain, Landabaso, McCann, Morgan, Nauwelaers, 
Ortega-Argiles, 2012: 67−70). 
 
The DAMATE Group is a vertically integrated structure with a complete production 
cycle.4 Initially, the project with the participation of the DAMATE Group on the 
territory of the Penza region was designed to produce 15 thousand tons of finished 
products per year, and more than 90 thousand tons of products per year after five 
                                                          
4 For more information about the content of the agricultural activities of the DAMATE Group in the Penza 
region, see the website of the DAMATE Group, http://www.acdamate.com/aboutus/ (25. 11. 2019). 
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years of operation. The total investment in the project is over 12 billion rubles. 
Manufacturing of dairy products is also developing, and new enterprises are opening 
in the neighbouring regions of the Federation (Bashkiria). This has caused the growth 
in demand for products, and therefore confirms the need to introduce a fourth 
additional link in the Triple Helix model, “society”, affecting the creation of 
knowledge and technology through the demand and implementation of user function. 
Dr. Elias G. Carayannis, a professor at the School of Business of the George 
Washington University, considered such a quadruple helix model.5 
 
A similar model can be traced by the example of the Russian Dairy Company LLC 
(Rusmolco). Rusmolco, one of the largest milk producers in the Russian market, was 
established in October 2007. The company unites nine farms and specializes both in 
dairy farming and plant growing. In January 2012, Olam International Limited 
(OLAM), one of the world leaders in agricultural production, and the Rusmolco, 
announced the start of a strategic partnership for the development of dairy farming 
and crop production in the Penza region. The Rusmolco began to invest in the 
development of the funds promised by the new main owner ($800 million in six 
years). 
 
The activities of these companies clearly show the level of development of the 
regional sector of high technology and technological modernization, which is a 
reflection of the beneficial synergistic effect of interaction between the state, private 
business, science and society. The consuming public will benefit by these 
developments. 
 
A number of enterprises of the Penza region are combined into clusters to enhance 
long-term profitability and modern functioning. It is believed that there are two 
models for creating clusters: the “brown field”, when the cluster was formed 
historically, and the “green field”, the opposite artificially created one. It is difficult 
to assess which of the clusters is the most successful, because they are at various 
stages of their developmental cycles. To evaluate this issue, it is necessary to choose, 
first, clear indicators, such as whether scientific research is conducted in the territory, 
whether there has been an increase in the number of people on the cluster’s 
specialization, and, the extent and nature of the creation of new products. There are 
                                                          
5 For more information, see Klievink, Janssen, 2014: 240–249. 
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also unique clusters, for example, an interregional cluster for the production and 
processing of flax in Smolensk. 
 
In some clusters, enterprises are connected by a single production cycle. Others 
operate pursuant to similar productions in the same territory. Such enterprises, while 
being competitors, nevertheless have to solve the same type of problems: product 
promotion, shortage of qualified personnel, and cost reduction, to name but a few. 
The specificity of the clusters is a reflection of the economic activity being conducted 
in the various business communities. However, the most important goals of cluster 
development are focusing on the global market, identifying unique competitive 
innovative advantages of the region (“smart specialization” is a conceptual model of 
socio-economic policy), and communicating information to the customers on issues 
and tasks to be addressed. 
 
8 Conclusion  
 
In the context of continuous reforms, rapidly developing technologies, the growing 
needs of society in new products and high-quality services, the constituent entities of 
the Russian Federation should follow the course of the federal government regarding 
the growth of the Russian economy against the background of technological progress. 
In forming their legislation, the regions should adhere to the directions and processes 
that are fixed in the current legislation of the Russian Federation but also take into 
account the experience of countries with innovative and socially oriented economies. 
 
On the basis of the progressive experience of countries with a developed social State, 
it is possible to highlight the conditions conducive to the process of formation of a 
social State: a systematic enhancement, through tax and investment mechanisms, of 
the so-called "middle class" and an increase both in its standard of living as well as a 
reduction of the property stratification between different segments of the population; 
expansion of the state social and economic guarantees and the list of grants (in 
education and medical care, provision of pensions, providing social hiring to needy 
citizens of housing, etc.) strengthening the role of the state in the redistribution of 
income, the fight against unemployment, the stimulation of scientific and technical 
progress, the implementation of innovative technologies in economy, the 
development of transport infrastructure, etc. At the same time, the precise political 
characteristics of the state and its form of government, such as for example national-
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state or administrative-territorial structure, are not of fundamental importance (for 
example, Sweden and Denmark - kingdoms, USA - republic with "classical" 
presidential form of government and federal structure, Germany - parliamentary 
federal republic, and France - unitary republic of mixed parliamentary-presidential 
type). Rather, it is more important that the government acts in a fashion that is fair, 
and which protects and guarantees citizens the full range of democratic rights and 
freedoms. It is only then that a truly social State can emerge from the developed 
institutions of civil society. 
 
The lack of any coordinated or harmonized relationship between public law and the 
principles of civil law in the legal regulation of innovation, in accordance with the 
constitutional principles of scientific, technical, and other types of creativity, 
intellectual property rights and freedom of a market economy, has led to an urgent 
need to bridge the gap in the federal and local legislation that regulates innovation 
activity in the Russian Federation. 
 
Based on the above, we can formulate the following conclusions. 
 
First, the interaction between the three components that form the Triple Helix model 
of “government-business-science” is the most important indicator of the socio-
economic development of a particular region. This is characteristic of the Penza 
region as a typical subject, as well. 
 
Second, in connection with the growth of economic indicators, the development of 
socio-legal communities, and trends in the reform of power, it is necessary to add 
“civil society” as a fourth element of the existing Triple Helix, which is a collection 
of sovereign personalities based on mutual trust and responsibility of the above 
structures. 
 
Third, the Triple Helix model is not perfect. One of the reasons for the unsatisfactory 
level of commercialization of innovative ideas is the low quality and lack of 
competitiveness in the field of innovation activity of local universities and the 
conducted research.  
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Fourth, it is necessary to develop personnel potential by solving the problem at the 
legislative level (Virkkala, Mäenpää, Mariussen, 2014: 21–48). The infrastructure for 
the innovation development of regions has been and is still being created. These 
currently exist in the form of business incubators and technoparks, but they are not 
systematically oriented towards solving the equal personnel problem of the regional 
innovative development (Proskuryakova, Meissner, Rudnik, 2017: 206−227). Their 
role in creating, expanding and bringing independent knowledge intensive enterprises 
into small business is at present unfortunately more theoretical than actual, but cannot 
be realized due to the present systemic linkage of the training process with the process 
of developing and commercializing innovations (Howaldt, Kaletka, Schröder, 
Rehfeld, Terstriep, 2016: 24–27). 
 
In fact, professional training, for example, in the field of engineering and technology, 
is the competence of the Ministry of Science and Higher Education of the Russian 
Federation. However, business incubators and technology parks are under the 
jurisdiction of the Ministry of Economic Development of the Russian Federation, and 
their systemic relationship in solving staffing for innovative development is 
practically unregulated. Therefore, this relationship should be clearly spelled out in 
the Federal Law on Innovative Development of Russia and the constituent entities of 
the Russian Federation. 
 
Fifth, currently there is no regulation that discloses, let alone defines, the concept of 
“cluster”. Instead, there are only interpretations of the concept within different 
departments. The Ministry of Economic Development, the Ministry of Industry and 
Trade, the Ministry of Agriculture and other agencies have supported programs for 
industry clusters, which form their own regulatory framework for clusters in 
jurisdictions. In addition, the technology for creating clusters is not described in any 
legislation. Therefore, a single legislative act at the federal level is needed, where the 
above-mentioned problems will be announced, the priorities of cluster policy will be 
identified, and the tools available to federal, regional and local authorities to both 
stimulate and attract investment in clusters and investment attractiveness will be 
articulated. Such unitary legislation will go a long way to help ensure the interaction 
of cluster policy with the socio-economic development of the region, as well as to 
establish a dialogue with science (education) organizations and business structures. 
 
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Russian Federation 
189 
 
Sixth, despite many positive trends in legislative development, a single act on 
innovative development has not yet been adopted either in the reviewed constituent 
entity of the Russian Federation or in many others. This is where the violation of the 
Triple Helix mechanism is manifested. Furthermore, local authorities are still not able 
to adapt themselves to progressive technologies quickly enough. There are some 
contradictions at the federal level, and the legislation of the constituent entities of the 
Federation often becomes a hostage to this situation. A wide range of federal laws 
makes local legislation dependent, and regional legislative authorities cannot exceed 
these limits or make needed adjustment of certain provisions. Constituent entities of 
the Federation are therefore in a stranglehold of sorts.  
 
Seventh, the main reasons that impede innovation and inhibit the implementation of 
the Triple Helix model in Russia include, but are not necessarily limited to, the 
following: the lack of financial support from federal and regional governments and 
the lack of investment from large corporations; the high cost of innovations; the long 
payback periods following innovations; the high economic risk; the low demand for 
innovative products (services); the underdevelopment of the technology market; the 
underdevelopment of innovation infrastructure; the uncertainty of the timing of the 
innovation process; the lack of information about new markets; the lack of 
opportunities for cooperation between universities, business and government; the 
lack of information about new technologies; the low innovative potential of business; 
and, the lack of qualified personnel. The main directions of the federal and regional 
government policy on the further implementation of the Triple Helix model in 
modern Russia are seen in the solution to the above-mentioned problems. 
 
The federal government should take the lead in setting innovation policy, particularly 
in the area of tax regulation. As a rule, federal public authorities in all countries 
formulate the conditions necessary for regions to better develop innovations. In the 
Russian Federation, it is necessary, first of all, to correct the historical imbalance 
between Moscow and the regions since the Soviet times, in order to delegate to the 
regions a more significant role in determining their own innovative economic 
development. Regional authorities should take a more robust role in promoting local 
and regional linkages and interaction between government, business and universities 
to formulate regional innovation planning and development, including at the 
legislative level. 
 
190 
LEXONOMICA 
A. Fomin: Triple Helix as a Social and Legal Phenomenon of Regional Innovative 
Development: on the Example of the Penza Region as an Average Subject of the 
Russian Federation 
 
The overall efficiency of the Triple Helix model in the Russian Federation in general, 
and in the Penza region in particular, will lead to the following gains: the reduction 
of uncertainty and costs in the creation of new products due to the interaction of the 
three factors of the innovation process; the expansion of the diversity of innovative 
products by connecting in different combinations of assets and competencies of 
participants in the innovation process; the increase of economic efficiency due to 
simultaneous interaction of the three components of innovation process. 
 
Thus, the Triple Helix is one of the most important social and legal phenomena that 
should be investigated from legal, political, and social points of view. 
 
Each component in the “government-business-science” model has a social nature. In 
business, it is a type of human activity that is designed to organize effective and high-
quality production, to link science with production, to optimally realize human 
potential in order to meet the actual needs and interests of society and the individual. 
When this business function is successfully implemented, its innovative nature is 
obvious. 
 
It is incumbent upon the authorities to provide the necessary and sufficient conditions 
that allow all the subjects of the Triple Helix (business entities and universities) to 
function effectively and at the highest possible level. 
 
Therefore, government, business, and science each should fulfil their separate 
integral system functions efficiently and effectively. While it may be true that each 
of these spheres must to some extent act alone to some extent in order to fulfil their 
main social function, when these spheres act cooperatively with each other, there is 
a certain positive synergistic impact that benefits the society in a way that acting 
alone cannot come close to matching. The three components combine to form the 
Triple Helix when they interact within systemically holistic education and, therefore, 
successfully and qualitatively fulfil their main social role. The Triple Helix should be 
regulated in detail in a single Federal legislative act, on the basis of which the 
constituent entities of the Russian Federation create their own local legal framework 
for the introduction of the innovative Triple Helix model. 
  
LEXONOMICA 
A. Fomin: Triple Helix as a Social and Legal Phenomenon of Regional Innovative 
Development: on the Example of the Penza Region as an Average Subject of the 
Russian Federation 
191 
 
Acknowledgments  
 
Article is prepared with financial support of the Russian Foundation for Basic Research 
(RFBR) within the grant “The evolution of legal regulation of rendering social help to the 
needy and overcoming poverty in Russia: history and modernity” (project No. 18-011-00202). 
 
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