Digital Environment for Regional Science Development: New Possibilities

Abstract

The paper is about regional science as a special research area which contributes into the explanation of large-scale processes, on the one hand, and promotes the development of the certain region, on the other. Although the division of science according to the territorial criterion is still being neglected but some researchers, the present-day regional science now remains a significant and multi-dimensional subsystem of science. This paper deals with the empirical segment of regional science which differs from both theoretical and applied research the latter being inaccessible for common public. The article proposes the way to digitalize the empirical regional science by designing the special search and analytic system which mightsubsequently become incorporated into the interface of scientific electronic libraries. The shell of the system is seen as an interactive map representing Russian regions (and in perspective also macro-regions and municipal entities), to which relevant scientific publications will be assigned. The system could be used to define the degree, to which some research theme is developed on the example of certain regions. Hence the analysis of the research background should be most precise and meaningful. Besides, the search of scientific information concerning the certain region seems to be useful not only for researchers but also for those whogovern science. It will be possible for the powerholders to match regional problems with the ways to their solving proposed by the regional science. Also, the state and regional authorities will be able to declare the prioritized research themes on the basis of its true background and relevance. In the long run, the proposed search and analytic system could become the basis for the choice of a research theme – especially by the beginners – in a more fundamental fashion. This enables the science not only to remain a means of self-fulfillment for individual researchers but also become an effective tool for overwhelming interregional inequalities and improving the socioeconomic situation in regions.