Planned Innovations: Proposals for Enhancing Inventiveness Efficiency in USSR in Mid-1950s to Late 1960s

Abstract

The article analyzes proposals for the activation of inventive and rationalizing activities in the mid-1950s to the 1960s, as well as measures to stimulate the implementation of inventions in production. The study examines archival documents of the Committee for Inventions and Discoveries of the All-Union Society of Inventors and Rationalizers. The main problems of mass inventiveness and rationalization development, as well as the characteristic features of the system of scientific and technical progress management in the USSR, are identified. The key role of the state in supporting various forms of inventive activity is emphasized. It is established that the centralized system of invention management corresponded to the idea of the need for a comprehensive approach to managing scientific and technical progress. However, it is noted that numerous restructuring of the state management system during the studied period, departmentalization, and the lack of a unified state scientific and technical policy reduced the effectiveness of the measures taken. The complex tasks aimed at increasing the efficiency of inventiveness and rationalization are described. The conclusion is drawn about the understanding by the officials of the leading bodies of the problems of innovative development in the USSR. This is confirmed by attempts to develop a comprehensive program to stimulate inventive activity and expedite the implementation of inventions in production.