The northern dimension: The problem of spatial development and the capabilities of online technology

Abstract

Digital technologies have permeated all aspects of our lives, transforming research, organizational, and business processes as well as the ways suppliers and consumers of goods and services communicate. The level of territorial development in high latitudes, including the Arctic zone of the Russian Federation, is uneven. However, what is common for low-population and remote areas is the lack of units for generating knowledge and scientific and educational potential, which are theoretically necessary for building innovative systems. The presented study provides statistics that characterize the knowledge-generating potential of the Arctic territories of the Russian Federation. The technological capabilities of the 21st century make it possible to find a solution for innovative, efficient development of such territories. The authors propose a structure for multi-agent geographically distributed cooperation between the subdivisions of a single team. The localized part of the team (local agents) identifies the problem and finds agents (the remote part of the team) that can offer a globally competitive technology. The latter generally include competence centers and centers of excellence located in other territories. Then, both parts of the team glocalize the solution. The technical framework of multi-agent geographically distributed cooperation involves using online technology to organize synchronous, real-time messaging via digital information channels. This creates a fundamentally different approach to spatial development design. The online, real-time design process is organized through the interaction between the local agent and the remote agents. The result is the implementation of an efficient territorial development model: development as mastering– management – resources – hierarchy of authority – customization. Efficient operation of the localized part of a geographically distributed system requires an adequate infrastructure. Therefore, the authors aim to optimize the functional completeness of the infrastructure.