Relevance. At present, the level of use of the socio-economic potential of small and medium-sized businesses in the Russian Federation, in comparison with developed and many developing countries of the world, seems to be relatively low. As the experience of the countries of the European Union and China shows, the contribution of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) to the national economy can be increased through their involvement in a variety of global chains with a high level of added value, in connection with which the topic of this article seems relevant. The purpose of this article is: to analyze the theoretical and practical problems that hinder the development of the potential of SMEs; substantiating the need to use direct and indirect methods of state support for small and medium-sized enterprises, taking into account the best practices of foreign countries to stimulate their participation in scientific and innovative activities; an attempt to prove the feasibility of using special regional digital development centers as a subject for managing the development of the SME institute. The objectives of the study are to study the current state and the dependence of the development of small and medium-sized businesses on exogenous and endogenous factors, substantiate an adequate set of direct and indirect measures of state support for their interaction with big business within global chains with a high level of added value. The research methodology consists in the use of dialectical, positivist, structuralist and other methodological approaches, and within their framework the following methods of scientific knowledge - historical, ascent from the abstract to the concrete, the unity of logical and historical, comparative analysis, etc. The research is based on statistical data and scientific publications posted in the official mass media. The results of the work are reflected in the form of an analysis of the initial statistical information characterizing the current state of small and medium-sized enterprises in the domestic economy, a generalization of the problems that hinder the successful development of the SME institute and promising scientific and innovative directions of its development in the system of global value-added production chains. Conclusions The modern foreign practice of the functioning of SMEs testifies to the unlimited potential of their social and economic opportunities, in connection with which the positive experience of foreign states should be used in domestic practice, taking into account the peculiarities of the economic development of Russian regions. To this end, it is advisable to develop the necessary set of measures within the framework of state scientific and innovative programs for the innovative development of small and medium-sized businesses in the Russian Federation.