When choosing the direction of the innovation process and making a decision on investing in an innovation project, the manager must evaluate the potential significance of each of the possible options for implementing the project in order to identify the best option. Expertise is used to determine the effectiveness of an innovative project.

The criteria for peer review are the scientific, technical, economic, environmental and social indicators of the project.

The scientific and technical effect of innovations lies in the development of various branches of science, engineering and technology (when creating material innovations). Scientific knowledge is the basis of implemented innovation processes. The scientific and technical indicators of the introduced innovation reflect the commercial significance of the scientific research carried out. To determine the scientific and technical effect, evaluation indicators can be used, expressed in points, taking into account novelty, inventive step and practical benefits of innovation.

The economic effect of innovation is expressed in the acceleration of business processes, reducing the cost of producing products and providing services. The economic efficiency of innovation depends on the scale of use and the degree of its diffusion in various sectors of the economy. The high economic result of the innovation stimulates the further development of innovative activity, strengthens the competitive position of the company in the market. The economic efficiency of innovations is discussed in detail in Section 5.2.

It should be noted that along with determining the economic efficiency of an innovation, it is necessary to calculate the magnitude of innovation risks. Forecast estimates of the economic effect are adjusted taking into account the risks arising from the implementation of innovative activities. The social effect of innovations is that they contribute to improving the welfare of society, improving the quality of life and working conditions, increasing productivity, accelerating the renewal of the living environment. Human-created innovations significantly change the environment of life, facilitate labor activity. Innovative processes accelerate the renewal of the living environment. Thus, for the generation born in the 1920s, the social environment is changing for the third time.

The social significance of an innovation, reflecting its contribution to the improvement of the social sphere, is determined using estimates:

standard of living (income of the population);
lifestyle (employment of the population, the number of new jobs, training, social security);
health and life expectancy (improvement of working conditions, development of the healthcare sector).
The environmental effect is determined by the ability of an innovation during production, operation and disposal not to have a negative impact on the environment.

The environmental effect can be expressed by the following indicators: resource intensity, energy intensity, emissions and discharges into the environment, useful life, the possibility of reuse after the expiration date.

In the environmental assessment of an innovative project, potential environmental risks are taken into account, reflecting the level of its environmental safety.

Innovation is characterized as highly significant in the presence of all of the above effects.

However, along with the positive properties of innovation may have negative impacts. They are harmful to humans and their environment. The acceleration of the cycle "science - technology - production" leads to an increase in the amount of natural resources involved in production, an increase in the technogenic impact on nature and environmental pollution, therefore, the intensification of innovative activities of firms was the main reason for the aggravation of contradictions between society and the natural environment.

In order to maintain their positions in the market and ensure the high competitiveness of their products, companies create high-tech, science-intensive products, forming new sales markets. The high market demand for novelties determines the nature of modern production in industrialized countries, a feature of which is the production of goods with a short life cycle (for example, electronic equipment becomes obsolete after a year). As a result of the acceleration of innovation processes, products can become obsolete as soon as they enter the market. In this case, a double negative effect arises: economic - the costs of creating an innovation that are not compensated by income, and environmental - the use of natural resources and additional production waste.

Innovations can have positive and negative aspects at the same time. So, an innovation can have an economic effect (makes a profit), but at the same time be antisocial.

Practice. The military-industrial complex is one of the few export-oriented sectors of the economy that allow replenishing the country's budget revenues. The invention of Kalashnikov is used all over the world. However, do not come to talk about the social effect of this development - a tool for the destruction of people. 

tsya.

It is also possible that it is not easy to characterize the effects arising from the use of innovation, i.e., it is impossible to say unequivocally whether the innovation has a positive or negative effect.

Practice. The invention of technology for the production of electricity using nuclear reactions has significantly reduced the cost of electricity. At the same time, nuclear power plants are hazardous production facilities.

Thus, in order to obtain a complete assessment of an innovative project, it is necessary to take into account and determine all possible effects and consequences that may arise during the creation and mass use of innovation.

6.4. Financial and economic aspects of innovation

6.4.1. Financing of innovation activities

The provision of an innovative project with financial resources at all stages of the life cycle helps to reduce the risk of innovation being rejected by the market and increases its efficiency.

The elements of the innovation activity financing system are:

sources of investment resources;
the mechanism of accumulation of financial resources and their investment in innovative projects;
a mechanism for managing investment resources to ensure their efficient use and repayment of borrowed capital.
The sources of financing for innovative projects implemented by a legal entity are:

own funds of the enterprise (reinvested part of the profit, depreciation, sums insured for damages, funds from the sale of intangible assets);
attracted funds (issue of shares and other securities, contributions, donations, funds provided on a non-refundable basis);
borrowed funds (budgetary, commercial, bank loans).
There are the following forms of financing innovation activities:

State funding.
Equity financing.
Bank loans.
Venture financing.
Leasing.
Forfaiting.
Mixed finance.
Government funding

From the state budgets of various levels and specialized state funds, priority areas of innovation activity are financed. The provision of budgetary funds is carried out in the following forms:

a) financing of federal targeted innovation programs;
b) financial support for promising innovative projects on a competitive basis.

The priorities of the state innovation policy of the Russian Federation include federal targeted programs: "National technological base", "Development of electronic technology in the Russian Federation", "Development of civil aviation technology", "Informatization of the Russian Federation", "Dual-use technologies", "Development of industrial biotechnology", "Restructuring and conversion of the defense industry", etc.

The following requirements are imposed on innovative programs, the implementation of which is expected to receive state financial support:

the right to participate in the competitive selection have innovative projects aimed at the development of promising (developing) sectors of the economy, subject to their partial financing (at least 20% of the amount required for the project) from the company's own funds;
the payback period should not exceed the established standards (usually 2 years);
state financing of innovative programs that have passed a competitive selection can be carried out at the expense of federal budget funds allocated on a repayable basis, or on the terms of providing part of the shares of an economic entity to state ownership;
innovative programs submitted for the competition must have positive conclusions from the state environmental review, state departmental or independent review.
Equity financing

This form is available for enterprises organized in the form of a closed or open joint stock company; allows you to accumulate large financial resources by placing shares among an unlimited number of investors (borrowing money from buyers of shares for an indefinite period) for the implementation of promising innovative projects. Through the issuance of securities, an investment loan is replaced by market debt obligations, which helps to optimize the structure of financial resources invested in an innovative project.

To determine the nominal amount of the issue of securities, the following indicators are used:

the amount of financial resources required for the implementation
innovative project;
expected capital gains and share dividends;
the amount of cash receipts that the issuer expects to receive when placing shares.
Bank loans

Commercial banks finance innovative projects that have real payback periods (the payback period is less than the project implementation period), have sources of return on the provided financial resources, and ensure a significant increase in invested capital.

A bank loan is granted for a certain period at interest, the amount of which depends 

on the term of the loan, the amount of risk for the project, the characteristics of the borrower, etc.

The interest rate can be determined on the basis of the base rate that investment banks are guided by.

In world practice, base rates LIBOR, LIBID, FIBOR are used.

LIBOR (London Interbank Offered Rate - LIBOR) - the offer rate on the interbank deposit market in London. Daily calculated as the arithmetic average of the group of individual rates of the largest London banks.

LIBID (London Interbank Bid Rate - LIBID) - the rate of demand, calculated as the arithmetic average rate of buyers.

FIBOR (Frankfurt Interbank Offered Rate - FIBOR) - the offer rate on the interbank market in Frankfurt.

Venture funding

Venture financing is carried out by risk capital funds by providing financial resources on an interest-free basis without guarantees of their return.

The activity of venture funds for financing innovative projects has a number of characteristic features that distinguish them from traditional investment funds:

risk investors are ready for the loss of their capital (they do not require collateral guarantees for the return of funds provided);
"risk capital" is provided for a long period (5-7 years) without the right to withdraw it;
"risk capital" is placed only in the form of share capital.
The risk of venture investors is great, but in case of success, it is compensated by excess profits. Statistics show that in 15% of cases, venture capital is completely lost, in 25% - risk firms suffer losses for longer than planned, in 30% - receive moderate profits and in 30% - excess profits (exceeding "risk capital" 30-200 times). Risk reduction in the implementation of venture financing can be achieved with a careful selection of projects, as well as by simultaneously investing in several innovative projects that are at different stages of implementation.

financial leasing

Financial leasing is a procedure for raising borrowed funds in the form of a long-term loan provided in kind and repaid in installments.

When implementing financial leasing, the lessor undertakes to purchase the property specified by the lessee from a certain seller and transfer it to the lessee for a certain period of time for temporary possession and use. The term of the financial lease agreement is greater than or equal to the full depreciation period of the leased asset. After the expiration of the term of the agreement, the subject of leasing can be transferred into the ownership of the lessee, subject to the full payment of the amounts under the leasing agreement.

This procedure allows, on the one hand, to sell expensive equipment to a larger number of users, on the other hand, to reduce the one-time costs of lessees associated with the acquisition of capital-intensive products.

Forfaiting

Forfaiting is an operation to transform a commercial loan into a bank loan. The essence of the operation is as follows.

The buyer, who does not have the required amount of financial resources at the time of the transaction, issues to the seller a set of promissory notes for an amount equal to the value of the object of the transaction and interest for deferred payment, i.e. for providing a commercial loan.

The seller takes into account the received bills in the bank with the wording "without the right to turn over himself", which relieves him of property liability in the event of the drawer's insolvency. According to the recorded payments, the seller receives money in the bank. As a result, a commercial loan is provided not by the seller, but by the bank, which agreed to discount the bills and assumed the credit risk, i.e., the commercial loan is transformed into a bank loan. The amount of credit risk, which depends on the reliability of the drawer, affects the discount rate at which bills are discounted by the bank.

Lending under the forfaiting scheme is medium-term (from 1 to 7 years).

Mixed finance

It is carried out by attracting financial resources necessary for the implementation of innovative projects from various sources.