INSTITUTIONAL BASIS OF IMPLEMENTING SMART SPECIALIZATION INTO THE PUBLIC MANAGEMENT SYSTEM OF THE TERRITORIAL COMMUNITY

Abstract

The paper studies the institutional foundations of implementing the concept of smart specialization into the system of public management of the development of territorial communities in Ukraine. The need to transition from traditional subsidy management models to innovation-oriented development is substantiated, which is a prerequisite for successful post-war recovery and effective integration of Ukrainian communities into the European socio-economic space. A theoretical justification and analysis of the components of institutional support are presented, which together determine the ability of territorial communities to implement the smart specialization strategy. In the process of research, general scientific methods were applied: to analyze the structure of public administration (system approach); to determine the compliance of national legislation with EU standards - a comparative legal method; institutional analysis provided identification of the role of management entities (development agencies, reform offices, etc.). The results of the study showed that the institutional support of S3 at the level of the territorial community is a multi-level system that includes formal institutions (regulatory and legal framework, strategic documents) and informal institutions (culture of entrepreneurial search, level of interpersonal and trust). Special attention is paid to the role of the “quadruple helix” model as a defining institutional mechanism that ensures synergy between government, business, science and civil society. The process of “entrepreneurial discovery” is characterized as a procedural institution that allows the community to identify unique competitive advantages and form partnerships between all stakeholders. It was found that the effective implementation of smart specialization in the system of public management of the development of territorial communities is hindered by certain barriers, in particular: small territorial communities have low institutional capacity, a shortage of qualified personnel for innovation management and inertia of management processes, which is due to the influence of the war. The study clarifies the role of digital monitoring tools that serve as a modern element of the institutional design of public administration.