Anatoli I. Popov

This study aims to assess how to prevent the loss of academic potential due to the full-scale war unleashed by Russia on the territory of Ukraine. The paper establishes the relationship between the location of Ukrainian researchers and their ability to engage in scientific activity and determines the factors that decrease scientific efficiency during the war. Moreover, it identifies the influence of the scientists’ place of residence on their scientific efficiency. The sample comprises 172 lecturers from Berdyansk State Pedagogical University, Ukraine. This university was chosen because it was located in the temporarily occupied territory at the beginning of the war and later was relocated to another city. 40.8% of respondents who left the temporarily occupied territory for the Ukraine-controlled territories noted a decrease in the effectiveness of their scientific activities. Furthermore, 33.8% could not think about science at all. The most challenging situation is for those who went abroad: 55.6% show decreased scientific activity, and 27.7% note its complete absence. The most significant reasons that prevent scientific activity are financial instability, lack of access to equipment, loss of relevance of previously started research, inability to concentrate on science, poor quality or lack of Internet, and adaptation to a new residence.

This study examines the dynamics and effectiveness of investments in Kazakhstan’s research and development (R&D). The primary aim is to assess the efficiency of scientific research activities in Kazakhstan by analyzing the relationship between R&D investments and scientific outputs across different periods. As a methodological approach, Data Envelopment Analysis (DEA) calculates efficiency indicators by transforming multiple inputs into outputs. Descriptive analysis comprehensively explains trends and patterns in R&D funding, scientific publications, and patent registrations. The results reveal a substantial increase in R&D expenditure. Despite this, the share of domestic R&D expenditures from the gross domestic product (GDP) declined from 0.25% to 0.12%. The analysis also uncovered a significant surge in scientific publications, with Scopus publications increasing from 1,799 to 28,280 and Web of Science publications rising from 1,468 to 20,532 across the study period. However, a contrasting trend was observed in patent registrations, which decreased from 6,968 to 2,612, indicating potential inefficiencies in translating research into innovations. The study concludes that while Kazakhstan has demonstrated notable progress in enhancing research output, the decline in patent registrations relative to the increase in R&D investments underscores the need for strategic initiatives. These should strengthen industry-academia collaboration, enhance innovation infrastructure, and balance incentives for publications and patents, ensuring that R&D investments translate into tangible innovations and contribute effectively to the nation’s socio-economic development.

Acknowledgment
This research article has been supported bу the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Kazakhstan within the project «Development of а model for evaluating the effectiveness of research activities of universities in Kazakhstan based on non-parametric and semi-parametric data analysis» (IRN AP13268842). А.I.Р. thanks the lnstitute of Solid-State Physics, University of Latvia. ISSP UL as the Center of Excellence is supported through the Framework Program for European universities, Union Horizon 2020, H2020-WIDESPREAD-01-2016-2017 TeamingPhase2, under Grant Agreement No. 739508, CAMART2 project.