Journal of the National Research University Higher School of Economics

The normative turn that occurred as a result of radical reforms in science, technology, and innovation policies in various countries has sparked a broad discussion around the “directionality-neutrality” dilemma in science, technology, and innovation (STI) development strategies. However, despite a number of recent publications and science and innovation policy programs, the relationship between these two principles, including the practice of their application by government agencies, remains understudied. A representative analysis (using qualitative methods) of the two national STI councils and their role in strategy development, focusing on the process of approach selection and its value orientation, will fill this gap. On the basis of the collected information and scientific literature, the connection with different policy options is identified. It is shown that the role of the councils is determined by their powers and resources and the boundaries of relevant practices and directions for further research are outlined.