Publication Details
Abstract
The innovative development of the social sector is becoming a critical determinant of human capital formation, public-service quality, social stability, and sustainable economic growth. However, conventional assessment approaches frequently concentrate on financial inputs or the number of introduced technologies and therefore fail to capture the multidimensional nature of innovation in education, healthcare, social protection, and public administration. This study develops a multi-criteria framework for evaluating the effectiveness of strategic innovation management in Uzbekistan’s social sector. The methodology integrates five analytical contours: target effectiveness, process effectiveness, resource effectiveness, innovation-output effectiveness, and social effectiveness. The empirical analysis uses official statistical and administrative indicators covering financial resources, educational and healthcare infrastructure, social protection, management digitalization, digital-platform implementation, and innovative output. The principal longitudinal dataset covers 2007–2025. The results indicate substantial resource and digital transformation. Innovative products and services in the social sector increased from UZS 11,547.2 billion in 2007 to UZS 68,321.5 billion in 2025. Digital-platform implementation increased from 31.7% to 68.7%, while government social expenditure expanded substantially. However, technological innovation activity within education, healthcare, and social services remains relatively limited. Consequently, process effectiveness is assessed as high, resource effectiveness as medium-to-high, target and social effectiveness as medium, and innovation-output effectiveness as low-to-medium. The study demonstrates that social-sector innovation should be evaluated through the entire transformation chain from resources and management processes to innovation outputs and social outcomes. The proposed framework can support results-based budgeting, regional benchmarking, strategic monitoring, and evidence-based public policy.