Abstract <p>Within the framework of the national innovation system of Russia, the functioning of participants that are in secondary positions compared to the leading participants and creators of innovations is considered. It has been revealed that these participants make up the bulk of the coexecutors with state financing of innovative contracts (programs and support systems). The mechanism of interaction of secondary participants to establish patterns of cooperation in the creation of innovations is analyzed. The study was conducted on the example of the implementation of innovative contracts by higher education institutions and manufacturing enterprises as lead performers and coexecutors. Retrospective statistical samples of the execution of innovative contracts in Russia of different time periods are considered.</p>