摘要:The study proposes a methodological approach to justifying the directions for reforming the scientific sphere of a country which is based on the cognitive approach. Using the proposed approach, the groups of the main problems in the development of science in Ukraine are determined and indicators for their evaluation are singled out; the cognitive model of the development of science in Ukraine is constructed. On the basis of the constructed cognitive model, impulse simulation of the influence of the main factors on development of science in a country is carried out and, according to the hypotheses on the nature of their influence, four scenarios for the development of the process under study are constructed. The analysis of the developed scenarios allowed to justify the most effective measures to stimulate the development of science in Ukraine. The practical evaluation of the proposed methodological approach has proved the feasibility of using cognitive models for analyzing and simulating development of science in a country, which allows to quickly and accurately assess a situation and identify promising measures to support it.