Article is devoted to the sociological analysis of the resource mobilization of the research and pedagogical community (RPC) of universities in the Ural Federal District (UFD). The problem is considered at the intersection of the sociology of management and the sociology of higher education. Based on the materials of theoretical and empirical studies of higher education practices, the mobilization approach to the assessment and use of the resource capacity of the RPC of the UFD universities in the new conditions of the implementation of their development strategies is substantiated. Based on the results of a study of universities belonging to the ”core“, ”semi-periphery“ and ”periphery“ zones of higher education, the necessity of the managerial approach in the universities of the UFD aimed at mobilizing the unclaimed resources of the RPC is proved. The article characterizes the limitations of university management decisions concerning the assessment and use of RPC resources at universities in the region.