Politics of Science in Latvia: Problems and Perspectives

Politics of Science in Latvia: Problems and Perspectives

Inese Grumolte-Lerhe

The aim of this article is to identify and analyze several problems that have been systematically and insufficiently addressed in Latvian science policy for a long time. This in combination with the lack of funding for science raises concerns about the sustainability of national science programs. The objectives of the study are to analyze such factors as the growth of research staff and career attractiveness; specific challenges in the humanities and social sciences, as well as administrative capacity and administrative burden. The study is based on the application of the document analysis method.

The attractiveness of a researcher’s career in Latvia is reduced by such factors as inconsistencies in decision-making and implementation by public authorities and by institutions of science administration (including those funding science), fixed-term work with unpredictable funding, which can often be obtained by attracting mainly competitive funding (thereby making it available only to a small number of scientists), bureaucratic traditions in scientific work management, as well as weak cooperation between science administration and the scientific community. The ambitions and plans in the policy planning documents are poorly compatible with reality. Latvia regularly aims to increase funding for science, but the indicators of progress repeatedly lag behind the desired goal. The amount of funds invested in research and development in Latvia, per researcher, is only slightly more than a quarter of the EU average.

The campaign-type support measures for doctoral students and young researchers may raise unfounded expectations about their career prospects. Such measures to achieve a positive dynamism in the research staff should be balanced by measures to increase employment and remuneration guarantees for researchers in later career stages (i. e. permanent employment models, a significant increase in basic funding and funding for research projects, etc.). Policy and funding solutions that promote the improvement of certain indicators in the short term but do not form part of a broader systemic long-term solution should be avoided.