Akadēmiskais centrsThe Role of Latvian Academy of Sciences in Development of Priorities in Science, Research and Innovation and the Preconditions Required for Maintaining Them in the Future
Ivars Kalviņš
The article analyses the reasons why the Latvian economy has failed to achieve the objectives set out in the National Development Plan NDP2020 in research and innovation, and offers possible solutions for future development. Insufficient investment in research, development and innovation, problems with the public sector science assessment system, weak involvement of public sector science in innovation, as well as the absence of an innovative environment in the country are identified as the main factors hampering the development of innovations in Latvia. Latvia’s total investment in research lags far behind the European Union average. The fact that products and technologies created in the public sector are not sufficiently protected by patents, significantly limits the interest of small and medium sized enterprises in taking over further development of public sector innovations. The Latvian Academy of Sciences has set the goal of establishing a scientific and technological platform for cooperation between scientists and entrepreneurs in the field of innovation. We recommend the establishment of an Innovation Fund, to increase the share of the basic funding of science in public sector from the State budget, to form scientific-technological clusters of small and medium-sized enterprises and to encourage the development of an innovative environment, creating the Silicon Valley of Latvia.