Back
There is no confidence gained that the funding of Latvian science of more than 82.5 million euros was directed to the most promising research according to the purpose of promoting the growth of the Latvian economy. There is not enough done to address the problems and deficiencies identified almost 10 years ago both in terms of the approach of the Ministry of Education and Science (MES) to set priorities in science directions and in terms of controlling the use of funding for science such as project evaluation and monitoring of their implementation, which is largely the responsibility of the Latvian Council of Science (LCS). These are key conclusions made after the audit performed by the State Audit Office aimed at assessing whether and how MES succeeded in implementing the recommendations provided after the audit conducted in 2012 to improve the implementation of Latvia’s science policy significantly.
Briefly
There is no effective and sustainable system for evaluating scientific projects, allocating and controlling financing established for almost a decade. One must admit mistakes and change the existing system.
Although the available state budget funding for the development of science in Latvia has increased in recent years, it has been low for a long time compared to the other EU Member States. Its purposeful investment in solving issues and problems important for Latvia is crucial by supporting fundamental and applied research projects (FARP) and national research programs (NRP) with the highest scientific quality.
The number of priority research areas is too wide because it includes at least 150 topics that are not adequate in conditions of limited funding.
The implementation of the recommendations provided by the State Audit Office will remedy the irregularities and inconsistencies in the organisation of the scientific review already reported to the responsible institutions for fact-finding (CPCB, SRS, Prosecutor’s Office).
