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81 applications received from Latvia in the 3rd competition of the Baltic Research Program

On October 19, 2020, the submission of applications for international cooperation projects for the Baltic Research Program 3rd call of Latvian proposal has been completed. It received 81 applications from 23 Latvian research organizations. 28 research organizations from Norway, 11 from Estonia, 17 from Lithuania, 5 from Iceland, as well as one from Liechtenstein are planned as project partners.

Majority or 28% of the total number of applications was submitted by the University of Latvia (23), but 20% of the applications belong to Riga Technical University (17). Less applications was submitted by Riga Stradins University (7), the Institute of Solid State Physics of the University of Latvia (3), the Latvia University of Agriculture (3), the Baltic International Center for Economic Policy Studies (2) and many other Latvian research organizations.

A list of all research organizations and the full version of the summary about Latvian call is available here:download

Research areas

Applications for cooperation projects in the competition could have been submitted in five scientific topics. The largest number or 39 project applications have been received in the topic “Innovative solutions for efficient and sustainable use of resources”, 17 applications have been submitted in the topic “Public health and e-health”, but in the topic “Regional economic development, employment, labour market regulation and social policy” – 15 applications. 14 applications were submitted under the theme “Migration and Social Inclusion”, but 4 applications were submitted under the topic “Cyber Security and Public Security”, which is the smallest number of projects submitted in one topic. To be eligible for European Economic Area and Norwegian (EEA/N) financial support from the grants, a project application must meet at least one of the sub-themes.

The costs of the projects

The mentioned sums of cooperation project applications vary from several hundred thousand to one million euros. The minimum amount indicated for the implementation of the research process is 680 225 euros, but the largest – 1 000 000 euros. The average amount requested for the implemented projects slightly exceeds 927,7 thousand (927,712.40) euros, but the total amount requested in the applications reaches almost 76 million euros (75,954,705.38). The total budget available for the Latvian research program Latvian call is approximately 7.5 million including co-financing.

Partner institutions

One of the essential requirements of the Baltic research program Latvian call is to attract at least one partner from Lithuania or Estonia, as well as one partner from Norway and, or Iceland and, or Liechtenstein. In total, Latvian research organizations have attracted 74 partner institutions, including 7 partner institutions from Latvia and one from Poland. There are 30 research institutes from Norway, 19 from Lithuania, 11 from Estonia, 5 from Iceland, as well as one partner from the society from Liechtenstein.

Norwegian and Estonian research organizations are involved in 74 applications, which is the largest number of partner countries in the Latvian competition. Organizations from Lithuania have applied in 71 applications. Cooperation with Icelandic partners is planned in 11 applications, but with Liechtenstein organizations in 2 applications. Poland is involved as a third country in one application, but partners from Latvia are also involved in 8 applications.

Evaluation criteria

The compliance of projects with the quality evaluation criteria is evaluated by international independent experts. The Program Committee evaluates project applications, taking into account the evaluations of independent experts, and provides opinions on the approval of project applications. Based on the opinion of the program committee, the State Education Development Agency (VIAA) makes a decision within four months from the date of submission of project applications. At present, the amount of all submitted projects is 75,954,705 euros.

The 3rd call of the Baltic Research Program in Latvia is organized by VIAA in cooperation with the Research Council of Norway and the Ministry of Education and Science of the Republic of Latvia (IZM). The Baltic Research Program is one of the activities of the EEA/N Grant Program “Research and Education”. It provides joint research, sustainable and wide-ranging opportunities for collaboration between researchers and research institutions from the Baltic States and program countries (Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein) to improve the position of the Baltic States in the Baltic Sea Region, the Baltic and Nordic Research Area and at European and international level. The program supports the development of research-based knowledge in the Baltic States through research partnerships with researchers and research institutions in donor countries. At the same time, the program strengthens relations with donor countries at the political level and at the European level in areas of common interest.

The program “Research and Education” is financially supported by EEA / N grants, it is managed by the IZM, which is responsible for the implementation of the program in Latvia, but VIAA performs project evaluation, implementation monitoring and control. The research projects are planned to be implemented by 30 April 2024. In the Latvian competition, the total funding of the Baltic research program is 7,541,272 euros, but the total budget of the program in Latvia, Lithuania and Estonia is 23.5 million euros.