In 2022, the Ministry of Education and Science of Latvia has been allocated an extra 12.2 million euros to fund the science base, basic and applied research, and participation in CERN, the European Organisation for Nuclear Research.
The additional funding for science in the 2022 budget is the highest since 2008. The share of R&D funding in the gross domestic product (GDP) can now be expected to increase significantly.
The Science, Technology Development and Innovation Guidelines 2021-2027 foresee that funding should reach 1% of GDP in 2024 and 1.5% in 2027.
Additional funding allocated:
- 7.6 million will be allocated to the science base funding, which will allow research institutions to develop a strategic shift from headcount reporting to scientific achievement reporting so that the science base funding can support their strategic objectives.
- A three-million-euro increase is also planned for Fundamental and Applied Research Projects (FLPP), the Ministry of Education and Science’s scientific excellence-focused funding program to generate new knowledge and technological insights in all scientific disciplines. Funding is awarded to projects based on an open call for proposals, involving international experts. The FLPP will have a total funding of almost 17 million euros in 2022. The three-million-euro increase will allow for increased investment in funding the most outstanding project proposals.
- 1.6 million euros have been allocated to further strengthen cooperation with CERN. Latvia has become an associate member of CERN as of 2 August 2021, wrote Labs of Latvia. The funding will help promote the development of science in Latvia in the field of high-energy physics, while also fostering science diplomacy and providing the opportunity for internships in CERN laboratories.
Additional funding for science in 2022 will also be available in the budget of the Ministry of Economy (MoE).
