For the development of Latvian research international cooperation, full participation in the "Horizon Europe" program and attracting funding for the implementation of research, Latvian scientific institutions will have access to European Union (EU) fund support in the amount of more than 15.7 million euros. This is foreseen by the regulations prepared by the Ministry of Education and Science (IZM) for the implementation of the third round of selection of project submissions, which were approved at the government meeting on July 23.
The EU funds support program will promote high-quality and internationally recognized research, including the development of technologies, products and services with high added value, which are competitive and in demand in the European and world markets, and will also promote an increase in the proportion of funding for research and development to at least 1.5% of gross domestic product and scientific institutions would attract 150 million euros in funding from the "Horizon Europe" program.
Funding in the amount of more than 15.7 million euros will be available to 14 Latvian scientific institutions.
12.4 million euros are intended to support the development of research project submissions evaluated above the quality threshold in the "Horizon Europe" program. 2.7 million euros have been earmarked for the implementation of Latvia's National Partnership Plans for participation in 15 ERIC consortia and ESFRI platforms, promoting the effective use of research infrastructure in the European research space. 300 thousand euros have been earmarked for support for the implementation of the memorandum of understanding between the Republic of Latvia and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). 180 thousand euros have been earmarked for the implementation of cooperation measures in the field of quantum computing. Equally large support from EU funds is also planned for ensuring the operation of the Latvian national contact point of the European Molecular Biology Laboratory (EMBL).
Until now, this type of support for the implementation of projects for the international cooperation of Latvian research and the strengthening of competitiveness has promoted the cooperation and integration of Latvian scientific and management institutions in the EU and the world research space, as well as improved the participation of the institutions represented by Latvia in the "Horizon 2020" program and European cooperation programs in science and research areas, compared to the results of the previous European Union Framework Program, which is confirmed, for example, by Latvia's research achievements in the "Horizon 2020" program with an increase in the number of supported projects by 196 projects (82%) and an increase in the funding of the European Commission by 68 million euros (almost 140%).
In the previous planning period of EU funds 2014-2020, the leader in terms of the amount of funding allocated in the "Horizon 2020" program is the Riga Technical University with 14.72 million euros, participating in 37 projects, the Institute of Solid State Physics of the University of Latvia with 13.85 million euros and the University of Latvia with 10.04 million euros.
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