Latvia

Within Latvia, the Ministry of Education and Science plays a major part in research and innovation activities. They:

1. Develop a national science and technology development policy;
2. Prepare a request for the annual allocation of state budget funds for scientific activities in accordance with the state science and technology development policy;
3. Sort delegations and co-operation agreements that may be concluded for the implementation of international cooperation projects and programs, ensuring the recognition of Latvian science and raising public awareness about the importance of science in the sustainable development of the country;
4. Coordinate the international cooperation programs in the fields of research and technology and, in accordance with the procedure laid down by the Cabinet, provide support for participation in these programs;
5. Maintain and update the National Science Information System.

The Ministry of Economics is the leading government authority in the field of economic policy, whose tasks and competences include development and implementation of innovation development policy. Information on innovation such as: innovation theory; innovation policy in Latvia and the European Union; innovative products in Latvia; innovation support programs; innovation support organizations; etc. is available on the Latvian Innovation Portal. 

 The Latvian Council of Science also plays a part in the institutional framework:

1. The council is a collegiate scholarly under the supervision of the Ministry of Education and Science, which prepares proposals for the development of national science and technology development policy, as well as elaborates proposals for the preparation of the draft state budget necessary for the financing of science,
2. National research programs are public procurement for research in a specific economic, educational, cultural or other country priority area with a view to fostering the development of this industry,
3. The objectives and tasks of the national research programs are determined by the relevant sectoral ministries jointly with the Latvian Science Council and the Latvian Academy of Sciences. National research programs are implemented in the priority scientific directions approved by the Cabinet of Ministers.

Riga Technical University (RTU) has focused on becoming a third-generation university that not only provides high quality education, but also conducts advanced research and ensures innovation and technology transfer, practically implementing scientific discoveries. RTU has become a modern internationally recognized university, which conducts internationally competitive research and cooperates with reputable international research institutions, such as the European Organization for Nuclear Research CERN, European Space Agency, KTH Royal Institute of Technology in Sweden, and the Fraunhofer Institute in Germany (plus more).

Research at RTU is organized on six research platforms. The objective of research platforms is to ensure multi-faculty and interdisciplinary research in the areas of great significance for the national economy and society. Active and continuous analysis of market needs and commercial potential takes place within the research platforms.

One such platform is Transport, including research in:

• Energy efficient and safe road and rail transport;
• Safe and financially efficient air transport;
• Efficient transport infrastructure;
• Reliable and safe methods for diagnostics of technical condition of vehicles and transport infrastructure.

Transport and Telecommunication Institute (TSI) is the only privately owned technical institute in Latvia, which is certified as academic and research organization. TSI provides academic programs in subjects such as: transport and logistics; computer sciences; electronics and telecommunication; economics and management; and aviation transport including a doctoral program in Telematics and Logistics. The main research direction is “Information Communication Technology (ICT) in Transport and Logistics”, which includes 3 main pillars:

• ICT (Telematics), including IoT; cyber security; robotics; big data, modelling, etc;
• Smart Solutions in Transport and Logistics;
• Digital Society and Economy.

TSI is the lead and participant of Transport and Logistics related projects in programmes such as Horizon2020, Interreg, Erasmus and others national and international programs. TSI is also valued member of the European Conference of Transport Research Institutes (ECTRI). They perform advanced research in the field of transport and logistics by cooperation with leading research organizations in this research domain including with: Fraunhofer Institute for Factory Operation and Automation (Germany), University of Thessaly (Greece), and University of Deusto (Spain), etc.