ERA ARD

• The ARD landscape in Lithuania
• Priorities
• Main programmes:
• Perspectives
• Funding mechanisms
• Donors and Recipients
• List of selected web-based information
• Country Profile Lithuania, ERA-ARD I 2009 - pdf version

The ARD landscape in Lithuania

After becoming the EU member state (1 May, 2004) and undertaking obligations as the international donor country, Lithuania has started making the first steps in ARD. Due to the previous historical and traditional cooperation with its neighbourhood countries, the initiatives have targeted Lithuania’s neighbours, such as Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova mainly in the field of agricultural research, adding development projects only through the National Strategy of Development Cooperation. In the absence of the national ARD programme, the activities are carried out by individual researchers and research institutions relying on previously held and renewed contacts and bilateral agreements. As the result, it is more AR activities of Lithuanian researchers that likely to have potential for ARD.

The main obstacle to integrate these activities and encourage scientific cooperation with developing countries is a dispersed responsibility between the national institutions to coordinate and provide funding to AR(D). As a result, each of them focuses on its priorities: either research or agricultural research or development activities in relation with targeted neighbourhood countries.

There are four key players that provide funding to the activities:

• Agency for International Science and Technology Development Programmes in Lithuania is given an important role to allocate state funding for international activities of national researchers. The Agency manages COST projects and promotes international cooperation of the researchers. It is also put in charge of the State Program on Cooperation with Ukraine providing funding mainly to capacity development of national researchers.
• State Science and Studies Foundation provides financial support to the same State Program on Cooperation with Ukraine, but mainly for AR.
• Ministry of Agriculture coordinates bilateral projects with Lithuania’s neighbor countries relying on the signed agreements between relevant ministries.
• Ministry of Foreign Affairs implements the National Strategy of Development Cooperation providing resources to the growth and improvement of the developing countries.

Priorities

Due to the absence of national ARD program with established priorities, standards and funding mechanisms, Lithuania aligns its priorities with both national research and AR priorities and strategic objectives of the Lithuanian Development Cooperation.

The most relevant national priority is “Research for ensuring the quality of human life” that covers:

1. Genomic and Biotechnologies for Health and Agriculture;
2. Technologies of Safety, Clean and Good Quality Food;
3. Changes of Ecosystems and Climate.
   

Main objectives such as geofocus, cooperation priority areas, fields and forms of the Lithuanian Development Cooperation
have been set in the National Strategy and the researchers have to comply with these requirements to receive financial
support.

Main programmes:

Agency for International Science and Technology Development Programmes in Lithuania has started implementing the state policy for science and studies and allocating national funds for research projects on competitive basis under international and bilateral agreement. The Agency has been distributing funding to COST program. As COST (European Co-operation in the field of Scientific and Technical Research) is an intergovernmental framework for the co-ordination of nationally funded research at a European level, it can be initiated in any subject by individual scientists ("bottom-up" principle). The coordination costs are funded both by the participating countries and by the European Commission. For past three years the Agency allocated the budget of 491464 euros to finance participation of national researchers in COST actions in the field of agricultural research. As the result, for this period Lithuanian researchers has participated in more than 34 actions together with partners from developing countries (Cyprus, Serbia&Montenegro, Bulgaria, Turkey, Romania, Macedonia, and Croatia) in the fields of agriculture and biotechnologies, forestry, food technologies, and environment. In 2009 the Agency provided 167372 euros to 33 AR projects implemented by national researchers.

The Lithuanian State Science and Studies Foundation has the shared responsibility with the Agency for International Science and Technology Development Programmes to provide financing to the State Program on Cooperation with Ukraine. Both of the institutions promote international cooperation and jointly implemented research and experimental development projects with Ukraine based on bilateral agreements between the governments and ministries of two countries in the settled fields of research, including biotechnologies and agriculture, ecology/organic farming and rational usage of resources. In the year 2007- 2008 there were 9 jointly imp lemented projects in the field of AR with 126700 euros support given by both institutions to the same projects. In 2009 national researchers received 70000 euros to implement 8 new AR projects under the programme.

The Ministry of Foreign Affairs coordinates and implements the National Strategy of Development Cooperation to assure Lithuania‘s contribution to the Millennium Development Goals. Therefore, in 2007 -2008 the official development aid for international organizations made 0,11 percent from the GNP: 105 million euros in 2007, and a slight increase of 14 million euros in 2008. The Ministry carries out Lithuanian Development Cooperation Policy by providing bilateral and multilateral assistance to the priority partner countries: Belarus, Ukraine, Moldova, South Caucasus, Afghanistan and Iraq.

Priority cooperation areas are:

• Promotion of democracy;
• Rule of law and human rights;
• Economic development;
• Euro-integration processes;
• Administrative capacities building.

In 2007-2008 the number of Development Assistance projects implemented in neighbouring countries increased up to 264; however, 5 projects in the field of agriculture made 108678 euros.

The Ministry of Agriculture coordinates and provides financial support to bilateral projects with Lithuania’s neighbor countries the Ministry has the signed agreements: Ukraine, Belarus, Moldova, and Armenia. The amount allocated to the projects remains around 30000 euros per year.

Perspectives

There is an urgent need to improve coordination between the key players that form and shape research policy, determine agricultural research policy and development cooperation policy of Lithuania.

Funding mechanisms

Donors and Recipients

Country Profile Lithuania, ERA-ARD I 2009 - pdf version

pdf (English)