The Programme Committee of European Economic Area (furthermore – EEA) and Norway financial instruments Baltic Research Programme (furthermore – Committee) on 21 November 2019 decided that research projects within Latvian open call for proposals in 2020 must address at least one of the topics under five priorities:
Public health, e- health; Migration, social inclusion; Cyber security, public security; Regional economic development, employment, labour market regulations, social policy; Innovative solutions for efficient and sustainable use of resources.At the same time, the Committee in composition of eight researches (two researches from Norway, Latvia, Estonia and Lithuania) approved evaluation criteria for assessment of project applications.
These priorities, topics and evaluation criteria will be included in the national regulation to be drafted by the Ministry of Education and Science and submitted to the Cabinet of the Ministers of Latvia for adoption. The total amount available for Latvian call for proposal, which will be launched in the 2020, is € 7.5 million. The implementation of research projects shall be completed before 30 April 2024.
The main goal of the Baltic Research Programme is to enhance research-based knowledge development in Baltic States through research cooperation between Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein and Baltic States. In the framework of the Baltic Research Program, research organizations from Latvia, Lithuania, Estonia, Norway, Iceland and Liechtenstein participate in open calls for proposals in Estonia (2018 - 2019), in Latvia in 2020 and Lithuania in 2020 in order to address the major challenges of our region through joint research projects. The programme’s main outcome is enhanced performance of Baltic research internationally.
The Baltic Research Program will contribute to the reduction of economic and social disparities in the EEA and the strengthening of bilateral relations between the Donor States and Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania through financial contributions in the field of research. Based on the programme agreement, the funds of donor countries account for 85% of the programme budget and 15% is contributed by the Estonia, Latvian or Lithuanian state budget.
Eligible applicants and Project Promoters are research organizations established in Latvia who have partners in Lithuania, Estonia and Norway and/or Island, and/or Liechtenstein. All project partners have to comply with requirements of research organisation defined in the EU Framework for State aid for research and development and innovation (2014/C 198/01).