2017-04-11
Investment into Scientific Research and Experimental Development had not Given the Expected Results
In order to become an innovative country, the state supports the cooperation between science and business. Even though, in 2007-2016, 628 million EUR were assigned to that end, Lithuania remains in the 24th place on the European Innovation Scoreboard among 28 countries. Having spent hundreds of millions of Euros on projects aimed at encouraging the cooperation between science and business, an innovative breakthrough is still a ways off – shows an audit carried out by the National Audit Office. The audit assessed whether state investment into scientific research and experimental development (SRED) is effective.
The audit has shown that even though Lithuania had assigned almost 299 million EUR for an investment project in the field of science and education – the development of science valleys – in 2012-2015, this tool, designed to facilitate cooperation between science and business, has not given the expected results: infrastructure is not being used as planned: in 2015, the occupation of open access centres was 44 percent. Furthermore, the main activity (which accounts for 96 percent of all income) of the science and technology parks established in the valleys, which were supposed to attract and support businesses operating in the field of SRED, is the rent of premises. Auditors note that the failure to attract business and private investment, as well as to make use of the opportunities presented by the income-generating valleys, the burden of maintaining the updated infrastructure will be transferred onto the shoulders of the taxpayer.
The monitoring of the ambitious goals of the valley programmes and the specific targets set at the beginning of the project was terminated in 2013 with the elimination of the Valley Monitoring Group and the failure of the Ministry of Science and Education, responsible for the coordination of the valley programmes, to summarise the project results and present them to the public.
The auditors also note that investment into SRED will continue during the period between 2014 and 2020 (the total estimated sum is 678,9 million EUR) regardless of the failure to achieve the expected results during the previous funding period. Given the findings of the audit, the Ministry of Science and Education, the Ministry of Economy and the Office of the Government were supplied with recommendations which, if implemented, would result in the establishment of measures for the purposeful coordination of innovation and scientific progress, and the development and implementation of innovation in the public and business sectors, which would aid in the restructuring of the Lithuanian system of scientific research, experimental development and innovation.