"For the first time in Lithuania, we are embarking on a major mission-based project to invest in science and innovation, bringing together our scientists and entrepreneurs to develop high-level products, services and technologies. We hope this will accelerate the development of innovative services and products and help them get from the lab to the end user much faster," said Aušrinė Armonaitė, the Minister of the Economy and Innovation.
"The new funding tool is focused on one of the most important goals of Lithuanian science: to mobilise funds in priority areas, to facilitate the involvement of young researchers in collaborative R&D projects with business, and to promote the internationalisation of science - to attract more foreign talent and investment to Lithuania and to hire foreign experts in the selection of consortia. We hope that the mission programmes will lead to sustainable science-business partnerships with high added value, and that the newly established Centres of Excellence will lay the foundations for tackling the biggest challenges in the fields of health, cybersecurity and climate neutrality," said Jurgita Šiugždinienė, the Minister of Education, Science and Sport.
The mission programmes will promote joint science-business projects, develop or commercialise start-up and business ideas, conduct research, improve skills, and fill the existing gaps in services and infrastructure for research and experimental development activities.
The missions will be carried out by 3 consortia selected through a competitive call for proposals made up of research and study institutions and businesses. The consortia will also be open to other partners, including science and technology parks, university hospitals, clusters, business associations and non-governmental organisations. Each consortium will be required to implement at least 7 R&D projects or activities resulting in a prototype, product or spin-off.
In the implementation of the project, 3 Centres of Excellence under the mission themes will be established, where science-based products and services will be born. The solutions developed through the missions should reach the market within three years.
Under the mission theme "Smart and Climate Neutral Lithuania", consortia will compete to come up with ideas to strengthen Lithuania's energy sector and increase the use of renewable energy sources or reduce greenhouse gas emissions. They will also aim to contribute to a 7.69% of GDP added value in the engineering sector by 2030. These results, as well as those of the other mission themes, are set out in the National Progress Plan, approved by the Council for Science, Technology and Innovation.
Under the mission theme "A Secure and Inclusive e-Society", science and business partners will form consortia to participate in a call for ideas on how to increase the value added of the ICT sector to 5.1% of GDP by 2030. They will also aim to help Lithuania climb into the top five of the EU's cybersecurity index, increase the number of public services delivered electronically, and train citizens to identify cyber-attacks and misleading information.
Under the mission theme "Innovation for Health", consortia will submit projects and ideas for a call for proposals on how to increase healthy life expectancy or reduce mortality through treatment measures. It will also aim to contribute to the National Progress Plan's ambitious target of increasing the value created by the life sciences sector to 5% of GDP by 2030.
The project will be implemented by the Innovation Agency, which is responsible for selecting the best and most promising consortia, and mentoring and managing the implementation of the whole mission-driven science and innovation programme project.
Full terms and conditions of the call are available here.
