Innovation and Innovation Policy in Lithuania 

Overview of Innovation Policy

Lithiania has showed an impressive economic performance during the last few years. “The Ballistic Baltic” and “The Baltic Tiger” are only two of the labels attached to by foreign market observers to signify the speed and expected sustainability of its recent economic growth. The GDP growth keeps above 6% standard since 2001 until now. However, main restructuring based growth resources are coming to the end, which implies the need for search of new growth resources or decline of the growth cycle of the economy. has as its vital economic interest to incentivize and promote higher-quality high-tech industries, through R&D support, high-tech industry incubators, and appropriate educational focus. This would allow to avoid getting trapped in the low-quality, low-tech specialization in the long-run. However, current Lithuanian industry structure remains disadvantageous for rapid productivity growth and high value added manufacturing development. Therefore the major challenge is facing today is upgrading its sustained traditional industries towards high value added, knowledge intensive modern industrial sectors regardless of their position in low-high tech classification.

The general strengths of Lithuanian national innovation system lies in the well developed and continuing its academic tradition higher education sector with strong science and technology research tradition and engineering orientation. This results in relatively high share of population with tertiary education, high numbers of S&T graduates among them, and cultural orientation of the younger generation towards higher education. However, restricted resources for R&D and higher education sector combined with the growing numbers of students at all higher education levels doubts the quality of education, especially in areas where technological education base is significantly important. Also low or non existing investments of businesses in vocational training lead to obsolete qualifications not suitable for high tech high skill work. The weak links between business and higher education and R&D communities result not only in obsoleting qualifications of the highly educated labour force, but also in low value added innovations, developed without input from the R&D sector. Although the linking and technology transfer institutions are in place, due to the lack of endogenous R&D capacities they are not able to bring significant changes. Therefore in terms of NIS development is facing a majour challenge in converging its innovation inputs into outputs, and building a “tandem” of R&D and Business sectors for innovation based growth and knowledge economy.

Recent developments in national innovation policy has demonstrated attempts to improve its co-ordination and implementation. Previous Science and Technology commission and Education and Science commission to the Government of Lithuania was integrated into the one newly established Science, Technology and Innovation commission in spring 2005. EU accession in May 2004 was followed with the first round of implementation of EU Structural funds, which allowed to double amount of funds available for innovation. Several measures directly addressing innovation are under implementation which aim to strengthen innovation support infrastructure and develop its institutional capacities, to improve R&D and business co-operation in innovation development, to improve quality of human resources for R&D and innovation and to strengthen public and private R&D base. Direct support for innovation in firms was offered as well. Innovation policy discussion has intensified and addressed innovation culture, cluster development issues, and the problems industry is facing - intensifying brain-drain and international migration of qualified labour. Lithuanian preparation for the participation in FP7 programme, science prioritisation was brought to the highest level discussion stressing the importance of R&D improvement for the national economy.

Who Is Who

Senior Official(s) for Lithuania
Arunas Keraminas
Correspondents for Lithuania
Monika Kriaucioniene




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Innovation Performance

 Performance in Innovation Scoreboard 2008

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 List of relevant websites