Smart specialisation strategy (RIS3) is topical for each European Union member state -including the Baltic States. It is a smart tool for the European Union (EU) Structural Funds absorption from 2014 to 2020. Each EU member state has set their own priorities based on the country specialisation and economy strengths and weaknesses. For RIS3 development evaluation, there is RIS3 Assessment Wheel developed -a tool for assessing the RIS3 in a chosen region and positioning it between other regions. The aim of research is to find main differences between RIS3 development in the Baltic states. The tasks of research are 1) to compare existing RIS3 Assessment Wheel of Latvia and create authors version of RIS3 Assessment Wheel of Latvia; 2) to create RIS3 Assessment Wheel of Lithuania and Estonia; 3) to make comparisons between created RIS3 Assessment Wheels. The research performed is mainly based on the desk research by using content analysis and the monographic method. In all three Baltic States, there is a lack of information available about revision of priorities in connection with RIS3 development. In order to achieve the aims set in RIS3, it is essential to finish work on RIS3 legislation in Latvia, and introduce the systematic approach to RIS3 target evaluation in all Baltic States.
To achieve the goal of the Latvia 2030 strategy -to be the leader in the EU in terms of preservation, replenishment and sustainable exploitation of natural capital -, it is required to address the role of the bioeconomy in Latvia. In order for the Bioeconomy Strategy of Latvia 2030 (LIBRA strategy) of Latvia to be sustainable and ensure efficient use of natural resources, it is necessary to apply an integrated approach to knowledge-based growth as well as to symbiotically integrate the other areas into agriculture, forestry and fisheries, observing the basic principles of a circular (sustainable) economy. Accordingly, under the Bioeconomy Strategy of Latvia 2030 the rural areas and regions have prospects for development. The research aim is to identify the proportion of the bioeconomy in the economy of Latvia at municipality level.
Since 2013, Latvia has defined the smart specialization strategy at national level. In 2020, the planned outcome is the increased capacity of innovations including the share of high and medium-high technology sectors in the export; the number of researchers employed in the private sector; an increase in manufacturing productivity and share of innovative enterprises. The regional policy has the task to establish and implement local smart specialization strategies in order to achieve the planned results in country. Evaluating Zemgale planning region, it develops according to monocentric development at average national level.
The Europe 2020 strategy was proposed by the European Commission with an aim to improve European Union (EU) competitiveness and promote economic growth. For the successful achievement of economic growth using the Smart Specialization Strategy (RIS3) in the EU, the European Commission has set out five interrelated headline targets to be achieved by 2020 in the areas of employment, research and development, climate change and energy, education and poverty and social exclusion. The targets are translated into national targets for each EU Member State; at the same time, they are common goals for all the EU Member States to be achieved through a mix of national and EU actions. The authors of the research used statistical data on the Europe 2020 targets to detect progress or regress in achieving these targets, the accuracy of target value detection and the implementation of RIS3 in the EU. The aim of the research is to evaluate RIS3 progress based on the Europe 2020 targets. The following tasks were set: 1) To calculate progress on each Europe 2020 target for Estonia, Latvia and Lithuania using Eurostat statistical data; 2) To evaluate the calculated data and compare the data with those for the other Baltic States and the EU average; 3) To forecast RIS3 development for the year 2020 in the Baltic States. The research employed the monographic and descriptive methods as well as analysis, synthesis, the graphic method, the data grouping method and forecasting. All the three Baltic States have exceeded their target values on employment and education. Low indicators – just half of the target value – the Baltic States have on the share of the EU’s GDP invested in Research and Development. Other positions such as green energy, poverty and social exclusion mostly show a need for more active and effective action for achieving the Europe 2020 targets.
Based on data on the number of newly established enterprises and the total number of enterprises, the authors analysed whether and what changes occurred in the industries of the national economy that have high transfer potential in relation to smart specialisation implementation in the country, broken down by region, thereby identifying the RIS3 specialisation field on which the focus has to be placed and to which attention has to be drawn. The aim of the research is to identify the entrepreneurship development in RIS3 specialisation fields broken down by region and economic development according to the RIS3 specialisation fields. The research has found that the number of enterprises in the industries having high transfer potential in relation to RIS3 as a percentage of the total number of enterprises was slightly above 50%; the regional breakdown of the enterprises revealed that two thirds were located in the regions of Riga and Pieriga, and that ICT was the most significant RIS3 specialisation. In the post-crisis period, the number of newly established enterprises increased at the highest rate in 2011, exceeding the rate of the previous year more than twofold , whereas in the next two years the rate decreased below the 2009 level.
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