“Lithuania has all the components to generate a major breakthrough in innovation in the coming years, but this will require, firstly, further investment in promoting innovation, secondly, smooth cooperation between ministries and science and business, and thirdly, further strengthening of the Innovation Agency Lithuania. I am convinced that this strategy will help to achieve this. A strong state cannot be imagined without a strong economy, and the transformation of the economy can be achieved through innovation and internationalisation, thus our ambition is based on concrete actions and plans,” says Aušrinė Armonaitė, the Minister of Economy and Innovation.
In order to achieve targeted change, the strategy of the Innovation Agency Lithuania has been developed taking into account international and national planning documents such as the United Nations (UN) 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, the Programme for the European Union (EU) Funds’ Investments 2021–2027 for Lithuania, Lithuania’s Progress Strategy “Lithuania 2030”, the State Progress Strategy “Lithuania 2050”, etc.
“The Lithuanian Progress Strategy 2050 sets out a vision for the future – Lithuania that creates and exports world-class knowledge and innovations, and occupies a key position in global value chains. It is impossible to build a prosperous country without a globally competitive innovation system and globally thinking and acting businesses. In the world of technology, tectonic plates are shifting and there is a struggle for technology and its creators, so it is important to be strategic in developing breakthrough areas and to be quick to seize opportunities. It is essential to create not only a competitive innovation ecosystem in Lithuania, but also a space for experimentation. Innovation must become a real priority in all areas of public policy,” says Agnė Paliokaitė, the Chair of the Board of the Innovation Agency Lithuania, the Innovation Policy Expert and the Member of the State Progress Council.
The strategy of the Innovation Agency Lithuania and its mission to grow globally competitive businesses, developed together with the Board and the Agency’s leaders, respond to these needs. “The strategy encodes important changes: implementing acceleration instruments for breakthrough areas, creating sandboxes for breakthrough technologies, ensuring synergies between existing services and instruments (innovation, exports, internationalisation), offering a one-stop shop for business to maximise impact. Finally, in order to implement change, we need to be purposeful, consistent and learn from the best,” emphasises Ms Paliokaitė.
Targeted action involving stakeholders is at the heart of the strategy of the Innovation Agency Lithuania. “We have developed the strategy by involving as many stakeholders as possible (employees, customers, the board, the founder), and we will need the contribution of the co-creators of change during its implementation. We see our customers, i.e. the business, as a very important partner with whom we need to share common goals, we strive to ensure a quality customer journey and to reduce the administrative burden. Through customer and employee satisfaction surveys we have a better understanding of our strengths and weaknesses, and now have data-driven conclusions and recommendations to guide our actions,” says Romualda Stragienė, the Director of the Innovation Agency Lithuania.
According to her, all the goals and objectives of the strategy have their own indicators, a detailed analysis of the current situation has been carried out, and a monitoring system has been foreseen, which will allow to measure the progress of strategy implementation. “Our biggest challenge is to stick to the strategic directions and not to lose a road for a path. Of course we would like to solve all the issues facing Lithuania, yet from now on we have our priorities and a clear vision,” says Ms Stragienė.
The 2023–2025 Operational Strategy of the Innovation Agency Lithuania is available here: https://bit.ly/43eoAS4
About the Innovation Agency Lithuania:
The Innovation Agency Lithuania was established in April 2022 as part of Lithuania’s innovation reform and in response to the recommendations of the European Commission (EC), the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) and the International Monetary Fund (IMF) to improve Lithuania’s innovation policy. To address the fragmentation of innovation promotion, the consolidation of the activities of the three business innovation, export and investment promotion agencies into a single Innovation Agency Lithuania was implemented. The founder of the Innovation Agency Lithuania is the Ministry of Economy and Innovation, which is directly responsible for innovation policy-making.
