PARTICIPATION OF KEY STAKEHOLDERS IN SCIENCE POLICY MAKING IN EU

Abstract

Nowadays the importance of involvement of citizens in decision-making processes is underlined in most recent research on effectiveness of public administration. Taking into consideration that development of science and research is fundamental for economic growth as well as sustainable development, the process of policy making in science should involve relevant stakeholders building effective relationships with key stakeholders. In case of EU, Ministries responsible for science have developed Smart Specialization Strategies for transformation of economies towards higher added value. For successful implementation of the strategies, Ministries have identified different initiatives towards involvement of key stakeholders in science policy making. In circumstances of low public and private funding to research and development in EU-13, the communication with science community has been challenging.

Taking into account all mentioned before, the purpose of the study is to analyse the approaches on involvement of stakeholders in science policy making, especially in EU countries with relatively low budget for research and development.

In order to achieve the purpose, the tasks are formulated as follows:

1) to review the theoretical background for involvement of stakeholders in science policy making in EU;

2) to analyse the best practice in ensuring the participation of key stakeholders in science policy making in EU, special focusing on case of Latvia;

3) to provide the recommendations for the ministries in EU responsible for science in ensuring the participation of key stakeholders in policy making.

Research methods used: scientific literature studies, statistical data analysis, expert survey.

The research showed that effective involvement of key stakeholders in science policy making process is topical challenge for policy makers in EU, especially in countries with low share of budget for research and development. Successful strategy of involvement of key stakeholders in science policy includes effective communication at different levels, development of high-quality services as well as development of participatory administrative culture for civil servants.