Prime Minister Kaja Kallas: Science will form the backbone of Estonian society and the national economy

Prime Minister Kallas says that without research and development, not a single one of Estonia's development needs will be met, be it related to the environment, health, enterprise, culture or state governance. "In the development of our society we have reached a stage where the importance of solutions created with the support of research and development is growing in all fields and all sectors," she said. "The problems we are faced with today in society and in the world generally have become much more complex and multifaceted than they were 10 or 20 years ago. This is only to be expected, but it means much greater responsibility when making decisions that affect the state and society."

The head of government gave as an example the close cooperation between the state and scientists in responding to the pandemic: Professor Krista Fischer's models, Professor Ruth Kalda's monitoring data and Professor Tanel Tenson's waste water samples. "On the basis of these analyses, the government has made decisions directly affecting the population in fighting the spread of coronavirus," she explained. "This cooperation has been a learning curve, in the best sense of the term, and constructive for politicians, scientists, officials and the public alike." Estonia also has more researchers in the NATO Science and Technology Organization, relative to defence spending, than any other country, setting an example to its neighbours.

Prime Minister Kallas highlighted the fact that state funding of research and development has now been at the level of 1% of GDP for two years, reaching a record 323.7 million euros in 2022 despite the energy, security, health and climate crises the country is facing. Competition-based and baseline funding for research are in balance again for the first time in many years, and both will grow by six million euros in 2022. This will hopefully make it possible to increase scientists' salaries, which, in conjunction with the package of reforms to doctoral studies submitted for debate to the Riigikogu, should boost interest in such studies and in science careers in order to secure the future of Estonian-language higher education and research.

In her address, Prime Minister Kallas mentioned the noteworthy contribution that the private sector has made in recent years. "In 2019, private-sector spending on research and development outstripped that of the public sector," she explained. "This is a long-awaited development. In 2020, such spending increased further, exceeding 1% of GDP for the first time in a decade: a total of 481 million euros was spent on research and development in the public and private sectors, which was 115 million more than just two years previously. These changes will soon bear fruit." She added that Estonian employers have taken their signatures on the Research Agreement very seriously. "A new applied research programme has been successfully launched to support companies in initiating, funding and finding suitable partners for such research," she said. "During its first year alone, more than 200 local companies consulted Enterprise Estonia on development plans, and almost 100 technology projects have undergone assessment. There has been such a high level of interest in applied research that we have already increased the volume of the programme. Universities too have set up units and launched a range of activities in support of the knowledge and technology transition."

According to Prime Minister Kallas, cooperation between Estonian companies and scientists will contribute to a leap in development and growth in welfare for society in the implementation of the green and digital transitions, amongst other things showing ways of overcoming the energy crisis. The head of government gave a number of examples: cooperation between TalTech researchers, KredEx and construction companies in the factory insulation of apartment buildings; the effort being made by Skeleton Technologies and scientists to transform Estonia into a research and development hub for high-tech energy-storage systems; and the partnership between University of Tartu researchers and the companies H2Electro and AuVeTech in developing hydrogen technology. The state is contributing to the rise of such ecosystems through the creation of new equity instruments. Moreover, a substantial proportion of Just Transition Fund and NextGenerationEU recovery plan measures are aimed at supporting innovation and growing the smart economy.

"Together with you we are now seeing that Estonia's robust science is quietly starting to make our economy and society stronger," Prime Minister Kallas remarked. "A great deal of work has been done to achieve this, accompanied by disappointments and setbacks, but also by lessons that have driven things forward. We have to maintain that forward motion and boost it even further."

The full text of Prime Minister Kallas' address can be found online at https://valitsus.ee/en/news/address-riigikogu-prime-minister-kaja-kallas-research-and-development-26-january-2022

Photo: Erik Peinar/Riigikoguhttps://flic.kr/s/aHBqjzA4Gj