Reform of governance in science, research and innovation

To address fragmentation in research, development and innovation (RDI) in Slovakia, the reform creates a new governance structure at the Government Office. This is composed of the Government Council for Science, Technology and Innovation and an increased presence of RDI experts. In particular, the reform aims to improve the strategic coordination of the support and experts´ evaluation of RDI projects.  

For this purpose, in March 2022, the Slovak parliament adopted amendments to the RD legislation. The reform is being followed by the adoption of an overarching National RDI Strategy (expected in the course of 2023) to set up objectives and measures to improve RDI performance. The new governance structure – Research and Innovation Authority (VAIA) and the Government Council – is now fully functional. The reform is accompanied by significant investments (EUR 633 million from the Recovery and Resilience Facility) to support excellence in science, cooperation of research institutions with businesses, scholarships and schemes on decarbonisation and digital transformation.

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