73
The main principles of R&D in Estonia are defined in the Research and Development Organisation Act (adopted in 1997), which establishes the bases for the organization of R&D and secures the legal means for the preservation and further development of scientific and technological work as a part of the Estonian culture and economy.
In 2008, the Ministry of Education and Research initiated a discussion regarding the amendment of the Research and Development Organisation Act. The Ministry has discussed the proposals related to amending the Research and Development Organisation Act in cooperation with partners from universities, research institutions, institutions providing funding for research, and other state agencies. Meetings of a working group consisting of the representatives of the Ministry’s partners have already taken place. In relation to the amendment of the Research and Development Organisation Act, several subjects have been discussed. These include the proportion of financial instruments available for research; the reorganization of institutions financing research; the career model for researcher; the legal bases of state R&D programmes; issues related to the definition of research institutions and the registration of R&D institutions as well as several other subjects.
This area is also regulated by:
-
The Universities Act -
The National Institute of Chemical Physics and Biophysics Act
-
The Estonian Academy of Sciences Act
-
The most important regulations of the Minister of Education and Research in this field include:
-
Conditions and Procedure for Baseline Funding of Research and Development Institutions
-
Conditions and Procedure for Targeted Financing of Research Topics of Research and Development Institutions
-
The most important regulations of the Government of the Republic include:
-
Conditions and Procedure for the Evaluation of Research and Development Institutions
-
Statutes of the Estonian Research Portal
All of the acts and regulations governing this field can be viewed through the electronic version of the State Gazette (www.riigiteataja.ee), and an overview is also available on the website of the Ministry of Education and Research (www.hm.ee).
