| Overview:
There
are no legislative acts or government documents concerning technological
parks, centers or business incubators, nor was any evidence found of any
currently in existence, but movement in that direction is possible through
such groups as the Latvian Association of Technological Parks, Centers and
Business Incubators and proposals from various sectors.
|
The
country has a relatively good geographical position, with its strategic location
amidst the Baltics, close to Scandinavia and the "gateway" to Russia. However the closeness to
Scandinavia and
Russia is not enough in itself for further investments and development2.
The
economic activity is very much concentrated in Riga and the country is not
regionally balanced. Latvia also has to improve its infrastructure quality
(transportation, communications, etc.)2 before being able to reach
its full potential.
However, the free ports and Special Economic Zones do work to encourage
investment.
Although
no cybercities or IT clusters were found to exist in Latvia during this research
process, there is some movement in that direction. The Latvian Association
of Technological Parks, Centers and Business Incubators was formed in 1996 in
order to create permanent links among all the business support structures in
Latvia, to create an information network to support technology-oriented SMEs, to
promote the establishment of new business support structures and to support
technology transfer and innovation, among other goals20.
Although no evidence of IT parks or incubators was found specifically, there has
been the formation of a science park and increased unity among IT-related
professionals.
Also,
a proposal
by the
United Nations Economic
Commission For Europe Committee For Trade, Industry And Enterprise Development,
proposes the promotion of industrial clustering in a variety of fields.
Promotion of Industrial Clustering Proposal, presented to the
United Nations Economic Commission for Europe, Committee for Trade, Industry and
Development by the Working Party on Industry and Enterprise Development—Second
session, 21-22 March 2001:
The
scope of the pilot project in Latvia is planned to cover some 15 to 20
medium-sized companies that should be encouraged to group into 4 or 5 clusters.
The proposed industrial sectors include timber-related industries, textiles,
electrical, information, logistics and machinery sectors. The cluster approach
is characterized by a cross-industry approach. Most of the clusters to be
selected and developed will include companies from different industrial sectors
also supporting service sectors such as logistics and marketing. An important
issue when working with industrial cluster development is to create and
strengthen an effective linkage between industrial companies and research
institutes utilizing the scientific potential of the country. The foreseen
project steps include the definition of business idea, the composition of
cluster structure, the selection criteria for participants, company screening,
confirmation of participants, concrete work with companies and clusters selected
and, finally, the presentation and evaluation of results achieved. The formal
proposal is currently being prepared and will be presented to the Working Party
at its second session.
Last
updated December 13, 2001