Updated on: 2020-03-30
| Response | |
|---|---|
| Q1A. What arrangements, if any, do you have in place to ensure scientific advice informs national policy and decision making in relation to Covid-19? | In Lithuania, a Government Emergency Commission (headed by the Minister of Health) has been set up, which, together with the Government Office, is in direct contact with leading research centres on some operational issues on the latest scientific information related to COVID 19. One such centre - Vilnius University Life Sciences Centre (VU GMC) - has set up an analytical centre for this purpose, which collects and submits weekly scientific information to the Emergency Response Centre and the Government Office. VU GMC also mobilized diaspora researchers to search for scientific information and new methods. |
| Q1B. In what ways, if any, are you coordinating on Covid-19 STI responses at international level? | The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport with the Association of Lithuanian Serials (https://serials.lt/home_lit/) are investigating situations to identify measures needed to ensure open access with text and data mining posibiliy to publications on medical science. LT (VU GMC), being a member of EMBL, which is one of the main research centres of COVID19 in the EU, has the opportunity to share (and receive) scientific achievements internationally. |
| Q2.Do you have dedicated arrangements in place for communicating science advice and for refuting misleading information to the public on Covid-19? | The Ministry of Health Care and the Governmental Emergency Commission provide official information related to COVID19. For this purpose, a separate web page has been created, where the public is provided with links to reliable international and national sources of information. |
| Q3. What new STI policy measures, if any, is your country taking to respond specifically to the Covid-19 crisis? | Processes are coordinated by the Emergency Commission together with the Government Office. Currently, processes are taking place at the operational level, where society, science and business are struggling to respond to the needs expressed by the Government Emergency Commission. In parallel, Lithuanian researchers are preparing to join international initiatives in the field of COVID19 research. Research Council of Lithuania is considering initiating a research program related to COVID19. The Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology has launched a call "Life saving-innovations: stop COVID-19" with simplified procedures. The call is open for innovators, technology developers, start-ups and innovative companies that can offer research- and innovation-based unconventional solutions to manage the COVID-19 crisis. After the selection the best projects will be funded from the EU SF instrument „Inostartas” (52,000 euro / project). Here are some examples of ongoing initiatives: - Lithuanian robotics company "Rubedo sistemos", that is developing a unique disinfecting robot that can help fighting COVID-19. This autonomous robot has great potential for future applications: it can be used in hospitals, quarantine facilities, offices, schools, supermarkets, warehouses and airports. - A hackathon (Hack the Crisis was organized in Lithuania on 20-22 March: https://hackthecrisis.lt/) specifically designed to respond to the Covid-19 crisis. - Vilnius University Life Sciences Centre has handed over laboratory disinfection equipment to the National Cancer Institute to disinfect patients' wards. - VU GMC has set up an analytical center where it selects and provides the government with the latest scientific information on COVID 19 once a week; - Lithuanian scientists are also looking for the possibility to produce the necessary reagents for COVID19 research. |
| Q4A. At national level, what mechanisms are you developing or relying upon to bring together different STI actors (researchers, industry, government, health sector, foundations, etc.) to effectively collaborate on responses to Covid-19? | Research Council of Lithuania is considering initiating a research program related to COVID19 The Agency for Science, Innovation and Technology has launched a call "Life saving-innovations: stop COVID-19" with simplified procedures. The call is open for innovators, technology developers, startups and innovative companies that can offer research- and innovation-based unconventional solutions to manage the COVID-19 crisis. After the selection the best projects will be funded from the EU SF instrument „Inostartas” (52,000 euro / project). |
| Q4B. At international level, what mechanisms are you developing or relying upon to bring together different STI actors (researchers, industry, government, health sector, foundations, etc.) to effectively collaborate on responses to Covid-19? | Researchers and innovators will be encouraged to share research results in early stage of research. |
| Q5. What novel approaches, if any, is your country using to address the coronavirus crisis (e.g. use of machine learning, open science initiatives boosting access and sharing of data and research results, development and use of prediction models, etc.)? | The Ministry of Education, Science and Sport with the Association of Lithuanian Serials are investigating the situation to identify measures needed to ensure open access with text and data mining possibilities to publications on medical science. |
| Q6A. What impact on the STI system do you anticipate in the short-, medium- and long-term, and what measures are you implementing to address those? | - In the short term, we expect the research community to become more active; - in the medium term, closer inter-institutional, international cooperation (including focused individual action); - in the long term, we expect more targeted investment on COVID-19 (financial, administrative, voluntary initiatives, etc.) not only from the public sector but also from knowledge-intensive business. |
| Q6B. Is support of the STI system part of planned stimulus packages aimed at supporting the economy? | We cannot answer |
| Q7. Is there anything else regarding the STI policy response to Covid-19 in your country you would like to mention? | No |