At the meeting of 29 October, the Cabinet of Ministers decided that the University of Latvia think tank LV PEAK (LV PEAK), a structural unit of the Faculty of Business, Management and Economics of the University of Latvia, will represent the Republic of Latvia in the European Union’s network of National Productivity Boards. LV PEAK does not need additional state budget funding for Latvia’s participation in this network.
In order to stimulate discussions and find the most effective solutions to boost EU productivity, the European Commission has asked EU Member States to set up a productivity board – a scientific or research institution, or a think tank that is functionally autonomous and independent of national regulatory authorities and other stakeholders, and is able to provide a high-quality economic and statistical analysis that is recognised in the academic community.
Considering that LV PEAK has already been active in a number of formats in society proposing to have discussions on productivity topics, and that it meets the requirements of the European Commission, the Ministry of Economics has encouraged the University of Latvia think tank LV PEAK, a structural unit of the Faculty of Business, Management and Economics of the University of Latvia, to be designated as the Latvian Productivity Board and thus to delegate it to represent Latvia in the network of Productivity Boards of European Union Member States. The creation of the Productivity Board is also anticipated in the Government Action Plan.
The main mission of LV PEAK is to perform an independent, objective and scientifically based competitiveness and productivity analysis and to develop policy recommendations for the Latvian government. The LV PEAK Board is composed of highly competent members, including academicians and distinguished economists representing the Latvian Academy of Sciences, the University of Latvia and the private sector. LV PEAK is working with the Latvian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, the Employers’ Confederation of Latvia and other organisations.
In order to promote the link between the academic and scientific environment and the government, as well as to ensure that the measures and reforms promoting productivity and competitiveness are comprehensively discussed and based on balanced independent analysis, on 30 August 2018, the Ministry of Economics, the University of Latvia and LV PEAK signed a Declaration on Cooperation in the Field of Analysis of Productivity and Competitiveness.
On 7 November 2018, LV PEAK initiated the organisation of a workshop “Productivity and competitiveness in the Baltic and Nordic countries” by encouraging a discussion on productivity and competitiveness, as well as the development of international cooperation on these matters with the Baltic and Nordic countries. Based on the activities and studies of the LV PEAK Forum, a monograph on “Raising Productivity: Trends and Future Challenges” was issued in May 2019. Meanwhile, currently LV PEAK is working on the first report on productivity, which is scheduled to be published at the end of 2019.