This publication was developed within the frameworks of the TEMPUS Project Tempus-543 853-1-2013-1-DE-TEMPUS-SMHES "Fostering Knowledge Triangle in Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova" (FKTBUM) (2014-2016), the main objective of which is to develop the target specification of the knowledge triangle in partner countries: Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova, which would help in accelerating the development of the three sides of the knowledge triangle: education, research and innovation and their integration into development of the knowledge economy.

Authors: Rodica CRUDU, PhD, Assoc. Prof., Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova Olesea SIRBU, PhD, director of Centre of European Integration Studies Cristina COSCIUG, PhD, Assoc. Prof., Vicerector of Agrarian State University

of Moldova Elena SIMCIUC, PhD student, Agrarian State University of Moldova, STP

„Academica” Reviewers: Vladimir GROSU, PhD, Assoc. Prof., Vicerector of Academy of Economic

Studies of Moldova Roman CHIRCA, PhD, director of Agency for Innovation and Technology

Transfer The content of the scientific monograph was analyzed and debated during the several working sessions within the project, which was attended by representatives of all institutions involved in the project, namely:

- Academy of Economic Studies of Moldova: Olesea SIRBU, Rodica CRUDU, Vladimir GROSU, Eduard HIRBU

- “Alecu Russo” State University from Bălți: Valentina PRITCAN, Gheorghe POPA, Ala SAINENCO

- Agrarian State University of Moldova: Cristina COSCIUG, Oleg HORJAN, Veronica PRESACARU

- Agency for Innovation and Technology Transfer: Roman Chircă, Ulinici Doina - Ministry of Eduction of Moldova: Nadejda VELISCO, Olesea CIOBANU - Scientific and Technological Park “ACADEMICA”: Elena SIMCIUC - Council of Rectors: Diana BRAGOI

"The European Commission support for the production of this publication does not constitute an endorsement of the contents which reflects the views only of the authors, and the Commission cannot be held responsible for any use which may be made of the information contained therein."

ISBN 978-9975-36069-9-7

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CONTENTS:

1. Introductory aspects of the knowledge triangle in the Republic of Moldova 4

2. The current situation of the knowledge triangle in Moldova 7

3. Target specification of the future of knowledge triangle in Moldova 33

4. Framework conditions and constraints of the knowledge triangle in the

Republic of Moldova 36

5. Requirements for the functionality of the future knowledge triangle in Moldova 38

6. Requirements for future conditions of the knowledge triangle in Moldova 42

7. Problems and risks 42

Conclusion 45

Bibliography 46

Annex 1 48

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1. Introductory aspects of the knowledge triangle in the Republic of Moldova

This study is being realized within the project "Fostering the Knowledge Triangle in Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova (FKTBUM)", which aims at developing the tangible specification of the knowledge triangle in the partner countries: Belarus, Ukraine and Moldova, which would help to accelerate the development of three sides of the knowledge triangle: education, research and innovation and their integration into the knowledge-based economy development policies.

a) Specific objectives of the TEMPUS-FKTBUM project: • Establishing a knowledge system for Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine's higher education

leaders on modern approaches to the organization and management of the knowledge triangle. • Analyze and identify the constraints of the process of effective integration of higher

education, research and innovation in partner countries; • Develop long-term project use measures and support the knowledge triangle by Belarus,

Moldova and Ukraine. • Initiating national processes to establish a legal framework to accelerate the integration

of higher education, research and innovation in Belarus, Moldova and Ukraine. Also among the project objectives that coincide with the themes and priorities of the

Tempus program are listed: • Promoting the modernization of education systems in partner countries; • Promoting the improvement of the quality of higher education in partner countries; • Extend the educational opportunities of universities in the partner countries and the

European Union (EU), international cooperation, the ability to modernize; • Promoting the development of human resources; • Creating contacts between educational and research institutions in the partner countries

and the EU; • Promoting understanding between different cultures in the EU and partner countries,

etc. b) The abstract scheme of the knowledge triangle The contribution of higher education to employment and growth as well as its

international attractiveness can be enhanced by establishing close and effective links between education, research and innovation - the three sides of the "knowledge triangle".

The knowledge triangle is a priority in the process of forming a global - innovative society based on the development and integration of the three elements (education, research, innovation) as well as the capital investments in human resources, the development of professional capacities and support of scientific researches, the modernization of educational systems, so that they become more relevant to the needs of a global knowledge economy.

The theoretical model presented in Figure 1 (which is a basic model of the knowledge triangle developed and promoted by FKTBUM project coordinators) coincides with the abstract, ideal scheme of the knowledge triangle.

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Figure 1. The theoretical model of the knowledge triangle

Source: Adopted by authors after: European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT).Catalysing Innovation in the knowledge triangle. Practices from the EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities. Available at: http://eit.europa.eu/sites/default/files/EIT_publication_Final.pdf

The abstract scheme of the Knowledge Triangle (KT) highlights the indispensable

necessity and vitality of the interdependence between KT actors (education-research-innovation), the competitive development of the country and the transfer of knowledge to society and the economy.

The interaction between KT actors is done on three channels, each of which is bidirectional:

1. The relationship between research and higher education. In this relation, the functions of the actors involved in the research activity are the transmission of new knowledge and results of the higher education research process, the elaboration and the provision of the scientific and methodological knowledge, as well as the methods of their application, etc. While the role of actors involved in education is to define qualifications for researchers, identify research areas for graduate students, coordinate their research projects, etc.

2. The relationship between research and innovation. Several actors are involved in this relationship, each of which has distinct functions.

For example, research should provide enterprises with the latest inventions, know-how of their use, as well as providing expertise and feasibility services in various fields.

In turn, enterprises define research directions, determine the economic parameters of

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applying research results, and apply in practice those research results that are expected to be profitable, etc.

On the other hand, the institutions for the promotion of technological transfer fulfill the function of mediation between the research activity and the real economy sector.

At the same time, business support organizations create and provide the necessary conditions for developing a healthy business environment and provide legal and economic advice to businesses, especially newly created.

3. The relationship between innovation and higher education. In this relation, the private environment (enterprises) formulates the academic environment for the professional and social skills of future specialists and managers, and universities integrate them into the university curriculum and prepare young professionals and managers in accordance with the modern requirements of the labor market and the real economy. Also, universities contribute to the development of entrepreneurial culture, collaborate with technology transfer promotion institutions, and participate in the cluster platform between students, scientists and business representatives.

In this context, it is clear that the separate activity of each KT element cannot ensure its functionality and, subsequently, beneficial effects in the process of building a knowledge-based economy at national level.

c) The notion and elements of the knowledge triangle in the Republic of Moldova The knowledge triangle has all the capabilities to introduce an effective contribution to

the progressive development of the society of the Republic of Moldova. Also, this triangle is based on ensuring a research process based on excellence, integrated into the international research circuit and geared to meeting the growing needs of society and the national economy.

Each component of this "knowledge triangle" contributes to raising the level of knowledge, increasing the productive capital stock, economic development by attracting investments, developing export industries, promoting the knowledge-based society, including by strengthening R & D, innovation and transfer Technologically, oriented towards efficiency and competitiveness.

Also, the knowledge triangle contributes to creating the necessary conditions for the realization of innovative products in the real sector of the economy - a key element for the establishment of a knowledge-based society and economy in the Republic of Moldova.

In this context, we consider it appropriate to identify the main actors involved in KT construction in the Republic of Moldova.

The priority directions for the development of the research and development activity in the Republic of Moldova are established by the Parliament of the Republic of Moldova. Research activity in the Republic of Moldova is managed almost entirely by the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Moldova (ASM) together with its executive body - the Supreme Council for Science and Technological Development (SCSTD) and other agencies and institutions subordinated to it: The Center for Financing Fundamental and Applied Research (CFFAR); The International Projects Center (IPC); Agency for Innovation and Technology Transfer (AITT); Advisory Expert Council (AEC). The research activity is also carried out in 66 institutions, including research institutes and research centers (including the 19 research institutes under the ASM subordination), 15 higher education institutions accredited by the National Council for Attestation and Accreditation and 11 other institutions type.

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At the same time, in the organization, management and realization of the research and development activity, the ASM is governed by the Partnership Agreement between the Government and the Academy of Sciences of Moldova.

The main actors in the field of Education are: the Ministry of Education and the network of higher education institutions in the Republic of Moldova, which in 2014 consisted of 31 institutions, including 19 state institutions and 12 non-state institutions.

The innovative activity is carried out by local enterprises and supported by the Organization for the Development of Small and Medium Enterprises (ODIMM), AITT, the State Agency for Intellectual Property (AGEPI), etc.

For the KT functionality in the Republic of Moldova, all the actors involved must achieve the functions described in the theoretical model of the knowledge triangle.

2. The current situation of the knowledge triangle in the Republic of

Moldova In a very short time, economic globalization has changed the world economic order,

generating new challenges, but also new opportunities. The Republic of Moldova cannot be competitive in this new context unless it becomes more innovative and responds more effectively to the needs and preferences of consumers. Given that remittances and, as a result, consumption are unable to fuel the long-term economic growth of the Republic of Moldova, we need a new development paradigm that involves smart growth based on investment, innovation and competitiveness.

During the 20 years of reform in the Republic of Moldova, state policies have undergone an essential metamorphosis: the priorities gradually evolved from fundamental science and military needs to key and industrial technologies. At present, a new stage is emerging, focusing on the innovations and societal needs as a whole.

An analysis of the sources of economic growth in the Republic of Moldova in a classic representation of the Cob-Douglas production function suggests a very alarming conclusion - without a serious effort to change the development paradigm, the growth potential in the next 10 years is limited to a Maximum of 4, 5% to 5% per year.

As a way to increase production, capital and knowledge about its use, the economic growth paradigm will involve attracting foreign and local investment, strengthening research and development activities, and developing export industries. On the other hand, the speed, scale and consistent approach of the broad spectrum of proposed reforms are also important.

This paradigm of economic growth must place the Triangle of Knowledge in the center, the elements of which are described above. Only by providing conditions for development of all sides of the knowledge triangle can be achieved a reliable economic growth that will significantly reduce the gap between our country and the European economies, and Moldova will become a competitive and innovative country in Europe.

The triangle of current knowledge in the Republic of Moldova is marked by the legacy of a centralized Soviet-type research-development-innovation system. Exodus of skilled labor, low capacity of domestic market, low production capacity, diversity of business constraints, etc. Determines the relatively low performance of each component of the Knowledge Triangle in the Republic of Moldova. Furthermore, its malfunctioning function is also determined by the weak interaction between the KT sides.

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As presented in the first part of this study, the triangle of knowledge in the Republic of Moldova contains three interdependent sides, namely: Education, Research and Innovation. The current situation is described in each of these three chapters.

a. Education Starting with 2005, the activity of the educational system in the Republic of Moldova is

largely determined by the adherence to the Bologna Process and the efforts of the authorities to comply with the university system with the European standards established in this process. The legal relations in the sphere of education are regulated by the Constitution of the Republic of Moldova and the Education Code of the Republic of Moldova1 (entered into force on 23 November 2014), as well as other legislative and normative acts in force. The Education Code is the fundamental normative act in the field of education at all levels, replacing the old Law of Education adopted in 1995.

Through the new Education Code, the Ministry of Education proposes a new approach to the education process, meant to modernize the education system in the context of the European integration process of the Republic of Moldova, in accordance with the Bologna Process. In this sense, the Education Code will also contribute to the implementation of the "Education 2020" Strategy, addressing in a consistent manner the issues of access, relevance and quality of education. The Education Code has several basic objectives, namely: promoting lifelong learning, ensuring a link with the labor market, establishing an effective quality assurance, monitoring and evaluation system in education, developing, supporting and motivating teachers to provide education quality and reconsideration of the education system from the point of view of quality and cost-effective educational services.2

Currently, the network of higher education institutions in the Republic of Moldova is made up of 31 institutions, including 19 state institutions and 12 non-state institutions (with a unit less than the 2013/14 study year). According to the National Bureau of Statistics, out of total state institutions, 2 institutions have only Cycle II - master's degree studies.

The participation of universities in the knowledge triangle focuses on the formation of young scientists and researchers in accordance with the requirements of the modern market, the introduction of new knowledge and the latest achievements in the field of higher education, etc. Universities are also research units. However, not all higher education institutions are accredited to carry out research and development activities. Out of 31 higher education institutions, only 15 are accredited as research and development institutions.

The number of students in higher education has decreased substantially in the last 3 years, by about 20,000. At the beginning of the 2015/16 study year, the number of students constituted 81.7 thousand (excluding foreigners), of which 82% studied in state institutions. The reduction of the number of students was registered both in state institutions (by 5.5 thousand persons compared to the 2014/15 study year) and in the non-state ones (by 2.3 thousand people). Gender breakdown reveals a preponderance of women - 57.8% of all students.

Approximately two-thirds of students are up-to-date learners, the rest - with low frequency. Compared to the 2014/15 study year, the share of low-frequency students decreased

1 Codul Educaţiei al Republicii Moldova nr. 152 din 17.07.2014, publicat în Monitorul Oficial Nr. 319-324 din 24.10.2014. Disponibil la: http://lex.justice.md/md/355156/ 2 http://edu.md/ro/evenimentele-saptaminii/codul-educa-iei-a-fost-aprobat-de-guvern-15969/

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by 0.9 percentage points. If we refer to state institutions, the number of students undergoing contract studies

decreased by 4.7 thousand people compared to the 2014/15 study year, in equal proportions in day-to-day and low-frequency education. The share of students undergoing contract studies in these institutions is 60.2% (compared with 62.1% in the 2014/15 study year). At the same time, the number of budget students the value of 26.7 thousand or 0.8 thousand less compared to the 2014/15 study year.

On average for 10 000 inhabitants there are 230 students in higher education institutions, compared to 252 in the academic year 2014/15.

After a decrease of the number of persons enrolled in Cycle I in the year 2015/16, there is an increase of 0.6 thousand, the value of the indicator being of 17.7 thousand. At the same time, 6.9 thousand people were enrolled in the second cycle of the higher education institutions, or by 0.3 thousand less than the 2014/15 study year (see annex Table 2).

Of the total number of persons enrolled in Cycle I, 79.2% were enrolled in secondary education, 18.7% - based on the average specialized studies, 0.8% - based on general studies of general culture and 1.3 % - based on higher education.

The increase in the number of persons enrolled in Cycle I is felt only in the field of social sciences, economics and law (by 22.8% compared to the 2014/15 study year) and in Cycle II - in services (by 20.9%).

The distribution of higher education students per program reveals a major decline recorded in higher education (by 7.8 thousand persons), and in the case of students under contract in state institutions - by 4.7 thousand persons. The number of students in master studies practically remained at the level of the previous academic year.

Table 1 Students in higher education by forms of education and forms of ownership in the

years 2013/14 - 2015/16, persons

2013/14 2014/15 2015/16 Total

students

from which: Total students

from which: Total students

from which:

female Pay for studies female Pay for

studies female Pay for studies

Total 97,285 55,067 69 187 89,529 51,496 62,059 81 669 47 217 55 000 Full-time 64,352 36,852 38 223 57,940 33,993 32,426 53 536 31 529 28 835

Part-time 32,933 18,215 30 964 31,589 17,503 29,633 28133

15 688

26 165 State institutions 78,919 45,586 50 821 72,474 42,345 45,004 66 938

38 966

40 269

Full-time 53,656 31,084 27 527 48,417 28,515 22,903 45 233 26 606 20 532

Part-time 25,263 14,502 23 294 24,057 13,830 22,101 21 705

12 390

19 737 Non-state institutions 18,366 9,481 18,366 17,055 9,151 17,055 14 731

8 221

14 731

Full-time 10,696 5,768 10,696 9,523 5,478 9,523 8 303 4 923 8 303

Part-time 7,670 3,713 7,670 7,532 3,673 7,532 6 402

3 298

6 428 Source: Biroul Naţional de Statistică. Activitatea instituţiilor de învăţământ superior în

anul de studii 2014/15, 2015/16. Available la: http://www.statistica.md/newsview.php?l= ro&idc = 168&id =5013

If we refer to the distribution of the number of graduates by general field of study, we

notice a higher share of graduates in fields such as economics (27.3% of total graduates), 9

education (14.8%), law (12.4 %) and engineering activities (8.8%). In the case of higher education graduates, 27 percent graduated economics, 20 percent graduated law and 15 percent - education.

The whole educational process was provided by 5.3 thousand people (basic staff) or by 1.2% less compared to the 2014/15 study year. Of the total staff, 2.7 thousand people hold a scientific degree, including 2.3 thousand - doctor of science and 0.4 thousand - PhD. The share of women in the total number of staff is 52.9%, being higher in the case of university lecturer (63.7%). (BNS, 2015).

The downward trend in the number of students is determined by the current quality of the education system, as well as by other deficiencies, including poor educational infrastructure, the exodus of teachers due to low wages in the education sector, non-compliance of the university curriculum with the market requirements.

It is anticipated that these shortcomings will be eliminated through the implementation of the new Education Code. In this context, it is important to note that for the implementation of the Education Code additional funding will be needed, public spending on education will reach 7-8% of GDP. Extending the duration of compulsory education will cost approximately 400 million lei annually, and support measures for young specialists will require about 61 million lei a year.

So, the expected results are conditioned by a multitude of other factors contributing to the creation of gross domestic product (namely a viable business environment, etc.) and political will.

There is a general consensus that education is a precondition for innovation, and research is usually focused on ensuring a link between higher education and the national innovation system. Equally important is the relationship between formal schooling and its impact on national innovation systems. In general, in order to participate and benefit from the knowledge-based society, some basic skills associated with high levels of innovation, in particular ICT and entrepreneurial skills are required.

The objectives of universities in the Republic of Moldova do not differ from those of the European universities: to have a greater visibility of the specific results in the public space, a more active and more relevant presence in the public space, transparency, accountability and comparability, a better relationship between Higher education, research and innovation; Promoting diversity in the university sector; Developing and implementing appropriate human capital management measures; Encouraging lifelong learning; Strengthening links with the non-academic sector; Improving financing conditions and promoting competitive and sustainable models.

However, during the achievement of the set objectives, higher education institutions face many problems: lack of high-level decision-making transparency, lack of quality standards and lack of strong political commitment in this area, lack of sufficient financial resources to ensure The exchange of good practices in foreign higher education institutions, the lack of common goals with the medium and long term private sector. All this, but not only, creates serious barriers to the organization, functioning and development of the education system in the Republic of Moldova.

Starting from the premise that the educational institutions must respond to the challenges of the knowledge-based society, respectively to cooperate effectively with the economic, administrative, political and non-profit environment, several actions have been initiated at the level of the Ministry of Education aimed at increasing the communication between universities

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and the entrepreneurial environment. According to the Education Code, higher education has a continuation of studies at Cycle

III, PhD. Admission to PhD studies, cycle III, and was conducted in accordance with: - Education Code no. 152 of July 17, 2014; - Regulation regarding the organization of doctoral studies, cycle III, approved by the

Government Decision no. 1007 of December 10, 2014; - The external evaluation methodology for authorizing the temporary functioning of the

Doctoral Schools and doctoral programs, approved by the Government Decision no. 586 of 24 August 2015 (Official Gazette of the Republic of Moldova, 2015, No. 241-246, Article 681);

- Government Decision no. 816 of November 11, 2015 Regarding the granting of the right to organize higher studies of doctorate to higher education institutions, consortia, national and international partnerships (Official Gazette of the Republic of Moldova, 2015, No. 306-310, art 909);

- The admission plan for higher doctoral studies, cycle III, financed by the state budget, for the study year 2015 - 2016, approved by the Government Decision no. 453 of July 24, 2015;

- Methodology for the organization of the Scientific Projects Competition for the distribution between doctoral schools of the doctoral grants from the state budget for the academic year 2015-2016, approved by Order of the Ministry of Education no. 936 of September 29, 2015;

- The distribution plan between the doctoral schools of grants from the state budget for the academic year 2015-2016, approved by Order of the Ministry of Education no. 1100 of November 19, 2015, as amended;

The Ministry of Education, in consultation with the interested ministries, proposed to the Government the Doctoral Budget Adoption Plan. The Government has approved a number of 320 doctoral grants (307 grants for the doctorate and 13 professional doctorate grants) for a period of at least 3 years, for higher studies of doctoral and scientific doctoral degree in the field of arts and sport. The admission plan for higher education for doctoral studies in the higher education institutions was elaborated on the basis of:

- proposals put forward by the institutions, - the analysis of the Admission Plan for the 2014-2015 academic year, approved by the

Government Decision no.731 of September 8, 2014, - Doctoral reports and surveys, monitored by the National Council for Accreditation and

Attestation. In the view of the Ministry of Education, the knowledge triangle in the Republic of

Moldova can be strengthened through higher doctoral studies, while ensuring the interaction of education with research (2 of the TC sides). In order to support this statement, several challenges, arguments and potential solutions are formulated. (Table 2)

Table 2. Problems and potential solutions in organizing studies at Cycle II, Doctorate in the

Republic of Moldova

N/o

Problem Argument Potential solution

1 Number of projects submitted for the 6 areas are not reported to the

Doctoral higher education should, first of all, prepare specialists able to strengthen

Advantaging, through the Admission Plan, the agricultural and technical

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needs of the labor market areas of national importance. sectors, as two of the areas of importance for the country's development, but also that of art

2. Research does not always have a practical purpose relevant for Moldova

Doctoral theses must not only follow to obtain the scientific title of doctor, but also create solutions to the problems Moldova is facing

- To award financing from the state budget for those scientific projects that come to research the most sensible changeless of the country and that are of national importance; - To involve employers in the establishment and determination of the doctoral themes

3. Too many doctoral schools

Focusing the specialists on a specific domain in a single Doctoral school would help resolve the problems, which would boost confidence, quality and encourage potential applicants and research services institution

It was concluded a memorandum with French Agencies of Universities that motivated 6 institutions to apply for a grant that follows to organize doctoral schools in several PhD centres.

Source: CRUDU, Rodica, Fostering knowledge triangle in Moldova through education. Vector European, Issue 1/2016, p. 8-18, ISSN 2345-1106. Available at: http://www.usem.md/uploads/files/Activitate_%C8%98tiin%C8%9Bific%C4%83_USEM/Vector_European_1_2016.pdf

At the same time, the process of Europeanization of Moldova also contributes to the

consolidation of the TC by intensifying the relations with the European Doctoral Schools (especially from Romania); Providing assistance to the administration of doctoral schools (organized seminars); Inviting foreign teachers to Doctoral Schools; The development of academic mobility practices of doctoral students based on collaborative contracts, etc.

However, the small number of international partnerships and consortium, as well as community programs, is discouraging; the small number of interdisciplinary and doctoral theses in international fellowship; Lack of experience and legal provisions on the organization of higher doctoral studies in consortia and partnerships: procedures for issuing a diploma, supporting theses; Financing problems in terms of financial autonomy, etc.

Also, in order to address the problem of the connection between the academic and the entrepreneurial environment, the Ministry of Education also initiated a series of reforms related to the above mentioned ones, aiming at the qualitative increase of the institutions' collaboration relations with the business environment and the labor market:

a. Developing the National Qualifications Framework for Higher Education and expanding this activity to other levels of education in line with the new provisions of the European Qualifications Framework and the latest changes in the structure of the national economy.

b. Updating the Nomenclature of Vocational Training, occupational standards at all levels of education, which will be able to cover the necessary competencies required by the labor market.

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c. Developing occupational standards for occupations included in the Occupation Classifier.

d. Modernizing the curriculum of the university, focusing on competences, the learner and the needs of the economic environment.

e. Inaugurating and Developing the Career Guidance and Career Guidance System for the professional orientation of young people by strictly referring to the actual structure of the national economy and the current situation on the labor market.

f. Establishment of student organizations, which, among other responsibilities, could contribute to the effective operation of an effective dialogue between the educational institution and the entrepreneurial environment through various means.

g. Encouraging partnerships and consortia between universities, doctoral schools and the national and international industrial / private sector, which, according to the provisions of the cooperation agreements, could contribute to:

• Facilitating students 'or young researchers' access to modern equipment and technologies through internships;

• Rapid and productive insertion of specialists into the labor market; • Promoting academic mobility, which would increase considerably, in the case of

international partnerships, the visibility of institutions and the dissemination of results at regional, European and global level;

• Stimulating research partnerships; • Involving the economic environment in the curriculum development process and the

National Qualifications Framework; • Numerical growth of consultancy requests offered by academics to entrepreneurs • Involving the private sector in establishing the themes of year, bachelor, master and

doctoral projects that could be grounded in identifying solutions to real problems in the regional economy;

• Participation of representatives from both environments (academic and entrepreneurial) to joint activities: conferences, round tables, scientific symposia, etc.

Finally, we can mention that, by setting strategic directions and priority objectives in the field of education, the Ministry of Education aims to create optimal conditions for the foundation of a knowledge society capable of contributing to a good socio-economic development of our country.

b. Research The economy of the Republic of Moldova, which is currently not on its highest heights,

should benefit fully from the funds allocated to education and research. This assertion has become a top priority in the National Strategy "Moldova 2020", which envisages linking the education system to the requirements of the labor market, in order to increase the productivity of the labor force and increase the employment rate in the economy.

Even if today we no longer need to convince anyone that research must have a strong impact on the society we live in and meet the rigors of modern times, the quality of communication and collaboration between academia and entrepreneurship remains a sensitive topic for the Republic of Moldova.

Innovation policy in the Republic of Moldova was originally conceived by the Soviet-type research and innovation model, in which the Academy of Sciences of Moldova (ASM) had

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extensive political rights.3 Over time, it has undergone a number of reforms. In 1992 (30 October), a new statute of the ASM was adopted, which established that it is "a state institution, the highest scientific forum in the country" and is responsible for the realization and coordination within the scope of its competence of the research policy fundamental. On July 29, 1999, as adopted the Law no. 557 on state policy in the sphere of research and development, which was later diagnosed with several "leaks" regarding the possibility of state co-financing of the research and development activities carried out by enterprises and the way of financing the research in the higher education institutions . In view of these shortcomings, as well as the role of politics in this respect, the 1999 law failed to achieve the purpose proposed by the authorities ("stimulating the development of the research and development sphere by diversifying the types of ownership and the legal forms of organization of the subjects of research and development "). Thus, in 2004, the R & D policy was fundamentally revised, the previous laws were repealed and was replaced by Law no. 259 of July 15, 2004, the Science and Innovation Code, by which the ASM has again become the principal authority responsible for all stages, policy components (development, implementation, monitoring, reporting) and the determination of research priorities. All public funding programs in the field of research, development and innovation are managed by the ASM through its executive body, the Supreme Council for Science and Technological Development (CSSDT), and its agencies and management institutions: Fund for Fundamental and Applied Research Funding; International Projects Center; Agency for Innovation and Technology Transfer. The Advisory Board of Experts provides evaluation for these three funding agencies. Thus, together with the 19 research institutes under its authority, ASM is the main research organization in the country.

Parliament adopts legislation that regulates the organization and functioning of the sphere of science and innovation; approves the strategic directions of the science and innovation sphere; approves the amount of funds to be allocated to the field of science and innovation and ratified the international cooperation treaties on science and innovation spheres.

The regulatory framework for research activity can hardly be separated from that of innovation activity. Notwithstanding this, it has undergone considerable reform in recent years.

Table 3 refers to the most important legislative and normative acts regulating the R & D and innovation activity of the Republic of Moldova.

Table 3. The main laws regulating the R & D activity and innovation in the Republic of

Moldova

N/o

Law

1 Code on Science and Innovation of the Republic of Moldova, Code no. 259 of 15.07.2004;

2 Partnership Agreement between Government and Academy of Sciences of Moldova for 2013, GD. 714 of 09.12.2013;

3 Law on scientific-technological parks and innovation incubators no. 138-XVI from 21.06.2007;

4 Law on Information and State Information Resources, nr. 467-XV of 21.11.2003 5 Law on State Agency for Intellectual Property no. 114 of July 3, 2014

3 Statutul provizoriu al Academiei de Ştiinţe a RSMM din 12 decembrie 1990, aprobat de Guvernul RSSM la Adunarea Generală a Academiei

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6 Law on Protection of Industrial Designs No. 161-XVI (adopted on 12.07.2007, in force from 01.12.2007)

7 Law regarding the protection of marks Act. 38-XVI (adopted on 29.02.2008, in force from 06.09.2008)

8. Law regarding Plant Variety Protection Act no. 39-XVI (adopted on 29.02.2008, in force from 06.09.2008)

9 Law regarding the protection of inventions. 50-XVI (adopted on 07.03.2008, in force from 10.04.2008)

10 Law on Copyright and Related Rights No. 139 (adopted on 02.07.2010, in force from 01.01.2011)

Source: CRUDU, Rodica, Achievements and challenges of research and development activity as one of the pillars of knowledge triangle in the Republic of Moldova, Eastern European Journal of Regional Studies, Vol. I, Issue 1, 2015, p. 67-81, 0,82 c.a., ISSN: 1857-436X

In addition to the laws listed in Table 3, a number of development strategies have been

developed and adopted, including: • Innovation Strategy of the Republic of Moldova for the period 2013-2020

"Innovations for Competitiveness" approved by GD no. 952 of November 27, 2013 - (Innovation Strategy), elaborated by the Ministry of Economy and approved in September 2013 by the Government. It sets out five general objectives: adopting an open governance model for research and innovation (C & I); Enabling entrepreneurship and innovation skills to be built; Company orientation towards innovation; Applying knowledge to solve global societal problems; Stimulating demand for innovative products and services, etc .;

• The R & D Strategy of the Republic of Moldova until 2020 developed under the guidance of the ASM and approved by the Government in December 2013, aims to increase R & D investment to 1% GDP by 2020;

In both strategies the thematic priorities are not clearly identified (for example, in the R & D strategy, the priorities coincide with the six societal challenges of Horizon 2020);

• The National Strategy for the Development of the Information Society "Moldova Digital 2020" (September 2013) aims to create a ground for the development and widespread use of the potential of information and electronic communication technology by public institutions, business community and society In general, by optimal state intervention;

• The National Intellectual Property Strategy by 2020 - aimed at strengthening the legal and institutional framework that will lead to the creation, protection, management and full use of the potential of intellectual property (IP), which should become a fundamental element in the development of A sustainable economy based on knowledge, innovation and a source of national wealth for the Republic of Moldova.

Another strategic document elaborated by the Ministry of Economy, which supports industrial development efforts, is the Concept of the cluster development of the Moldovan industrial sector.4 The purpose of the concept is to determine the needs and possibilities of implementing and developing a mechanism for associating economic agents in "clusters" in order to contribute to the efficient and competitive development of the industrial branches. State intervention proposed by conception is related to the cluster development of industrial branches with significant growth potential, in which the necessary prerequisites for the creation of clusters have been formed. The creation of clusters is predestined to solve the problem of declining

4 Hotărîrea Guvernului Republicii Moldova nr.614 din 20.08.2013 cu privire la „ Concepţia dezvoltării clusteriale a sectorului industrial al Republicii Moldova ”.

15

industrial activity, due to the reduced competitiveness of the Moldovan enterprises. This concept is the first comprehensive document on the creation and development of clusters in the industrial sector and is based on best practices in Europe, China and other countries.

Concept aims to achieve the following potential effects on research activity - innovation (R & I): increased demand for services research - development (R & D) from businesses, raising skill levels of researchers, promoting technology transfer, development of research centers in branch , ensuring the access of scientific institutions to new sources of funding, etc.

The capacity of research institutions depends on the quality of the equipment, the quality of the researchers and management in the field. Since 2005, several research institutions have benefited from funding to renovate the equipment or equip new laboratories.

In 2014, R & D activity was carried out in 66 institutions, including 40 research institutes and centers, 15 higher education institutions and 11 other institutions. Of the total of institutions, about 77% are state institutions, which is less than in 2013 when their share was 83%.

At the end of 2014, 5038 people (of which 51.4% women) were active in research institutions, which is 1.1% more than in 2013. Of the total number of employees, 70% Activated full time.

According to the data of the National Bureau of Statistics (NBS), 3935 persons had higher education degree (78.1%), 376 persons are specialized in secondary education (7.5%) and 727 persons had a different level of education ,(4%). By category of occupations, the majority of R & D employees were researchers (65.8%), followed by auxiliary staff (15.0%), other categories of employees performing functions related to the activity of the institution in general (13, 6%) and technicians (5.6%).5 (Table 4)

Table 4. Employees from R & D activity by occupational categories, in 2013-2014

Persons Structure - % - 2013 2014 2013 2014

Total including women

Total including women

Total including women

Total including women

Total employees - 4981 2592 5038 2588 100,0 100,0 100,0 100,0

researchers 3250 1559 3315 1586 65,2 60,1 65,8 61,3

technicians 304 231 282 205 6,1 8,9 5,6 7,9

auxiliary staff 750 386 758 402 15,1 14,9 15,0 15,5 other categories 677 416 683 395 13,6 16,0 13,6 15,3

Source: Biroul Naţional de Statistică. Activitatea de cercetare-dezvoltare în anul 2014. Disponibilă la: http://www.statistica.md/newsview.php?l=ro&idc=168&id=4728

The downward trend of researchers in the Republic of Moldova is caused by massive

5 Biroul Naţional de Statistică. Activitatea de cercetare-dezvoltare în anul 2014. Disponibilă la: http://www.statistica.md/newsview.php?l=ro&idc=168&id=4728

16

labor exodus abroad due to the precarious economic situation and low salaries of R & D employees. Moreover, besides the fact that low wages have encouraged researchers Professionals to go abroad, they did not motivate young researchers to pursue their research career. Although the salary situation of researchers has slightly improved (the average monthly salary of a researcher in 2013 was 3,870 lei6), the analysis of the age structure of researchers in 2014, reveals that 43% of all researchers have passed the age of 54 More than a third is for researchers aged 35-54 (34.8%), and 22.2% for young researchers (aged up to 35). At the same time, every fifth researcher is over 64 years old. (Figure 2).

Figure 2. Structure of researchers by age group in 2014

Source: National Bureau of Statistics of the Republic of Moldova. Research and development activity in 2014: http://www.statistica.md/newsview.php?l=ro&idc=168&id=4728

The disaggregation of gender-related data reveals that in 2014, on average, 100 male

researchers were recruited by 92 female researchers, equal to the previous year. According to NBS data, the largest share of researchers was active in the field of natural

sciences (36.1%), followed by those in the social sciences with a weight of 15.0%. Compared to 2013, the structure of researchers in scientific fields has changed, in particular, the share of researchers in humanities (by 1.7 p.p.) and the share of researchers in social sciences (by 2.4 p.p) increased in parallel.

Although the value of funding for the science and innovation sphere in 2011-2014 has been on the rise, this volume has not fully enabled the cessation of scientists' exodus, the renovation of the technical and material basis, and the restoration of the prestige of scientific and innovation activity. Moreover, this funding as a share of GDP has been decreasing in recent years (Figure 2), accounting for only 0.35% of GDP in 2014. This performance is much lower than the average performance of EU Member States through the Europe 2020 strategy to target 3% of GDP for the research and innovation sphere. (Figure 3)

Source: CRUDU, Rodica. Achievements and challenges of research and development

6 AŞM. Raport privind activitatea CSȘDT și rezultatele științifice principale obținute în sfera științei și inovării în anul 2014 și în perioada 2011–2014. Available at: http://asm.md/administrator/fisiere/rapoarte/f172.pdf, p. 28

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activity as one of the pillars of knowledge triangle in the Republic of Moldova, Eastern European Journal of Regional Studies, Vol. I, Issue 1, 2015, p. 67-81, 0,82 c.a., ISSN: 1857-436X

According to NBS data, the structure of current component expenditures shows a

preponderance for personnel expenses - about 72% or 278.8 million lei (by 32.3 million lei more than in 2013). The material expenses amounted to 2.5 million lei less and amounted to 63.7 million lei. Expenditures attributable to the "other" category constituted 45.8 million lei or 17.8 million lei more than in 2013. (Table 4)

Capital expenditures in amount of 26.9 million lei, increasing by 11.5 million lei or 1.7 times compared to 2013. Expenditures directed to the direct endowment of the R & D units / institutions amounted to 24, 6 million lei, increasing by 1.8 times compared to 2013.7

Capital investments are very important in the research process if they involve the purchase of new equipment and technologies, which can therefore increase investment returns. In these expenditures, which represent over 90% of total capital expenditures, they account for 27.7% of the total R & D expenditure and, as required, are rather modest. (Table 5)

Table 5.

Structure of public expenditures in the field of Research and Development

2011 2012 2013 2014

Total research activity expenditure (MDL million)

333,5 368,2 356 415,2

Current expenditures (mln MDL) • Staff costs • Material Expenses • Other current expenses

312,9

70,1 % 20,0 % 9,9 %

368,2

71,2 % 18,6 % 10,2 %

340,7

72,4 % 19,4 % 8,2 %

388,3

71,8 % 16,4 % 11,8 %

Capital expenditures (mln MDL) • Capital expenditures for equipment • Other Capital Expenses

20,6

92,7 % 7,3 %

14,1

97,2 % 2,8 %

15,4

86,4 % 13,6 %

26,9

91,4 % 8,6 %

Source: Prepared by the author based National Bureau of Statistics. Funds for science and innovation have been used both for the maintenance and

development of scientific institutions in the fields of health, agriculture, education, culture, and state programs, staff training, etc. According to SCADD data, of 1185.8 mln. Lei, allocated from the state budget for science and innovation in 2011-2014, 986.3 mln. Lei were allocated for scientific research activities, which accounted for 83.2% of the total funding. (Table 6)

Of the total volume of funding for fundamental research, 316.9 million lei or 26.7% of the total amount of funding for scientific research were allocated, and for applied research were allocated 669.4 million lei, or 56.5% 8. (Table 6)

7 BNS. Activitatea de cercetare-dezvoltare în anul 2014. Disponibilă la: http://www.statistica.md/newsview.php?l=ro&idc=168&id=4728 8 AȘM. Raport privind activitatea CSȘDT și rezultatele științifice principale obținute în sfera științei și inovării în

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Financing of activities in the sphere of science and innovation, according to the priority directions of science development, approved by the Parliament Decision no. 150 of 14 June 2013 is implemented in an institutional and competitive system: for institutional projects, state programs, projects for young researchers, bilateral themes and projects, and innovation and technology transfer projects selected through competition, grants for monograph editing, subsidies For the organization of scientific conferences and doctoral scholarships, etc.

According to ASM data, in 2014 the public funds were distributed on the following strategic directions: "Materials and innovative products" - 97.0 million lei (36.6%); "Biotechnology" - 70.6 million lei (26.4%); "National Patrimony and Society Development" - 52 million lei (19.4%); "Health and Biomedicine" - 41 million lei (15.3%); "Energy efficiency and capitalization of renewable energy sources" -6.8 million lei (2.5%)

Table 6. Dynamics of the execution of basic expenditures by priority areas of activity in the

years 2011-2014 (million lei)

Types of research Executed Total 2011 2012 2013 2014

Fundamental scientific research 74,5 77,2 76,4 88,8 316,9

Institutional projects 69,5 73,8 72,5 84,8 300,6

State programs 0,6 0,6 0,5 0,4 2,1 Projects for young researchers 1,4 0,9 1,1 1,5 4,9 Bilateral themes and projects 3 1,9 2,3 2,1 9,3

Applied scientific research 164,3 171,1 157,1 176,9 669,4

Institutional projects 138 147,6 142,6 157,9 586,1

State programs 7,5 6,9 1,6 3,2 19,2 Projects for young researchers 2,1 2,1 1,9 1,5 7,6 Bilateral themes and projects 3,6 2,5 3,8 4,4 14,3 Technology transfer projects 8,6 8 7 9,9 33,5 Other expenses 4,5 4 0,2 – 8,7

Total scientific research 238,8 248,3 233,5 265,7 986,3

Training the cadres 13,1 14,6 2,6 2,7 33 Institutions and actions for science and innovation not allocated to other groups

20,6 31,5 37,5 43,4 133

Administrative bodies 5,8 6,6 7,1 7,7 27,2

Total, basic expenses 278,3 301 280,7 319,5 1

179,5

Capital investments 3 3,2 – – 6,2

Total science and innovation 281,3 304,2 280,7 319,5 1

185,7

anul 2014 și în perioada 2011–2014. Chișinău, 2015, p. 37. Disponibilă la: http://asm.md/administrator/fisiere/rapoarte/f172.pdf

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Source: ASM. The report on CSDTT activity and the main scientific results obtained in the field of science and innovation in 2014 and 2011-2014. Available at: http://asm.md/administrator/fisiere/rapoarte/f172.pdf

In spite of these strategic directions, most R & D policy measures in the Republic of

Moldova are generic and the procedures and instruments for financing, evaluation, monitoring and reporting are identical for all thematic priorities. From all R & D funding instruments, only state programs are thematic9. However, the subjects in the programs are largely retained and the funding allocated for this measure is modest.

At the same time, it is worth mentioning that the trend in recent years has been to increase the share of institutional funding to the detriment of other funding instruments. In 2014, over 90% of public funds were allocated to institutional projects. (Table 6)

Under the current legislation, universities are directly dependent on the Supreme Council for Science and Technology Development (CSDP) and on institutional projects in the development and funding of research activities.

According to the Partnership Agreement, among the attributions of the ASM are listed: distribute the budget allocations according to the strategic directions of the science and innovations; Organizes the elaboration of the state programs, the international scientific and technical scientific programs, as well as the mechanisms for their realization; Develop mechanisms for monitoring and stimulating the implementation of the results of state programs in the field of science and innovation, as well as for the formation of product markets of this sphere; Promotes innovation and technology transfer. The SCSDT structure consists of 17 members, of which only 3 represent the university sector. In addition to these 3 members, only 2 are outside the ASM (representatives of CNAA and AGEPI). So the ASM concentrates 12 out of a total of 17 members of CSDP.

Unlike the institutions subordinated to the ASM, institutions eligible for full financing of the projects from the state budget, state universities can only claim membership status, allowing them to receive partial financing from the state budget, based on competition , And private universities can claim only affiliate membership, which allows them to benefit from budget funding up to 40% of the total amount of the winning project. In recent years, the share of spending on R & D and innovation in GDP has fallen from 0.7% in 2008 to 0.35% (385 million Lei) in 201410.

At first glance, these schemes appear to be competitive, but the analysis of their results and their effects on the economic development of the whole country is insignificant.

An important indicator of the scientific activity in the higher education system of the Republic of Moldova is the participation of universities in institutional projects, which form the basis of the fundamental researches. Comparative data of the Center Funding Fundamental and Applied Research Funding (CFCFA) within the Academy of Sciences of Moldova on the share of HEIs in their institutional projects and their funding, come to confirm the committee's conclusions on the unfair distribution of funds (Table 7).

It is obvious that such financing mirrors the policy of the Republic of Moldova in the

9 Cuciureanu G. ERAWATCH Country Reports 2013: Moldova 2014, p. 10-11. Available at: http://erawatch.jrc.ec.europa.eu/erawatch/export/sites/default/galleries/generic_files/file_0527.pdf 10 AŞM. Raport privind activitatea CSȘDT și rezultatele științifice principale obținute în sfera științei și inovării în anul 2014 și în perioada 2011–2014. Available at: http://asm.md/administrator/fisiere/rapoarte/f172.pdf, p. 36

20

priority areas of the economy, whose number, as it becomes clear from the results presented, does not appear explicitly in agriculture. Otherwise, how could it be explained that in 2014, for a single project of the Academy of Sciences, 913.2 thousand lei were allocated, while for 7 projects of the State University of Moldova (UASM) allocated only 848.4 thousand lei. The same situation was confirmed during the period 2010-2013 (Table 7).

Table 7. List of ongoing projects for 2008-2014

YEAR

Total projects institutional

Total Universities USMF UTM

project sum proje

ct Sum project sum projec

t Sum

2008 314 210098,5 114 22762,

3 18 7425,2 28 3840,4

2009 314 285341,4 116 24953,

3 19 8668,2 28 4270,4

2010 314 208226,9 116 25824,

7 20 8880,4 26 3762,9

2011 269 200402,1 108 25236,

7 21 9080,4 25 3262,9

2012 268 223240,1 109 29196,

3 20 9547,9 25 4243,2

2013 262 212583,6 105 25639,

4 20 8355,2 25 3833,9

2014 260 246790,1 103 30430,

4 20 10387,1 25 4747,8

YEAR ASEM UASM USB Un. AŞM

project sum projec

t Sum project sum project Sum

2008 1 208,9 8 760,5 11 1714,6 - - 2009 1 211,9 8 760,5 12 1788,0 - - 2010 1 199,8 8 1083,0 12 1216,6 2 1332,7 2011 2 491,8 7 693,0 14 1316,6 1 892,7 2012 2 500,1 7 804,7 14 1337,1 1 977,9 2013 2 425,8 7 706,4 11 1152,6 1 840,6 2014 2 459,8 7 838,4 10 1258,9 1 913,2

Source: Developed by CFCFA according to the database of the Moldovan Official Gazette "MoldLex" (Official Gazette of the Republic of Moldova.) Special Edition of

27.06.2008, from 31.07.2009, from 29.06.2010, from 24.06.2011, from 22.06.2012 , 16.08.2013, 05.09.2014).

While the share of universities in institutional projects is 47%, their funding is only

11.7% for the period 2008-2014. This is reflected more clearly in the diagrams below (Figure 4 and Figure 5).

21

Source: Authors elaborated according to the data of the Ministry of Economy of Moldova "MoldLex" (Official Gazette of the Republic of Moldova, special edition of 27 June 2008, 531 July 2009, 29 June 2010, 24 June 2011, 22 June 2011 2012, August 16, 2013, September 5, 2014).

Insufficient funding of institutional projects involving the higher education

institutions of the republic cannot contribute to motivating its employees to participate in research activities.

According to Popa A. studies, "the main form of promoting state policy in the field of science and innovation, according to the Code, is represented by state programs. In spite of their importance, due to insufficient financial means, they have not become the main instrument for achieving state policy. "11 According to the same author, around 8% of total RDI allocations are state-funded funding. The experience of other countries denotes another situation in this respect. In most countries with a developed and performing RDI sphere, state-funded funding exceeds net institutional funding, in some cases even reaching the 70/30% ratio, with institutional funding being funded only by those military institutions Or unique in its field.

It is difficult to look for alternative ways of materially supporting research at universities in Moldova, as it is largely dependent on the public sector, which subsidizes 90% of the cost of research, while in the EU this figure is 35% , Which is a great incentive for researchers to achieve optimal scientific results capable of generating income. (Figure 6)

11 Popa A., Prohnitchi V., Cercetare, Dezvoltare și Inovare în Republica Moldova probleme și opțiuni. Expert Grup, Chișinău 2011

Figure 4. The ratio between the total number of institutional projects and the

number of projects belonging to the universities in Moldova

Figure 5. The ratio between the financing of institutional projects belonging to the

universities in Moldova and the total financing of the projects

22

Figure 6. The Index of Science and Innovation Financing in the Republic of Moldova

Source: HOLBAN, I., COTUN, C. Sustainable development of society - the fundamental problem of the science of the Republic of Moldova (problems, principles, criteria, standards, statistical data, analyzes, approvals, opinions). In: Intellectus no. 2, 2014, p.60-73.

The most important conclusion regarding the financing of the research and

innovation activity in the Republic of Moldova is that the decision-making system in the field of research and innovation is overly centralized, the absolute priority is given to the generation of knowledge and less use and dissemination and the private sector And society are not involved in the policy dialogue. It is necessary to extend the scope of research of all centers in the Republic of Moldova, as well as the mechanisms that could contribute to their development.

At the same time, the lack of a set of indicators that would evaluate the results of research and their impact on the achievement of national targets makes the efficiency of funding to be judged to be quite low, accompanied by the risk that budgetary resources are directed to activities that are not national priorities.

At the same time, due to the high political costs as well as the difficulties faced by universities in taking on research responsibilities, the decentralization of R & D & I seems to be an early model for Moldova at this stage. However, in the long run, this could be the optimal solution, assuming that universities are improving cardinal quality of educational services and reinforcing their research management capabilities.12

An important feature of the cost effectiveness of R & D is their dependence on the implementing institution. Motivation and financial possibilities for research-innovation activities vary from public institutions to private ones. While in the Republic of Moldova the private sector is more market-oriented, increasing productivity, lowering production costs and increasing the applicability of innovations, the financial possibilities of the private sector are generally relatively low or non-existent. International experience, however, shows that fundamental research is carried out in public institutions and universities, and applied research is more often

12 Popa A., Prohnitchi V., Cercetare, Dezvoltare și Inovare în Republica Moldova probleme și opțiuni. Expert Grup, Chișinău 2011, p. 12-13

23

done by the private sector. Therefore, private sector access to public R & D resources is very important. This

finding becomes quite important in the context in which the access of the private sector to public funds for research and development in the Republic of Moldova is limited.

In recent decades, the trend in developed economies is to encourage public R & D organizations to engage more in applied research, usually in collaboration with private companies. These collaborations provide additional potential sources of funding for public R & D organizations. However, in order to catalyze the emergence and development of such partnerships, more favorable conditions have to be created in various directions, such as: the legal system, the status of organizations, the tax system, the intellectual property protection system, etc. Although private sector funding is not a common practice in the EU, it can be used to set aside the market failure of R & D in the Republic of Moldova. Nevertheless, the legislation of the Republic of Moldova restricts the access of private companies to public funds for research and development.13

In response to the numerous criticisms regarding the system of financing the research and innovation activity in the Republic of Moldova, the Fund for Fundamental and Applied Research Funding was created in 2012. This center was created as a subdivision of the ASM and the objective of its creation was to improve the competitive allocation of public R & D funds and to separate the funding of the executive and political bodies of the ASM. However, we note that this center is still a subdivision within the ASM, and since its creation, essential changes in the process of financing the research activity have not been achieved.

At the same time, there is a low level in the Republic of Moldova between the researchers and the entrepreneurs.

However, in the research chapter, as the second element of the Knowledge Triangle, in accordance with European good practices, the conjugation of research with education through the establishment of doctoral studies, III. Reforms in this area are or will be supported by other priority actions:

a. Promoting research performance as a criterion for evaluating and promoting the quality of vocational training programs and higher education staff.

b. Elaboration of minimum performance standards in research required to obtain scientific titles.

c. Separate funding for doctoral programs. d. Establishing and applying mechanisms to attract young researchers performing in

academic careers. e. Establishing and applying transparent and competitive mechanisms of financial

support for research conducted by academic staff with proven performance in the field. f. Association of the Republic of Moldova to the new European Framework

Program for Research and Innovation "Horizon 2020". In conclusion, it can be mentioned that although the changes occur, they are done

quite slowly, so its results and its effects on the efficiency of the research activity are not yet obvious.

c. Innovation In the Republic of Moldova, the innovation activity is regulated by the Law on

13 Popa A., Prohnitchi V., Cercetare, Dezvoltare și Inovare în Republica Moldova probleme și opțiuni. Expert Grup, Chișinău 2011, p. 12-13

24

Scientific and Technological Parks and Innovative Incubators no. 138-XVI of 21.06.2007, as well as other legislative acts listed in Table 2 and strategy papers on the research-innovation activity at national level.

The main institutions responsible for planning, organizing and managing innovation activity in the Republic of Moldova are the Academy of Sciences of the Republic of Moldova, the Ministry of Economy, the Agency for Innovation and Technology Transfer, the State Agency for Intellectual Property (AGEPI), etc.

As for the mechanism of financing the innovation activity in the Republic of Moldova, it is worth mentioning that the general public budget or the budgets of the Moldovan organizations do not include a specific financing line for innovation. The National Bureau of Statistics does not calculate an indicator on the financing of innovation. It is therefore difficult to estimate the volume of innovation financing and to assess the balance between research and innovation funding. Only the AITT budget is intended to promote and finance innovation. However, AITT funding does not exceed 2% of the total funding of public R & D activity.

AITT finances innovation through two main tools: - Technology transfer and innovation projects - the budget is about 6 million lei per

year, half of which is used by the private sector; - Technical-scientific parks and innovative incubators, forming the innovative

infrastructure - the budget is about 2 million lei annually. Innovation and technology transfer projects are a tool to stimulate innovation in

SMEs by partially taking over the risks of this innovation. Technological transfer is the introduction into the economic circuit of specific technologies and equipment, equipment and installations, hybrids, varieties, breeds, preparations, etc., resulting from research or purchased, in order to increase the efficiency and quality of products, services, processes or others We are demanded on the market or adopt innovative behavior, including dissemination of information, explanation, transfer of knowledge, consulting, passing through an idea or technologies from the author to the beneficiary.

The technological transfer of scientific results from the research and business worlds is the main method of boosting economic growth across the world, and research into the benefit of SMEs is an absolute priority in the Europe 2020 strategy of the European Union.

Every year, the Agency for Innovation and Technology Transfer launches the competition for innovation and technology transfer projects with financing from the state budget up to 50% of the total cost of the project. The mandatory condition for the implementation of the innovation and technology transfer projects is the implementation of an innovation or technology for the Republic of Moldova. The implementation period of the innovation and technological transfer projects is maximum 2 years.

According to AITT, 33 innovation and technology transfer projects were received at the competition for innovation and technology transfer projects for 2014-2015, of which 12 were financed in 2014 from the state budget in the amount of 4 785 700 lei. At the same time, in 2014, 7 projects in progress for the period 2013-2014 were financed in the amount of 3 880 000 lei from the state budget. In total, 19 projects with a financing volume of 8,665,700 lei from the state budget and 11,905,000 lei from private sources were financed in the year 2014, out of which 11 projects were based on patents, for 2 projects will be Patent applications and 6 projects

25

are based on know-how. (Figure 7 and Figure 8)14

Figure 7. Dynamics of technology transfer financing projects, in the years

2005-2015, thousand lei

Source: AITT. Report on Managerial Activity 2011-2015. Chisinau 2016

The decline in the number of funded projects over the last years is explained by the fact that the fund for the financing of innovation and technological transfer projects has not been increased so far. Another reason is the continuous increase of investment costs in projects that ultimately lead to a lower number of funded projects.

Figure 8. Dynamics of the number of technology transfer projects for the years 2005-2015

Source: AITT. Annual Report, 2016

In order to determine the socio-economic impact of the technology transfer projects, it is necessary to assess the performance. One of the indicators is the volume of the innovative product resulting from these projects. Taking into account the value observed in 2014, it is

14 AITT. Raportul privind activitatea managerială 2011-2015. Chisinau 2016 26

concluded that every leu invested from public and private funds in Technological Transfer Projects received 2.0 lei from sales of innovative products. (Figure 9)

Figure 9. Amount of innovative products from technology transfer projects marketed in 2005- 2014, lei

Source: AITT. Report on managerial activities. 2014 (2011-2014). Chisinau 2015

The current innovative infrastructure of the Republic of Moldova consists of 3 scientific-technological parks and 8 innovation incubators, which have benefited from public funding. As with technology transfer projects, these entities, in addition to support from the state budget, come with their financial contribution. The co-financing is carried out by the incubator manager. Figure 10 represents the amount of public funds allocated in 2014, as well as co-financing of residents.

Figure 10. Relation between financing and co-financing of approved projects in 2015 (lei)

Source: AITT. Annual report 2015

In 2015, 33 companies held the status of resident in 3 science and technology parks and 8 innovation incubators.

27

The main indicators15 of the work of residents of science and technology parks and innovation incubators in 2014 are presented in Table 8

Table 8.

Main indicators of the work of residents of science and technology parks

(STP) and Innovation Incubators (II) in 2015

Nr Name of STP / II

No. of innovation

objects

No.of new jobs

Attracted investment (th.lei)

inclusive:

Amount of marketed innovative

products (th. lei)

inclusive Number of residents

State budget (th. lei )

Other Sources (th. lei )

Exported goods (th.

lei) total

new

whose status

expired

potential

1.

P.Ş.T. „Academica

”

0 97 500 250 250 8309,3 160 19 6 6 4

2. I.I. „Inovatorul

”

0 2 0 0 0 0 0 1 1 2 2

3. PŞT “Inagro”

4. PŞT “Micronano

teh”

1 3 2542,4 040 502,4 0 0 2 0 0 0

5. II “Politehnica

”

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

6. II “Inventica-

USM”

2 8 2200 950 1250 0 0 1 1 0 2

7. II “Nord” 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 -

8. II “Innocenter

”

1 12 300 249,8 50,2 20,0 20,0 2 5

9. II “Antrepren

orul Inovativ”

0 61 1360 689 671 6857 0,0 - 1

10. II IT4BA 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0

11 II „Media Garage”

0 0 0 0 0 0 0 0 3

TOTAL 4 183 2700 6902,4 4178,8 15186,3 180 32 8 17

Source: AITT. Annual report, 2015

15 6 The value of some indicators includes the results obtained by the companies whose status of resident expired in 2014.

28

In the period of 2011-2015, 8 new entities of the innovation infrastructure were created: 2011: II “Universcience” and II “Politehnica” 2012: II “Inventica-USM”, II “Nord”, II “Innocenter” and II “Itech” 2013: II “Antreprenorul Inovativ” 2014: II “Media Garaj” 2015: II “IT4BA” The investments of the statute during this period, in the development of the infrastructure

of these entities, constituted a total of 9332.5 thousand lei (Figure 11)

Figure 11. Dynamics of State Investments in the Development of Innovative Infrastructure in 2011-2015, thousand lei

4000 3560 2997,5

3000

2026,9

2000 1441 1334,2 1000

0

2011 2012 2013 2014 2015

Source: AITT. Report on managerial activities. 2015 (2011-2015). Chisinau 2016

Although the number of residents grew in 2013 (due to the creation of the incubator “Antreprenorul Inovativ”, which started with 6 residents), other indicators, such as the amount of marketed innovative production and the amount of attracted investments, have been falling. A slight recovery occurred in attracted investments. (Figure 12)

Figure 12. Dynamics of the main indicators of innovation parks and incubators in the period of 2011-2015

Source: AITT. Report on managerial activities. 2015 (2011-2016). Chisinau 2016 Funding for innovation through venture funds, innovation vouchers or other similar

instruments able to stimulate innovation in the private sector are not yet well-developed.16 Also, some innovation activities are funded by the Ministry of Economy, most of them

through the Organization for Small and Medium Enterprises Sector Development (OSMESD).

16CUCIUREANU. G, ERAWATCH Country Reports 2013: Moldova 2014, p. 10-11. Available at: http://erawatch.jrc.ec.europa.eu/erawatch/export/sites/default/galleries/generic_files/file_0527.pdf

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The main programs of the OSMESD are as follows: - “PARE 1+1” – a program launched to attract remittances into the economy and

mobilize the human and financial resources of migrant workers. The basic principle of this program is that for every invested leu the state offers one more. Thus, the amount of subsidies granted in 2013 through this program was nearly € 2 million and migrants’ investments about € 6 million;

- National Youth Economic Empowerment Program – a program launched to support young entrepreneurs in rural areas and facilitate the creation of start-ups. In 2013, funding through this program amounted at about € 5 million;

- Credit Guarantee Fund – an instrument intended to facilitate access to funding for newly created companies, offering them guarantees of 70% of the loan and a warranty period of up to 3 years. By the end of 2013, the amount of investments with the support of this instrument was about € 4.5 million.

The analysis of the principles and mechanisms of these funding instruments allows us to emphasize the fact that they also fund (not exclusively) innovation activities, but there is no separate accounts monitoring for such activities. Moreover, the budget of these instruments does not meet the requirements of the local business environment. We also find that “PARE 1+1” is discriminatory and we recommend competent authorities to consider opening access to this program to all Moldovan citizens. This suggestion results from the consideration that according to this program the State offers one m. u. from the state budget for every m. u. from remittances. Contributors to the state budget are the Moldova citizens who work in the country, and so they, who are usually poorer, must fund those who work or used to work abroad, who are usually better off. At present, national prosperity and high individual living standards, which need to be achieved in a knowledge-based economy, are directly related to the efficient implementation of innovations, which involves using the results of creative activities. In this respect, patenting is an important element of competitiveness and an economic indicator of a country.

Statistics on patents are used as an empirical measure of innovation results. They provide information about the areas of economic interest, about research activities, and can be used for various scientific and economic studies. According to AGEPI, in 2014, 161 applications for various types of intellectual protection were registered and 171 patents were issued, which is 12% more than in 2013. It can be explained by the fact that in 2014 all projects of fundamental and applied scientific research were completed and researchers focused more on the relevance of theoretical and practical scientific results and on their implementation in the country’s economy.

The number of patent applications by Moldovan researchers is relatively large compared to population numbers and the size of economy – over 4,500 patent applications in the period of 2006-201217 . However, only 28% had a duration of more than 5 years in 2012. The small number of renewed patents is partly explained by return of taxes for a period of five years, which applies to researchers from Moldova. Other reasons for this situation are low applicability of registered inventions (determined by the profile of the Moldovan economy), weak links between R&D sectors and businesses and, in general, a low innovation culture.18

The situation regarding invention patents obtained abroad is even more marginal. According to the World Intellectual Property Organization, in the period of 2006-2011 only

17 WIPO (2013): World Intellectual Property Organisation. Statistics on Patents, http://www.wipo.int/ipstats/en/ 18 CUCIUREANU. G, ERAWATCH Country Reports 2013: Moldova 2014, p. 10-11. Available at: http://erawatch.jrc.ec.europa.eu/erawatch/export/sites/default/galleries/generic_files/file_0527.pdf

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seven patent applications were filed from Moldova to the European Patent Office, and only nine patent applications to the United States Patent and Trademark Office19 . It can be explained by the high cost of patenting abroad and by the fact that Moldovan researchers who work in collaboration with foreign partners are rarely listed as the first inventor.

Limited human and financial resources have obvious impact on the quality and performance of the knowledge production. According to the ASM, the List of scientific works published and protection titles obtained by the Moldovan scientific community in 2014 includes 10,395 titles, of which 222 are monographs, 369 are articles published in important journals, etc. However, these results are poorly recognized internationally, which is again suggestive of the poor quality of national scientific research. For Moldova, the Hirsch index (h-index, more and more frequently used as a measure of the value of scientific results published by scientists) is 70, meaning that our scientists, the scientific community, have 70 articles with not less than 70 citations each. So, only the scientists with works cited at least 70 times in the specialized literature contribute to the Hirsch index for our country. It is indicative of the visibility of local scientists’ works and their recognition by the international scientific community of their fields of study. In this respect, the Russian Federation is roughly at India’s level but much higher than Romania or Lithuania. Of course, the results reflect the role of scientific schools, or traditions in scientific research. Armenia, for example, reached a Hirsch index of about 120, comparable to that of Lithuania, which is an EU member state.

One reason of our country’s poor performance is insufficient funding from the state budget and insignificant contribution of the private sector to the development of science and innovation. The business community is in no hurry to invest substantially in scientific research, and no such investment into research has come from other countries, either. Another problem is that the scientific results obtained by the Moldovan community are published without considering their applicative value. We publish full theses on the website of the National Commission for Accreditation and Attestation, regardless of the field and practical value of the data. At the same time, possible objects of intellectual property that might have commercial interest for the business community, including Western companies, are not considered, either.20

Another reason is the SMEs’ poor innovation capacity, determined by several factors, such as non-awareness about the effects of innovation on company’s development, lack of cooperation between businesses and institutions of research and innovation, limited financial resources, etc. Efficient cooperation between universities and businesses provides a decisive prerequisite for economic development and it has attracted great interest in recent years.21

These reasons are also identified by the World Economic Forum (WEF) as the main barriers to developing an innovation environment in Moldova. According to the Global Competitiveness Index 2014-2015, produced annually by the WEF22 , Moldova is placed 82nd (out of 144 analyzed counties) among the most competitive economies in the world. For the first

19 WIPO (2013): World Intellectual Property Organisation. Statistics on Patents. Available at: http://www.wipo.int/ipstats/en/ 20 Source: ASM. Report on the work of SCSTD and main scientific results in the field of science and innovation in 2014 and in the period of 2011-2014. Available at: http://asm.md/administrator/fisiere/rapoarte/f172.pdf, p. 9 21 Șerbănică Cristina. O analiză de tip cauză – efect a cooperării universitate – mediu de afaceri pentru inovarea regională în România. In: Economie teoretică şi aplicată. Volume XVIII (2011), No. 10(563), Bucharest. pp. 27- 43 22 The WEF makes an annual assessment of the economic competitiveness of the world’s countries under the aspect of institutions (legal and administrative framework in which economic activities are conducted), public policies, infrastructure and other factors affecting productivity and growth potential, including education, health, labor, financial market development, technological progress, macroeconomic stability or market efficiency.

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time in four years Moldova has improved its score up to 4 points out of 7, after it was 3.9 for three years.

The lowest score, 3.0 points, and therefore the worst position, 131st, Moldova obtained for the “innovation” chapter, and the main reasons are as follows:

• Minimum expenditure of companies on research and development (position 135), because the general context in which local entrepreneurs work forces them to think about how to survive in the market rather than how to develop; • Lack of scientists and engineers in companies (position 128). Businesses have little interest to implement and apply innovations and high technologies within their companies. Most of them have too narrow a vision on how to do business and give little importance to issues such as investing in human resources or attracting qualified personnel; • Poor collaboration between businesses and academia (position 124) in a situation when in most countries universities are the main drivers of innovation. However, it should be noted that currently local higher education institutions are not sufficiently adapted to a proper innovation framework, either.

Analysis of the data from the GCI allows us to conclude that the KT in Moldova is still fairly poor, and the major problems in the development of a viable KT are not quite related to the country’s innovation capacity or the availability of researchers and engineers, but to the number of invention patent applications, modest participation of companies in funding innovation activities, quality of scientific research institutions, etc. (Figure 13).

Figure 13. Innovation performance of Moldova according to the Global

Competitiveness Index 2014-2015

Source: Developed by author based on the WEF report. Global Competitiveness

Report 2014- 2015. Available at: http://www.weforum.org/reports/global-competitiveness-report-2014-2015

Moreover, the synergy potential has been threatened by failures of communication

between higher education institutions, the industry sector and other national beneficiaries, as 32

well as by unclear political signals or divergent agendas. In Moldova, the cooperation of universities with businesses has been threatened by numerous barriers. First, the two types of institutions have divergent objectives and priorities (companies seek short-term solutions that universities usually cannot reach; long-term orientation of universities), as well as difficulties in identifying partners. Second, universities are not always interested in the topics proposed by companies, which prefer pragmatic approach over academic. Third, restriction on the publication of research results and possible conflicts related to intellectual property rights may act as a barrier to the involvement of higher education institutions. We can also mention the lack of mutual trust, lack of governmental support programs that would foster interaction between universities and the business community, lack of marketing related to the R&D&I potential.

In conclusion it can be said that Moldova needs a smart growth based on a reliable knowledge triangle, built and strengthened by well-thought strategies and policies, with priority directions dedicated to research, development and innovation and to ensuring continuous interaction between these components. As efforts are made to control the public deficit in order to redress public finances and as it appears that the workforce is continually decreasing, Moldova faces various challenges related to the future competitiveness of the country, to generation of new growth and to creation of new jobs, as well as to how the Moldovan economy will be relaunched. So, Moldova’s competitiveness, its capacity to create new jobs to replace those lost due to the crisis and, overall, the future standard of living depends on our country’s ability to stimulate innovation in the field of products, services, social and commercial models and processes and to implement information technologies in various activities of the national economy.

So, the only answer is smart growth or economic growth that places the priority accent on education and professional training, research, development, innovation, use of information and communication technologies, investment and competitiveness in all human activities in order to address the major challenges of society today. And this smart growth can be achieved through a competitive “knowledge triangle”.

3. Target specification of the future of knowledge triangle in Moldova

The recent years have been characterized by the modernization of the education,

research and innovation system. Strategies for the development of the knowledge triangle and other actions that enable the taking over of experience from EU partners are being developed and implemented. Considering Moldova’s pro-European vector, all of the currently developed strategies refer to EU strategies in different sectors, such as EU’s growth strategy “Europe 2020”, which has been the inspiration source for Moldova’s National Development Strategy “Moldova 202023” and Moldova’s Innovation Strategy for 2013-2020 “Innovations for Competitiveness”.

The latter two strategies emphasize the importance of research and innovation development for the sustainable growth of national economy’s competitiveness. It is possible only in the context of close ties between education and business, education and research, and research and business.

In 5-6 years the implementation of the perfect concept of the knowledge triangle will

23 http://particip.gov.md/public/files/strategia/Moldova_2020_proiect.pdf 33

strengthen the current situation in the following sectors:

a) Education and business Although there is currently no direct relation between the labor market and universities

that prepare young specialists, the recent years’ higher education graduates (Bachelor, Master) have the possibility to do their internships at any company, depending on their profile. Such internships increase graduates’ competencies and give them the possibility of employment.

The innovational strategy of the Republic of Moldova for 2013-2020 „Innovations for Competitiveness” is the first step in accelerating the development of the country’s innovational system. The goal of the Strategy is to provide consistent framework of horizontal policies that will contribute to increasing the international competitiveness of the Republic of Moldova and building a knowledge-based economy, developing the human capital, building the skills of Moldovan companies to absorb, generate and disseminate information through their closer connection with university and research centers.

It should be mentioned that Moldova’s Innovation Strategy for 2013-2020 “Innovation for Competitiveness” stipulates as follows: “To strengthen innovation connections between companies, universities and research institutes in order to achieve productive merger of competences and resources required for an innovative economy – financial, human and scientific capital.

Their synergy will result in new products and services, or a niche eventually, capable to compete successfully on national and foreign markets.”24

Given the fact that there is no “National Qualifications Framework, updated professional training and occupational standards nomenclature,” professional training at all levels of education does not ensure the skills required by the labor market. In this respect Moldova’s innovation strategy suggests the following solution to be implemented in the next 5 years (by 2020):

1) Introduction of elective courses in entrepreneurship and economics in secondary and high school education;

2) Development and implementation of education programs related to innovation in management and engineering departments: law and economics of intellectual property; innovation management; marketing of new products; evaluation and sale of intellectual property objects;

3) Increase by an average of 25% of scholarships for undergraduate students, Master’s students, PhD students in exact sciences, engineering and technology and increase by 5% (approximately) per year of the number of undergraduate students, Master’s students and PhD students in exact sciences, engineering and technology, from 19,700 in 2014 to 26,500 in 2020, due to redistribution of places for specialties that are unappealing for the labor market.

Also, it should be noted that in January 2013 the Government approved the Strategy for development of vocational/technical education for 2013-2020 and the Action Plan for implementation of the Strategy25, providing for a comprehensive reform of the structure, content and modernization of secondary vocational and secondary specialized education (this reform is

24 5 Hotarirea Guvernului Republicii Moldova nr. 952 din 27.22.2013 cu privire la aprobarea Strategiei Inovaționale a Republicii Moldova pentru perioada 2013-2020 „Inovaţii pentru competitivitate”. Disponibila la: http://lex.justice.md/index.php?action=view&view=doc&lang=1&id=350541 25 Government Decision no. 97 of 1 February 2013 “on the approval of the Vocational/Technical Education Development Strategy for 2013-2020”

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at the initial implementation phase).

b) Education and research For Moldova, education is one of the most significant factors for human resource

development. Education has an essential role in ensuring economic growth, modernization of technological and intellectual components and increase of population’s welfare. Only by acknowledging the fact that the quality of education is vital for the formation of the research potential a tighter relation between education and research can be achieved.

In 2014, the Education Development Strategy for 2014-2020, “Education 2020” 26, was approved. The following step in implementation of reforms in education was the approval in July 2014 of the Education Code of the Republic of Moldova no. 152, which contains articles addressing “Scientific research in higher education”

Article 116 of Moldova’s Education Code stipulates that “In higher education institutions the research, development, innovation and artistic creation activities are performed for the purpose of learning and professional training of highly qualified specialists”.

It should be noted that the new Education Code of the Republic of Moldova, which has replaced the Law on education no. 547 of 21.07.1995, stipulates a larger range of reports, underlining the direct relation between education and research components. A relevant example is Articles 90 and 95 of the Education Code, stipulating that “A Master’s degree proves that its holder obtained special academic and/or professional competences, including managerial, research, development and innovation competences.” It their turn, the “Postdoctoral programs are organized for the purposes of advanced fundamental and applicative scientific research”.

These are only the first steps in the modernization of the education and research segment. Once the entire range of reforms in these fields is implemented in the following 5-6 years, the expected results will be obtained. For example, the emergence of clusters, i.e. education institutions, associations and organizations that carry out education, research, development, innovation and artistic creation activities based on a partnership agreement made according to the effective legislation27 .

The European experience shows that the creation of cluster-type networks, where manufacturing enterprises, education institutions and public institutions interact, boosts the technological performance and productivity, contributing to companies’ competitiveness, market extension and increase of visibility.

c) Research and business Business is a key component needed for the economic development of any country.

Entrepreneurs who decide to engage in innovation activities need highly qualified researchers. But the absolute majority of Moldovan companies do not conduct research and technological development due to the increased level of financial risk, though it does not mean that it will not be the case in the near future (in 5-6 years).

In this respect Moldova’s Innovation Strategy for 2013-2020, “Innovations for Competitiveness”, comes as a fundamental support. The Innovation Strategy provides that “the state will support companies that are committed to using their own resources for developing new

26 Government Decision no. 97 of 1 February 2013 “on the approval of the Vocational/Technical Education Development Strategy for 2013-2020” 27 Government Decision no. 944 of 14 November 2014 “on the approval of Education Development Strategy for 2014-2020 ‘Education-2020’”

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promising technologies.” In this context, the intellectual potential of researchers, inventors, engineers, patent service workers, etc. will be highly demanded by the business sector, which will lead to its rapid development and will make these professions attractive to youth.

The Innovation Strategy also states that the current regulatory framework governing the activity of entrepreneurs in this sector by prescribing financial instruments that favor small and medium businesses should be brought in line with the requirements and objectives set by our state.

In conclusion, we shall note that in 5-6 years the need to ensure Moldova’s development and economic growth will serve as the reason for consolidation of forces of the stakeholders that are part of the knowledge triangle. The organizations involved in the drafting of reports required for the development of the knowledge triangle will contribute to:

• Restructure and reorganize the existing institutional structures of universities and research institutions: Such structural reforms would allow to increase the global competitiveness of universities, develop strong research environments, boost business ties and better ensure and support cohesion with the EU in the field of academic performance of universities; • Improve the funding process for universities: The key factors for the success of research funding systems are a mix of appropriate framework conditions. Most European universities are publicly funded. It is also still the most important source of funding flow for Moldovan universities. However, the use of multiple sources of funding could lead to greater stability and greater autonomy for universities; • Promote competitive funding models: Funding is a key concern for universities worldwide. To get a better quality of research, it is necessary to develop clear concepts and selection mechanisms. In this context, the emphasis on performance and establishment of appropriate indicators are important for successful funding of research; • Support researchers throughout their careers, focusing on creation of good framework conditions: Creating an attractive, open and sustainable labor market for researchers; • Ensure better interaction between research, innovation and higher education: In a knowledge-based society, research should not be isolated from neither innovation nor education. It is important to better integrate aspects of higher education, research and innovation in national strategies; • Remove deficiencies from the current regulatory framework: A real obstacle to the conduct of research and innovation activities by all stakeholders and at all levels; • Develop and implement coherent and comprehensive strategies and policies in the field of “brain circulation”: The required number of young scientists is very high because many researchers retire. Moldova should strengthen its ability to attract and train young people to become researchers and provide nationally and internationally competitive research careers. Also, attracting the best researchers from abroad; • Ensure a closer interaction between universities and the non-academic sector: Universities must start working with a wide range of private and public sector partners in order to increase the amount of private money invested in research. Major benefits could come from the knowledge transfer from research into new businesses, services and policies

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4. The Framework Conditions and the Constraints of the Knowledge Triangle in the Republic of Moldova

The framework conditions, according to project specifications (see Figure 14), have been

described in Section 2 hereto, as the current knowledge triangle situation in Moldova cannot be presented accurately without the description of the regulatory, institutional, organizational and financial frameworks and of human resources availability in all KT-related spheres.

Figure 14. Framework conditions of the Knowledge Triangle

Source: Elaborated by the author At the same time, it should be reiterated that for efficient operation of the knowledge

triangle and qualitative integration of all KT elements for competitive development in Moldova a productive interaction among all four framework conditions is required.

Currently, these four components (regulatory, organizational, human resources and financial frameworks) are often determined by systemic, institutional and bureaucratic barriers. The cross-connection of these barriers has a negative effect on the research potential. The outcomes of these barriers could contribute to an inadequate, inefficient and ineffective implementation of policy documents and development strategies in the field of research and innovation.

The analysis of the regulatory, organization, financing frameworks and availability of the human factor specific to the Triangle of Knowledge in the Republic of Moldova allows us to synthesize the following structural constraints:

• Lack of human resources in research and development. The number of people engaged in the R & D sector in Moldova has fallen dramatically due to "brain drain", while for the remaining researcher stock a certain aging tendency can be observed. At the same time, the R & D sphere is unattractive (in terms of salary and existing infrastructure) for young talent. The level of knowledge received in local universities does not meet market expectations, while attracting foreign students or researchers is difficult due to unattractive conditions. All these factors, but not only, determine the low quality of scientific research in the Republic of Moldova; • Insignificant investments in TC development, especially from the private sector. All types of TC related activity in the Republic of Moldova are chronically under-funded

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and quite limited as a result of low GDP. This is mainly due to weak private sector investment. Moreover, in the modest government investments it is difficult to identify clear priorities in science and technology; • Poor interaction of TC actors (universities, ASM, research centers, regulatory institutions, enterprises, etc.). These actors are not integrated into an efficient and operational TC, each of them works rather separately: research centers mainly produce academic results, universities are predominantly oriented towards education, and the business environment focuses on the market and products with low technological intensity (cheaper); • An inefficient TC governance model. The Republic of Moldova has a model of Soviet-type governance with a higher level of centralization and an "academic" character. In the current system of organizing the field of science and innovation there is no clear separation between the authorities responsible for formulating, implementing, monitoring and evaluating those policies; • Lack of adequate infrastructure for the innovation process. Resolving this problem is a lasting one, involves additional effort and is possible by setting up a regional business incubator network in all areas of scientific knowledge; • Although regulatory progress has made significant progress in recent years, developing laws, strategies and initiatives for the development of each TC element, the mechanism for assessing and monitoring these reforms and potential effects on the national economy is uncertain and unspecified. Also, the lack of a set of indicators comparable to regional and international statistics makes it even more difficult to assess the performance of TCs in the Republic of Moldova.

The identified constraints contributed to the identification and formulation of key objectives and actions aimed at solving identified problems, as well as to strengthening the three channels of interaction among all actors of the knowledge triangle in the Republic of Moldova. (See Annex 1). The objectives and actions identified as necessary to consolidate the Knowledge Triangle in Moldova were included in the "Roadmap for Strengthening the Knowledge Triangle in the Republic of Moldova" (Annex 1). This roadmap aims to accelerate the interaction between actors involved in the Triangle of Knowledge in the Republic of Moldova, to improve the educational system, the R & D activity and the perception of innovation by society, to facilitate the transformation of research results into innovative products and services, including , their commercialization, ensuring a new quality of economic growth, developing educational, research, innovation culture and contributing to improving the quality of citizens' lives.

5. Requirements for the Functionality of the Future Triangle of

Knowledge

Non-functional requirements through which the objectives set out in point 3 can be achieved in the field of education and research & development.

• To broaden the concept of innovation and increase the role of research-innovation in the country's general development process. The creativity and diversity of our citizens and the strength of the Moldovan creative industries offer considerable

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potential for generating growth and creating new jobs through innovation, especially for SMEs. In Moldova the innovative culture is very poorly developed. At the same time, the Moldovan economy still does not have the capacity to absorb scientific results effectively;

• Strengthen the education system by adapting educational offers to market requirements. Creating and stimulating entrepreneurial education programs among pupils and students to support the transition from studies to the real economy;

• Strengthen the innovative potential by increasing the motivation of researchers and innovators;

• Fostering cross-border cooperation between different actors, involving the use and exchange of knowledge and experience with partner institutions abroad (this being a more and more used way for developing successful innovations). Functional requirements through which the objectives set out in point 3 can be

achieved in the field of education and research & development. • Regarding the efficiency of the educational process, a new approach to

policies at all levels of the education system is needed in order to improve the quality, efficiency, accessibility and relevance of education, namely:

a) Review of curricular content, which, beyond the stake on quality, would correspond to the demand for labor;

b) Applying a new financing formula, based on standard cost per pupil / student;

c) Changing the legal framework, which determines the mechanisms for selecting the managers of the educational institutions;

d) Changing the conditions for filling the places with budget financing in the state higher education institutions of the Republic of Moldova, in order to promote academic excellence;

e) Establish a modern, performance-based assessment system that ensures the objectivity of evaluating and modernizing the teacher / management assessment system;

f) Institutionalization of the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Vocational Education, aiming at an objective evaluation of the quality of the university system; • Initiate state programs to facilitate the interaction between business and

universities by creating: 1. Innovative clusters (set as objectives in Moldova's Innovation Strategy 2013-2020) and 2. Voucher initiatives – granting vouchers for SME to cover the cost of a BDS package (business development services). These BDS packages can be in the form of consultancy, feasibility studies, training, marketing, information, technology transfer, etc. The mission of this BDS package is to improve enterprise performance, access to markets, and strengthen its ability to compete in national and international markets. In addition, this BDS package may be a mechanism for further demand stimulation for other BDSes or, in the given case, the state (or specialized agencies) is able to facilitate the interaction between business and universities by directing potential BDS clients to Universities or research centers.

• Involvement of all actors in the innovation cycle: large enterprises, SMEs from all sectors, including the public sector, civil society ("social innovation"),

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universities, etc., each focusing on its own strengths (intelligent specialization) providing partnerships. In this way, the development of innovative SMEs, by providing favorable conditions for the organization and development of their activities, as well as the reduction of start-up risks, is a first step in the creation of a national innovation network.

• Creation of a national innovation network - technology-science parks, innovative incubators, information technology transfer centers, business incubators, scientific and innovation clusters - as well as the creation of a mechanism for collaboration of science, education, innovation, production and financing;

• In addition, given that undistorted competition and good functioning of competitive markets are a key element for innovation, a necessary condition is the strict application of competition rules that ensure market access and opportunities for those entering the market;

• Elaboration of an integrated assessment system (a set of indicators) of the capacity and performance of innovation of the local companies, as well as of the results of the innovative projects. At the present stage in the Republic of Moldova, due to the imperfect system of statistical and accounting evidence of innovation activity, there is a lack of information on the specifics of companies' innovation activities, the related costs and the impact of innovation on the performance of enterprises;

• Clear delineation of powers of competencies in the field that could increase the reliability of institutions involved in scientific research and innovation and contribute to increasing their efficiency and effectiveness.

Non-functional requirements through which the objectives set out in point 3 can be achieved in the area of regulatory framework consolidation.

• To overcome the deficiencies of the normative framework in force. The regulatory framework must be adjusted to the requirements of a market economy and focused towards protecting both domestic entrepreneurs intending to develop business through the implementation of innovations and foreign investors who will invest in new, risky but promising business;

• Support researchers and young specialists throughout their careers, focusing on creating good framework and financial conditions;

• Promotion of public-private partnerships in the field of innovation; • Further development of infrastructure to support the knowledge triangle in

the Republic of Moldova Functional requirements through which the objectives set out in point 3 can be

achieved in improving access to finance for research institutions and companies. • Eliminating discriminatory treatment in the financing of research activity

(such as the provision that only institutional members of the ASM can be financed entirely from budgetary resources) and opening up access to public funds to the innovative private sector;

• Creation of a micro-credit fund for innovative micro-enterprises with the purpose of developing a network of incubators, business accelerators in creative industries;

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• Expanding the coverage of the Credit Histories Bureau, focusing on microfinance institutions, leasing companies and loan and savings associations;

• Strengthen the capacities of the Loan Guarantee Fund and the Deposit Guarantee Fund;

• Revise the policies and the tax system to create a favorable framework for the implementation of different financial instruments by innovative enterprises and institutions;

• Creation of a mixed fund (sources of financing both from the state budget and from private sources) to support new export-oriented start-ups;

• Implementing venture instruments, etc. These functional and non-functional requirements determined the logical structure of the

"Roadmap for Strengthening the Knowledge Triangle in the Republic of Moldova" (see Annex 1), being divided into 3 compartments, each of which concerned the interaction between the different actors of the Triangle of Knowledge namely:

- Interaction Education - Research - Interaction Education - Innovation - Interaction Research – Innovation

Each compartment refers to the four framework conditions of the knowledge triangle, namely:

I. Regulatory framework II. Institutional - organizational conditions III. HR IV. Finance

The implementation of the Roadmap for Strengthening the Knowledge Triangle will accelerate the interaction between actors involved in this triangle in the Republic of Moldova, improve the perception of innovation by society, facilitate the transformation of research results into innovative products and services and their commercialization, ensure a new quality of growth Economic development, will develop innovative culture and human capital and will contribute to improving the quality of citizens' lives.

The positive impact of the implementation of this roadmap will allow: 1) enhancing the competitiveness of the national economy through the economic

valorization of the technological, product, marketing and organizational innovations of both the new ones generated in the country and the absorption of the existing ones;

2) speeding up economic growth rates and improving their quality; 3) increased exports of goods and services with high added value, intensive in

knowledge, skills and technological components; 4) increasing domestic and foreign investment in the economy and diversifying them

at sectorial level, including in sectors with high export potential; 5) increase labor productivity and pay for labor; 6) creating new jobs; 7) enhancing regional development; 8) increasing the quality and relevance of research results; 9) strengthening the institutional capacities and human potential of the national

innovation system, including by providing adequate motivation for employees and increasing attractiveness for young people;

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10) improving management in the national innovation system; 11) numerical and qualitative improvement of the presence of Moldova's research

and innovation community in international programs and networks; 12) faster integration of Moldovan SMEs into European and global technology

chains; 13) improving the quality of life of the population and an accelerated transition to

the knowledge-based economy.

6. Requirements for the future conditions of the knowledge triangle in Moldova

- The emergence of a strong political commitment to the implementation of the National

Development Strategy of the Republic of Moldova - "Moldova 202028", the Innovation Strategy of the Republic of Moldova for the period 2013-2020 - "Innovations for Competitiveness", the Development Strategy for Education for 2014-2020 "Education-2020".

- The need to reconfigure the normative framework in order to optimize and improve governance in the fields of education - research - innovation. Proper reconfiguration will help achieve medium to long-term results.

- It is also necessary for the representatives of the higher education institutions, together with the business community, to develop a common concept on the modalities of closer collaboration, a strategy, which will then be transposed into the Strategy elaborated by the Ministry of Education;

- The need to develop an effective management mechanism for innovation and research assets, including modifying the financing of innovative projects by SMEs; Creating the right conditions (at least endowing with the necessary and new equipment) for the development of the business of the science and technology parks, the innovation incubators, the centers / laboratories / research units in the training centers. At the same time, it is necessary to approve the law on venture funds. Therefore, these venture funds will facilitate the development of business based on innovation.

- Developing a common strategic framework between the public sector (representatives of the legislative power) and the private sector that will determine specific actions and as a result will influence the development of education-development-innovation. As a possible solution for stimulating public-private partnerships, modifying the legal base and stimulating the private sector may be offering financial incentives (for example: granting "tax holidays" to start-up SMEs).

- Adequate allocation of resources (financial, material, human) to all research and innovation activities, not just providing a wage for experienced specialists, but also ensuring conditions that will attract young specialists with innovative ideas, will strengthen the communication, and will foster interaction with national and international partners, etc.

28 http://particip.gov.md/public/files/strategia/Moldova_2020_proiect.pdf 42

7. Problems and risks

Issues that may arise and may prevent the achievement of the objectives set out in point 3 and the requirements set out in points 5 and 6:

Problems: 1) One of the most important issues that can persist, but even aggravate, is the

insufficiency of R & D & I funds. The problems of the domestic banking system and the precarious economy of the Republic of Moldova are serious threats to the country's financial equilibrium. Under these circumstances, the following years may be characterized by a higher probability of insufficient financial means. As a result, the knowledge triangle can not be supported to the right extent and the private sector will not benefit from public funding of research and / or innovation projects;

Other problems that may arise if the state does not achieve by concrete actions commitments set in the Moldova 202029 National Development Strategy of the Republic of Moldova, the Innovation Strategy of the Republic of Moldova for the period 2013-2020 "Innovations for Competitiveness" , Education development strategy for 2014-2020 "Education-2020":

- The persistence of an inappropriate legal framework in the field of research and innovation, which would stagnate in the development of this sector;

- Lack of staff capable of producing qualitative research at national and global level. The prestige of the researcher's career will decrease further;

- Maintaining the lack of interaction between public authorities and the entrepreneurial sector, between higher education institutions and the entrepreneurial sector;

- Maintain high-level decisional non-transparency in the fields of education, research and innovation;

- The stagnation caused by the lack of financial funds can lead to the total impossibility of ensuring the exchange of good practices with higher education institutions abroad;

- Maintaining the low competitiveness of the innovative field due to obsolete infrastructure that does not meet the requirements. Research-innovation projects will continue to be formulated on the basis of existing capacities, and less on society's needs, which require a close link with the main actors in society.

Risks to the development of the knowledge triangle in the Republic of Moldova

¾ The prevalence of traditionalist practices in the agricultural sector. Throughout history, the predominant occupation of the Republic of Moldova was agriculture. In this area, the country has important traditions and natural resources that provide it with a high competitive potential. At the same time, it remains poorly capitalized, with a low productivity and very low yields. Much of the population that practices agriculture uses technologies that have not changed in the last century. The transition to more advanced practices has been hampered by both subjective factors - such as rural conservatism - as well as objective factors - one of which is the chronic lack of investment capital. This hinders revenue growth and prevents

29 http://particip.gov.md/public/files/strategia/Moldova_2020_proiect.pdf 43

social and economic modernization of the rural environment and the Moldovan society as a whole. An essential barrier to the development of the agricultural sector and the rural environment as a whole is the rapid "aging" of agriculture: the share of employees aged 15 to 34 has fallen from 31% to 2000 to 26% in the a. 2010-2011.30 Thus, the agricultural sector needs large innovative approaches in development but, at the same time, it lacks human capital capable of generating these innovations.

¾ Small and fragmented internal market. More than half of the country's population lives in rural areas and more than 2/3 of them have less than 3,000 residents. Much of the inhabitants are only present on a regular basis, being employed outside the country. In general, most households have very low incomes. Even if they are not located at great distances from one another, many local communities have poor inter-connectivity. The low level of revenue, combined with the small size of the localities and the poor quality of road infrastructure, constrains the economies of scale that local firms might target and limits the expansion of their sales markets.

¾ Excessively polarized economic activity from a regional point of view. This polarization has major implications for innovation and supply. The capital of the country attracts resources and factors of production well above its demographic weight. Regions practically lack university traditions, and colleges and vocational schools have not yet been able to adapt their educational offerings to the realities of regional labor markets. Using the latest European studies on regional innovation, we can conclude that Chisinau is "a capital with great innovation potential". The Central Development Region, the South Development Region and the ATU Gagauzia meet the characteristics of "far-off agricultural regions". And the North Development Region has the characteristics of a "far-fetched agricultural region," but the presence of Balti provides the region with elements of a "declining industrial region" as well as elements of an "industrial region with growth potential". And the Transnistrian region is at the confluence of typical features for a "declining industrial region" with those of an "industrial region with growth potential". These differences of economic specialization are also reflected in the intensity of the entrepreneurial activity: if in Chisinau the density of the enterprises is about 52 units / 1000 inhabitants, then in North DR - 8,9, in Center DR - 9,3, in South DR - 6, 7, and in ATU Gagauzia - 11.9 units / 1000 inhabitants.

¾ Emigration of labor force and research staff. Starting with 2000 labor migration has become a defining factor of the Moldovan development model. While serving the country out of poverty, the sustainability of this economic growth factor is doubtful. Moreover, the emigration phenomenon is associated with "brain drain" and high-skilled workforce, including scientific research. The phenomenon of emigration includes, in particular, the most economically active and more able citizens to take risks of launching innovative businesses. This reduces both the generation potential of innovations and the ability of society to absorb and use it.

¾ Moral wear of the research - innovation infrastructure. ¾ Informal and non-tariff barriers to international trade. The Republic of

Moldova has adopted a rather liberal trade policy based on reduced customs tariffs. At the same time, a number of informal or non-tariff barriers persist, which seriously detract from the liberal character of commercial policy. Some of these barriers are the result of poor policy coordination

30 Strategia Inovațională a Republicii Moldova pentru perioada 2013-2020 „Inovaţii pentru competitivitate”. Disponibilă la: http://www.mec.gov.md/sites/default/files/document/proba16.pdf

44

between different authorities. These barriers reduce the propensity of Moldovan companies and their foreign partners to develop innovative products.

¾ Corruption. This scourge essentially influences the intensity and quality of the innovation process. In the last decade the Republic of Moldova has made some progress in fighting corruption, but the situation is still not very much different from the 1990s. Corruption is a key factor that limits companies' ability to grow and develop, removes honest companies from the market, or prevents new firms from entering the market. At the same time, corruption has a disproportionately high impact on innovation in micro-enterprises and small businesses, since informal payments leave them much less resources to invest in the development of innovative products.

¾ Bad governance of the R & D sector. In the current governance model of the sector there is no clear separation between the authorities responsible for policy formulation / implementation / monitoring / reporting. If this model persists, this model will have a bad impact on innovation, as public funding will continue to be accessible only to accredited academic entities, but not to those entities generating innovations in the private sector or potential innovators. The accreditation procedure, rigid and inappropriate in many cases, will still serve as a barrier to allocating resources to practical applications. If internal control policies and procedures are not improved, they will not ensure the judicious use of public resources and will not guarantee the avoidance of conflicts of interests. The unconditional institutional financing model without clear criteria from the state budget will still generate moral hazard and annihilate incentives to optimize extensive administrative and auxiliary structures. The lack of strategic oversight of the sector by the Parliament and Government will favor improper allocation of resources in the R & D area, while continuing to fund foreign activities for research institutions, while innovation and technology transfer will continue to suffer.

Conclusion

Increasing the level of knowledge, skills and abilities to generate the new one directly depends on the lifelong education and training system, which directly supports the creation of a new profile of the individual involved in the knowledge society, a society characterized by Continuous learning. These challenges lead to major mutations at micro and macroeconomic level, ensuring the transition to the knowledge society where the achievement of added value and increased competitiveness is in line with the degree of knowledge and the ability to generate the new.

The ability to innovate, as well as the willingness to cooperate, to interconnect performing and competitive activities in the sphere of knowledge are skills that are acquired through education, resulting in creative, capable people to formulate hypotheses, able to communicate and co-operate in the effort to reach common goals.

In this context it is obvious that the Triangle of Knowledge has all the capabilities to introduce an efficient contribution to the progressive development of the society of the Republic of Moldova. It is based on ensuring a research process based on excellence, integrated into the international research circuit and geared to meeting the growing needs of society and the national economy. Each component of this "knowledge triangle" contributes to raising the level of knowledge, increasing the productive capital stock, economic development by attracting

45

investments, developing export industries, promoting the knowledge-based society, including by strengthening R & D, innovation and transfer Technologically, oriented towards efficiency and competitiveness.

In the case of the Republic of Moldova, in order to continue the process of strengthening economic growth and national competitiveness, it must provide conditions for creating productive interactions between the actors involved in the efficient functioning of this triangle.

Bibliography:

1. The Technopolitan. Knowledge Triangle Activities and Strategies in the Nordics. July 2012 - N° 09. Available at: http://www.technopolis-group.com/wp content/uploads/2014/02/ Technopolitan9.pdf

2. European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT). Catalysing Innovation in the knowledge triangle. Practices from the EIT Knowledge and Innovation Communities. Available at: http://eit.europa.eu/sites/default/files/EIT_publication_Final.pdf

3. Education Code of the Republic of Moldova no. 152 of 17.07.2014, published in Official Monitor no. 319-324 of 24.10.2014. Available at: http://lex.justice.md/md/355156/

4. http://edu.md/ro/evenimentele-saptaminii/codul-educa-iei-a-fost-aprobat-de-guvern- 15969/

5. Popa A., Prohnitchi V., Cercetare, Dezvoltare și Inovare în Republica Moldova: probleme și opțiuni. Expert Grup, Chișinău 2011.

6. Ministry of Eduction of Moldova. Report on the implementation of higher education PhD studies, IIIrd Cycle, in the university year 2015-2016

7. Government Decision no. 944 of 14 November 2014 “on the approval of Education Development Strategy for 2014-2020 ‘Education-2020’”

8. National Bureau of Statics (2016). Activitatea instituţiilor de învăţămînt superior în anul de studii 2015/16. Available at: http://www.statistica.md/newsview.php?l=ro&idc=168&id=5013

9. Hotarirea Guvernului Republicii Moldova nr. 952 din 27.22.2013 cu privire la aprobarea Strategiei Inovaționale a Republicii Moldova pentru perioada 2013-2020 „Inovaţii pentru competitivitate”. Disponibila la: http://lex.justice.md/index.php?action=view&view=doc&lang=1&id=350541

10. Strategia Inovațională a Republicii Moldova pentru perioada 2013-2020 „Inovaţii pentru competitivitate”. Disponibilă la: http://www.mec.gov.md/sites/default/files/document/proba16.pdf

11. Monitorul Oficial al Republicii Moldova. Editie speciala of June 27, 2008; July 531, 2009; June 29, 2010; June 24, 2011; June 22, 2012; August 16, 2013; September 5, 2014.

12. HOLBAN, I., COTUN, C. Dezvoltarea durabilă a societăţii – problema fundamentală a ştiinţei Republicii Moldova (probleme, principii, criterii, standarde, date statistice, analize, omologări, opinii). In: Intellectus nr.2,2014,p.60-73.

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13. World Bank, „Innovation Policy: a Guide for Developing Countries”, 2010

14. Guvernul Republicii Moldova, „Moldova 2020. Strategia de Dezvoltare Națională: 7 soluții pentru creșterea economică și reducerea sărăciei”, disponibil la http://www.gov.md/public/files/Moldova_2020_RO.pdf.

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Annex 1

THE ROADMAP TO STRENGTHEN THE KNOWLEDGE TRIANGLE IN MOLDOVA This roadmap aims to accelerate the interaction between actors involved in the Knowledge Triangle in the Republic of Moldova, to improve the educational system, the research & development activity and the perception of innovation by the society, to facilitate the transformation of research results into innovative products and services, including, commercialization of them, as to ensure a new quality of economic growth, to develop educational, research, innovative culture, and contribute to improving the quality of citizens' lives. This roadmap is structured into three compartments, each of which addresses the interaction among the various actors of the Knowledge Triangle and namely:

• EDUCATION – RESEARCH INTERACTION • EDUCATION – INNOVATION INTERACTION • RESEARCH – INNOVATION INTERACTION

Each compartment, in turn, refers to 4 domains and namely: I. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK II. INSTITUTIONAL-ORGANISATIONAL CONDITIONS III. HUMAN RESOURCES IV. FUNDING

Order

Nr.

Specific objectives Actions Deadline Responsible institution

The indicator

of result

EDUCATION – RESEARCH INTERACTION

I. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

1. Objective 1. Filling in and / or changing the legal framework to strengthen the interaction between education and research

1.1. The development of the regulatory framework and promotion of alternative forms of learning (distance and mixed)

The implementation of the provisions of distance learning regulation in higher education

2017 Universities, Ministry of Education

Implementation of provisions in 3 institutions (annually)

1.2. The improvement of the normative framework regarding the doctoral studies

Modification of the Regulation regarding the organization of PhD studies, Cycle III, Government Decision no 1007 of December 10, 2014, regarding the stimulation and promotion of research in joint-

2017 Ministry of Education

Modified Regulation approved

48

supervision and of interdisciplinary doctoral research, wage motivation of the doctoral supervisors and of the guidance group, to ensure a good link between education and research, and strengthen university autonomy in the process of taking over doctoral research.

1.3. Amendment and completion of the provisions of the Code on Science and Innovation of the Republic of Moldova Nr. 259 of 15.07.2004

1. Modification of Article 129 (n) “Attributions of the Organization from the Field of Science and Innovation” of the Code on Science and Innovation of the Republic of Moldova Nr. 259, with the following editorial: “ The organisation from innovation and science field creates experimental, technological, innovation companies of spin off and spin out type; becomes founder or co-founder of the experimental, technological, innovation company of spin off and spin out type; providing property to experimental, technological, and innovation company of spin off and spin out type with the goal of implementation in practice of results following the intellectual activity which are and/or remain in the property of the organisation from the innovation and science field”

2. To complete art. 129 (r) of the Code on Science and Innovation of the Republic of Moldova Nr. 259 from 15.07.2004 with the following content: "The organizations from the field of science are budget-financed institutions, including those belonging to the Academy of Sciences of Moldova, should have the opportunity to introduce in the social capital of spin companies the intellectual property belonging to the founding organization. The value of the intellectual property rights is determined in accordance with the legislation in force. "

2018 Academy of Sciences of Moldova

Additions approved

49

1.4. Revision of the tax framework Amending the Fiscal Code

Article 27 (6) "Allowing the deduction of expenses related to investigations and scientific research, paid or incurred during the tax year as current expenditure" is proposed to be changed with the following editorial: "It is possible to deduct expenses related to investigations, scientific researches and innovative activities paid or incurred during the fiscal year as current expenses "

2017 Ministry of Finance

Document approved

1.5. Modification of the provisions of the Regulation for organization of studies in higher education based on the National Credit Studies System (approved by Order of the Ministry of Education of the Republic of Moldova Nr. 1046 of October 29, 2015). Chapter XXII. Student mobility. Recognition of study periods. Accreditation of learning results.

Modification of Article 144.

Students who have completed the study program for the academic year / previous semester can participate in mobility programs. In first cycle and integrated studies, mobility can be organized starting with the second year of study, except for the final year. Students of the second cycle can participate in mobility programs during a semester, except for the first and last semesters.

To be included in the following editorial:

Mobility programs can be attended by students who have completed the full-time study program for the previous academic year / semester. In cycle I and integrated studies, mobility can be organized from the second year of study.

December 2016

Ministry of Education

Amendments approved

II. INSTITUTIONAL-ORGANISATIONAL CONDITIONS

2. Objective 2. Designing and institutionalizing an effective system for evaluation, monitoring and quality assurance in education

2.1. Strengthen the educational system in order to improve the quality, efficiency,

Approval of the results of external evaluations carried out by the National Agency for Quality Assurance in

2017 Ministry of Nr. of Government Decision

50

accessibility and relevance of education, including by ensuring functionality of the National Agency for Quality Assurance in Professional Education (ANACIP)

Professional Education and other international agencies for accreditation or authorization by the Government

Education

Strengthening the institutional capacities of the ANACIP 2017 Ministry of Education

Nr. of trainings for ANACIP members

Organizing the process of teachers and internal experts’ training in quality assessment for preparation of self-assessment reports

2017 Ministry of Education

Nr. of staff trained

3 Objective 3. Modernisation of the university curriculum from the point of view of centring on competences, learner and labour market needs

3.1. Changing the paradigm of the curriculum, in line with new curricular trends and concepts: centred on cross-curricular themes, competence-centred, learner-centred

Review curricular content which, beyond the stake on quality, would meet labour demand and monitor curricular changes in undergraduate and master university courses from a student-centred perspective

annually Ministry of Education, ANACIP

60 curricula reviewed annually Nr. of accredited study programmes

4. Objective 4. Promoting research as an instrument of advanced professional formation and a vector of support for performance and quality in higher education

4.1. Imposing research performance as a criterion of evaluation and promotion of professional formation programmes and staff in higher education

1) Coordination of the process of doctoral coordinators’ habilitation

annually Ministry of Education

20 doctoral coordinators habilitated annually

2) Coordination of the process of elaboration of the methodology for external evaluation and accreditation of doctoral programmes.

2017 Ministry of Education

Methodology approved

4.2. Elaboration of research performance standards required to obtain scientific titles

Revision of the Regulation for employment of didactic, scientific-didactic, and scientific functions

2017 Ministry of Education

Regulations approved

5 Objective 5. Developing digital skills by developing and implementing digital educational content in the educational process

51

5.1. Develop and implement teacher training and motivation programs for the use of ICT in education, including the creation and publication of their own digital content

Implementing the MOODLE program for publishing digital content

permanent Universities, Ministry of Education, ANACIP

Nr. of programmes included in the MOODLE system

6. Objective 6. Consolidation of doctoral higher education, Cycle III, level 8 (according to ISCED) in the Republic of Moldova

6.1. Orientation of the higher doctoral studies to the training of specialists capable of fortifying, first and foremost, the domains of national importance

1) Adaptation of the admission plan for doctoral studies, Cycle III to the requirements of the labour market and institutional demand.

annually Ministry of Education

Admission plan developed annually

2) Establish research topics for doctoral students so as to provide solutions for the problems faced by the Republic of Moldova, as well as provide involvement of potential employers in the establishment of doctoral research themes.

annually Doctoral Schools,

Consortia, Partnerships

Nr. of developed research projects

6.2. Enhancing the efficiency of the organization of doctoral studies

1) Reorganization of doctoral schools, including the establishment of doctoral centres at national level.

2018 Ministry of Education,

Universities

Nr. of reorganized doctoral schools, established doctoral centres

2) Provisional authorization / accreditation of doctoral schools / doctoral programs

annually Ministry of Education, ANACIP

Nr. of accredited doctoral schools

6.3. Internationalization of Higher Education Institutions and Research Institutions

Strengthening relations with European Doctoral Schools, establish partnerships, international consortia, collaboration agreements

annually Universities, Ministry of Education, ANACIP

Nr. of concluded consortia and collaborative agreements Nr. of teachers, foreign experts invited

7. Objective 7. Development of collaborative relations with the world’s states and cooperation partners

7.1. Cooperation with the European Union a) Implementation of the provisions of the Association Agreement

annually Ministry of Education

Implementation report

52

7.2. Development of collaborative relationships with international organizations and cooperation partners

Participation as experts in programs and committees organized by the European Commission and the Council of Europe

permanent Ministry of Education

Nr. of participations

7.3. Internationalization of Higher Education Institutions and Research Institutions

Establishment of cooperation agreements with universities and research institutions abroad; Involvement and participation in international projects

permanent Ministry of Education

Nr. of agreements signed Nr. of participations in international projects

III. HUMAN RESOURCES

8. Objective 8. Develop, support and motivate teachers to ensure quality education

8.1. Training of teaching staff in higher pedagogical education

Developing ICT skills, including the development and use of digital educational content of future teachers in higher pedagogical education

permanent Ministry of Education,

Universities

50 persons trained (formed)

8.2. Opening access for people with professional experience outside the education system for employment in Vocational / Technical and Higher Education

permanent Ministry of Education

at least 1% from the total number of university staff

9 Objective 9. Reconceptualization of initial formation of education staff through developing the competences needed to achieve the new educational pathway characteristic to a complex environment and a global knowledge society in permanent change

9.1. Modernization of the framework plan for initial professional training of teaching staff from the point of view of general and specific skills formation

1) Developing the Nomenclature of domains of professional formation and of specialities in the context of ISCED 2013

2017 Ministry of Education

Nomenclature approved

2) Implementation of Framework Plan of Higher Education in correlation with CNC

annually Ministry of Education

Plan implemented

3) Re-conceptualizing the process of organizing pedagogical specialties in the context of the new Education Code

2017 Ministry of Education

Nr. of proposals elaborated

10. Objective 10. Enhancing the efficiency and flexibility of the system of continuing formation for teaching staff and managers

10.1 Promotion of training activities in educational management within the programmes of initial and continuing

Introduction of the educational management module within the initial training programmes in the field of Education Sciences

annually Ministry of Education

Nr. of study programmes

53

formation of teaching staff 11. Objective 11. Develop, support and motivate researchers and teaching staff

11.1. Development and implementation of coherent and comprehensive strategies and policies in the field of "brain circulation"

1. Establish a modern, performance-based assessment system that ensures the objectivity of evaluation and modernization of the teacher / management assessment system

2017 Ministry of Education

Evaluation system elaborated

2.Remuneration of teachers and researchers in correlation with performances

2017 Ministry of Education,

Academy of Sciences of Moldova

Draft law approved

3. Support researchers and young professionals throughout their careers, focusing on creating sound financial framework conditions. Creating an attractive, open and sustainable labour market for researchers.

Ministry of Education,

Universities

Creation of a Career Guidance Centre for Researchers and Teachers

4. Attracting the best foreign researchers Universities, research

institution

Nr. of attracted foreign researchers

IV. FUNDING

12. Objective 12. Promote competitive funding mechanisms

12.1. Establish transparent and competitive mechanisms of financial support for the research of the academic staff with proven performance in the activity

Promotion of good practices regarding financial support mechanisms for the research of academic staff with proven performance in the activity

annually Ministry of Education,

Universities, research

institutions

11 initiatives in universities

12.2. Improvement of funding conditions for universities and research institutions

Inform and support higher education institutions, research institutions and enterprises on the possibilities for participation in international projects and attracting

Permanent Academy of Science of Moldova,

Nr. of persons trained, consulted

54

external financial resources Erasmus + Office, Ministry

of Education, the

Organization for Development of

Small and Medium size Enterprises (ODIMM)

12.3. Ensuring equal access for all actors of the Knowledge Triangle to fund research from the state budget

Revision of the Code in the context of ensuring equal access to all relevant actors for funding.

2017 Ministry of Economy

Draft law approved

Creation of conditions that will allow unrestricted access to the public funds allocated for R & D activities to a wide range of actors involved in the innovation process, including through public tenders organized by the relevant ministries

2018 Responsible ministries

Regulation approved

EDUCATION - INNOVATION INTERACTION

I. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

13. Objective 13. Filling in and / or changing the legal framework

13.1. Improvement of the regulatory framework to strengthen the interaction between education and innovation

1. Revision of the regulation on internships in higher education, in order to stimulate partnerships, collaboration agreements between the university and the business environment.

2018 Ministry of Education

Regulation modified and approved

2. Review of the National Qualifications Framework with the involvement of labour market representatives

2018 Ministry of Education

CNC modified and completed

55

II. INSTITUTIONAL-ORGANISATIONAL CONDITIONS

14. Ensure a stronger interaction between universities and the private sector

1. Establishment of Technology Transfer Offices (TTOs) within universities

2016 Universities Nr. of TTOs created

2. Enhance the collaboration between universities and the private and public sectors to increase the value of private money invested in research.

permanent Ministry of Education, Ministry of Economy

Nr. of public / private partnerships created

III. HUMAN RESOURCES

15. Involvement of guidance centres in promoting the employability of university graduates

1. Development of a mechanism for employing young graduates in the workplace through career guidance centres

2018 Career guidance centres within

universities

Employment mechanism elaborated

2. Tracking individual path of graduates (traceability) permanent Ministry of Education,

Career Guidance

Centres within Universities

Data base elaborated

16. Development of innovative skills

16.1. Adaptation of formal training programs to the needs of innovative development and support of young talents in the innovative sphere

1. Introduction of optional courses of inventing and technological creativity in primary, secondary, high school and university education

2018 Ministry of Education , ANACIP

Courses introduced in 60 educational institutions annually

2. Introduction of optional entrepreneurship and economics courses in gymnasium and high school

2018 Ministry of Education, ANACIP

Courses introduced in 40 educational institutions annually

56

3. Organization of district, municipal and national Olympiads on inventions and technological creativity for pupils and students

permanent Ministry of Education , ANACIP

Nr. of organised Olympiads

4. Elaboration and implementation of the educational programs related to the innovation process at the management and engineering faculties: Intellectual property law and economy; Innovation management; Marketing of new products; Evaluation and commercialization of intellectual property objects;

2018 Ministry of Education, ANACIP

Nr. of elaborated educational programmes

5. Increase on average the paid scholarship with 25% for students , master students and PhD students in science, engineering and technology, and a 5% (estimative) annual increase in the number of students, masters and PhD students in science, engineering and technology, from 19700 in y. 2014 to 26500 in y. 2020 on the redistribution of seats from the account of unattractive labour market specialties

2020 Ministry of Education, Ministry of

Finance

Increased paid scholarship

IV. FUNDING – see the Objective 12

RESEARCH – INNOVATION INTERACTION

I. REGULATORY FRAMEWORK

17. Reformation of the governance of the national system for scientific research, technological development and innovation with the scope of adopting a more open, inclusive and transparent model

57

17.1. Amending and supplementing the Code on Science and Innovation of the Republic of Moldova no. 259 of 15.07.2004

- Separation of functions of policies elaboration from those of policies implementation in the fields of research and development, innovation and technological transfer - Decentralization of the process of prioritization in the fields of R & D, innovation and technology transfer; - Facilitation of the access to public funds for financing the programmes and projects in the respective fields, including by creating a competitive environment and financing of programmes and projects based on performance indicators; - External evaluation and certification of R & D, innovation and technology transfer organizations, including higher education institutions, with a view to promoting and capitalizing on scientific excellence. Highlighting the economic and social impact of their work;

2018 Ministry of Economy,

Academy of Science of Moldova,

Ministry of Education

Revision project of the Code on Science and Innovation elaborated and approved

The elaboration of the law on venture funds 2018 Ministry of Economy,

Academy of Science of Moldova

Draft law elaborated and approved

17.2. Completion of the normative framework regarding the organization and development of post-doctoral programs

Elaboration of the Regulation on the organization and development of post-doctoral programs

2017 Ministry of Education

Regulation approved

17.3. Amendment and completion of the Law on scientific-technological parks and innovation incubators no. 138-XVI of 21.06.2007

Amendment of the Law on Science and Technology Parks and Innovation Incubators no. 138-XVI of 21.06.2007 with the purpose of improving the efficiency of the Technologic Scientific and Innovation Incubation Parks.

2019 Academy of Science of Moldova

Project (Draft) approved

II. INSTITUTIONAL-ORGANISATIONAL CONDITIONS

58

18. Institutional reformation of research and development, innovation and technology transfer domains

18.1. Institutional reform of R & D, innovation and technology transfer

1. Establishment of the National Agency on R&D, Innovation and Technology Transfer (ANCDITT)

2018 Ministry of Economy

Agency created

2. Establishment of the Innovation and Technology Transfer Fund and of Research and Development Fund Management Board

2018 Ministry of Economy

Administration council established

3. Establishment of the Inter-ministerial Council for Policy Coordination in R & D, Innovation and Technology Transfer

2017 Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Education

Inter-ministerial council created

18.2. Strengthening the link between the actors of the Knowledge Triangle education- research- innovation.

1. Encouragement and promotion of the creation of innovative clusters and the development of existing ones

2017 permanent Nr. of clusters created

2. Development of innovation infrastructure (science and technology parks - STP, innovation incubators - II)

permanent Ministry of Economy,

Responsible institution31

Nr. of STP and II created

Nr. of residents of STP/II

3. Elaboration of innovative voucher mechanisms and their implementation

2017 Ministry of Economy,

Responsible institution

Draft law elaborated

4. Development and promotion of programmes to encourage SME and start-ups participation in the development and implementation of innovations

permanent Ministry of Economy,

Responsible

Nr. of incentive programmes

Nr. of participating

31 The present Agency for Innovation and Technology Transfer is envisaged, but it is proposed to be reformed in ANCDITT 59

institution innovative enterprises

5. Creation of an online platform for the exchange of information and good practices on the commercialisation of R & D achievements within the available budget

2017 Ministry of Economy,

Responsible institution

Platform created

6. Provision of informative assistance to SMEs and research institutions on the development and promotion of their projects within internal and external funding programmes

permanent Ministry of Economy,

Responsible institution

Nr. of informed entities

Nr. of applied projects

7. Promotion of interest in innovation in pre-university education and attraction of talented young people to the research career

permanent Ministry of Education,

Ministry of Economy, Research

institutions

Nr. of informed young people

Nr. of opportunities offered

8. Support of public-private partnership projects in the field of technological development and implementation of innovations in the national economy and in the social sphere

permanent Ministry of Economy, ODIMM

Nr. of partnerships created

19. Facilitation of networking and technological integration of Moldovan and foreign companies

19.1 Consolidation of the cooperation of innovative companies with the foreign ones

1. Formation of business-camps where local and foreign business leaders will share the innovative entrepreneurial experience to young firms

annually Ministry of Economy, ODIMM

Nr. of business camps created

2. Carrying out strategic negotiations with a view on attracting medium and large international companies in the Republic of Moldova with the capabilities of

2017 Ministry of Economy

Nr. of mixed enterprises created

60

generating new technological chains and creation of innovative clusters

3. Fortification of the Capacities of the Organization for the Attraction of Investments and Export Promotion (MIEPO) and of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry (CCI) and other support agencies for linking local and foreign firms

2017 Ministry of Economy,

MIEPO, CCI

Nr. of signed agreements

20. Improvement of the system of statistical evidence of innovative activities and policies

20.1. The international evaluation of the national statistical system in terms of meeting the needs of statistical indicators for the monitoring of innovation policies and activities

1. Revision of the system of statistical indicators and statistical surveys, elaboration of the methodology and implementation of indicators regarding innovation statistics taking into account the requirements of the European Union in the national statistic system

2017 Ministry of Economy

System of indicators elaborated

Methodology elaborated

2. Development of an integrated assessment system (of a set of indicators) of the innovation capacity and performance and of the results of innovative projects

2017 Ministry of Economy,

Responsible institution

Evaluation system elaborated

III. HUMAN RESOURCES 21 Consolidation of the human capital in R & D and innovation

21.1. Increase of the motivation and involvement of human resources in the research-innovation activity

Revision of the normative framework related to the salaries of the academic staff and of student scholarships, in order to stimulate the involvement of the university staff and of students in research, technological development and innovation activities

2017 Ministry of Education, Ministry of

Finance

Draft law approved

Elaboration of performance criteria for the staff working 2018 Ministry of Set of criteria elaborated

61

in the innovation field for the fair remuneration Education, Ministry of Economy

Involvement of students, master students and teaching staff from universities in the development and implementation of innovation projects

permanent Universities Nr. of persons involved

Stimulation of partnerships between universities and firms to involve the latter in the training process, especially in practical training modules

permanent Ministry of Education,

Universities, Business

environment

Nr. of partnerships

22.2. Facilitation of the integration of Moldovan researchers and innovators into the global circuit of innovation and ideas

1. Diversification of opportunities for companies to participate in international projects and actively inform the innovation community about existing opportunities

permanent Responsible institution,

ODIMM,

Academy of Science of Moldova

Nr. of informed persons

2. Identification and promotion of international and national examples of innovative and technological excellence of Moldovan companies (catalogue of good practices)

2018 Ministry of Economy,

Responsible institution

Catalogue elaborated

3. Development of relations with the scientific diaspora for the integration of the national research sector into international cooperation, but also for ensuring the objective evaluation of the research projects

permanent Ministry of Economy

Nr of signed agreements

4. Ensure and encourage internal and external university mobility for both students and teachers

permanent Ministry of Education,

Nr. of persons in mobility

62

Universities

22.3. Ensure of staff training to strengthen competencies in the field of innovation policies

1. Ensure the training of employees from the specialized departments of the Ministry of Economy in the field of analysis and development of research and innovation policies

permanent Ministry of Economy

Nr. of trained persons

2. Ensure training of employees of branch ministries, the Organization for the Development of the Sector of Small and Medium size Enterprises, the Organization for Attraction of Investments and Promotion of Exports in the evaluation of technological and innovative development projects

permanent Responsible ministries

Nr. of trained persons

IV. FUNDING

23 Improvement of the access to finance for actors of the knowledge triangle

23.1. Facilitation of the access of innovators to funding resources

1. Provision of support for establishing relations of Moldovan SMEs with investors and business angels and for stimulating the association of innovative SMEs with European and international business associations

2018 Academy of Sciences of Moldova,

Ministry of Economy

Functional mechanism elaborated and implemented

2. Facilitation of the process of creating a Club of Innovation Investors from the Republic of Moldova that would bring together business people with the capacity to provide capital, advice, positive practices and models for innovative businesses

2017 Ministry of Economy, MIEPO

Club created

23.2 Promotion of competitive funding models 1. Allocation of financial resources in the field of research and innovation from the state budget to 2 funds:

- Research and Development Fund;

2018 Ministry of Economy,

Responsible institution

Funds created

63

- The Innovation and Technological Transfer Fund.

2. Creation of a micro-credit fund for innovative micro-enterprises with the aim of developing a network of incubators, business accelerators in creative industries

2017 Ministry of Economy

Nr. of start-ups and funded companies

3. The implementation of "venture" instruments 2018 Ministry of Economy,

Responsible institution

Nr. of financed companies

23.3. Promotion of innovative export business 1. Creation of a mixed fund (from the sources of financing both from the state budget and from private sources) to support the new export-oriented start-ups

2018 Ministry of Economy,

Responsible institution

Share of intensive / creative technology products in total exports

2. Consolidation of the capacities of the Loan Guarantee Fund as well as of the Deposit Guarantee Fund

2017 Ministry of Economy

Nr. of guaranteed companies

64

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