Interviews with potential actors in the high-tech sector in Latvia Objectives:  Readiness of the potential entrepreneurs to set up their own company  Their real and perceived problems  The needs of excellence centres  The possibility of formation of spin-offs in excellence centres

Interviews with potential actors in the high-tech sector in Latvia Target groupInterviews Potential entrepreneurs  R&D performers  Students  Engineers in high-tech companies 20  10  5 Managers of high technology start-ups11 Managers of excellence centres10

Interviews with potential actors in the high-tech sector in Latvia Results:  The potential of spin-off creation in research institutes is diminished substantially to almost no potential for activity by Small R&D potential because of extremely low funding for R&D Aging science and no renovation processes ongoing Low awareness of technology transfer processes Low management capacity

Interviews with potential actors in the high-tech sector in Latvia Results:  The main problems of the potential entrepreneurs: The ideas are mostly in very early stage of developments Insufficient knowledge about market No business administration and marketing capacity Necessity of consulting services, but low level of trust in them

Interviews with potential actors in the high-tech sector in Latvia Results:  The main problems of start-ups: Lack of management capacity within the company Lack of qualified specialists Problems with small market or inability to conquer the market Difficulties in implementation of new products

Interviews with potential actors in the high-tech sector in Latvia Recommendations:  Reorganize the R&D funding system; Identify the goals and priorities for government R&D spending; Organize the government spending in accordance with the identified goals and priorities; Introduce competitive grant programs for incubator companies; Concentrate spending on few centres on excellence.

Interviews with potential actors in the high-tech sector in Latvia Recommendations:  The formation of business incubator with all the necessary support services  Creation of seed capital funds to support market oriented research  Formation of awareness creation programs

Interviews with potential actors in the high-tech sector in Latvia Recommendations:  Creation of policies that place the industry demands at the centre of the technology development process  Substantial increase of number of PhD students in nature and engineering sciences and according reorganization of the education system  Promotion of linkages between industry and research institutions