STRATEGIC PLANNING AND MANAGEMENT OF NATIONAL DEVELOPMENT PROCESSES IN LATVIA

Thanks to achieved productive collaboration of the highest level government institutions with the academic community experts, a national strategic planning system is shaping that is very significant for further development of Latvia. General principles of the system have been approved by the Law on Development Planning System. The conceptual document A Growth Model for Latvia: People First defines a knowledge-based human-centred development scenario. The National Development Plan has been approved as a mid-term programme for implementation of the Model. To monitor progress towards the goal an integrated quantified quality of life index was developed; the index includes priorities essential for Latvia's population and it is based on objective statistical data. Polycentric development and strong cooperation in the Baltic Sea Region are priorities among strategic tasks that have been outlined to realize the growth. But the current two-faced EU model cannot be evaluated as the most optimum and beneficial for development of Latvia as well as other EU Member States.