Latvia's technological and entrepreneurial ecosystem is playing an increasingly important role in driving economic growth and development. To highlight and promote entrepreneurship, research-driven innovation, and closer economic ties between Latvia and the United States, the Baltic American Freedom Foundation (BAFF), the American Chamber of Commerce in Latvia (AmCham Latvia), and the U.S. Embassy in Riga, together with TechHub Riga and the Latvian Startup Association, announce the 3rd Annual Latvian-American Innovation Award. The award will be granted to a Latvian individual, organization, university, or firm that has developed a cutting-edge technology or innovative solutions in collaboration with a U.S. partner.

Now more than ever the world is faced by the need for innovation as the social and economic consequences of the current COVID-19 crisis start to unravel.

With this award, we seek to inspire and recognize innovation across business and commerce, academic and scientific research, medicine and health, the environment, energy, and education. We invite a large pool of candidates to apply and make the case for why their innovation deserves recognition in accordance with the selection criteria below.

Award
The winner will receive 10,000 Euro (gross) and a runner-up 5,000 Euro (gross). The award is intended to recognize innovative thinking and project design, as well as strong collaboration between Latvian and U.S. developers; it is not intended as seed money for start-up companies or to support specific organizational plans or models.

Eligibility
To be eligible, applicants must be Latvian residents or organizations registered in Latvia. Submitted projects must demonstrate a clear Latvian-American link according to a combination of at least two of the following factors:

• The development and implementation of the innovation has taken place in Latvia.
• The project is the result of work conducted in the framework of U.S.-Latvia academic, commercial, professional, or artistic partnership or clear collaborative effort.
• The Latvian initiator and responsible person/entity has strong ties with the United States.
• The project has been funded or sponsored by a U.S. source.

Although projects that already have U.S.-Latvian collaboration are preferred, projects are also eligible if they show how the funds are used to create deeper collaboration or to build relationships with U.S. partners.

Selection Criteria
Innovations will be evaluated on their: