The first international research assesment in Lithuania was carried out in 1995 upon the request of the Ministry of Education and Science by the expert group formed by the Norwegian Research Council.
The experts stated that, despite a too large and non-balanced Lithuanian system of the research institutions and a complicated economical situation, there were a number of excellent research groups, even according to international standards.
On the basis of the assesment results, the experts suggested the following guidelines for the reorganization of the Lithuanian R&D system: to considerably increase the scope of competitive research funding, to orient research towards the current and future needs of the Lithuanian society, to merge university departments and faculties, to reduce and reorganize the sector of research institutes, to expand international contacts and cooperation, to give universities and research institutes a free hand in using their budget and following the provisions of the worked out national research plan.
Although, due to various reasons, part of recommendations is still at the initial stage of implementation, the first international research expertise in Lithuania became a very important stage of R&D development.