In Albania the responsibilities for universities, research centres and research institutes are distributed among several ministries and the Academy of Science. The newly elected government of Albania has recently decided on a reform of the research system, especially with regard to its management aspect.
The Ministry of Education and Science (MOES) of Albania is responsible for strategic planning and legislative aspects of S&T, the development of national programmes, technological development and international scientific cooperation. The ministry prepares the calls for proposals and evaluates and monitors the implementation of the funded projects.
A significant part of the Directorate of Scientific Research is devoted to bilateral scientific and technical cooperation. This includes the exchange of scientists and PhD students, but also of documentation and information. It provides help for joint research projects, for the sharing of scientific and research tools and for the participation in conferences and seminars.
Since the year 2000 three protocols for S&T cooperation have been signed with Greece: 19 joint projects in 2001-2002, 22 joint projects in 2003-2004, and 32 projects have been supported during the last period 2005–2007. At the same time two protocols have been signed with Italy: 119 projects (only for mobility) in 2002–2004 and 67 projects (39 for mobility and 28 with common financing) for the years 2005–2007 are supported.

Agreements and Protocols
In Albania only the Ministry of Foreign Affairs has the right to sign a new intergovernmental S&T agreement, but the Ministry of Education and Science is responsible for the implementation through protocols. The administration of bilateral intergovernmental RTD programmes is implemented by the Directorate of Scientific Research. Currently one major aim in Albanian policy is to increase bilateral cooperation. Therefore this year the Ministry of Education and Science, via its Directorate of Scientific Research, has signed protocols with the FYR of Macedonia and Slovenia.

Challenges in S&T
Albania has faced a difficult and turbulent decade. It was characterised by the lack of rule of law and economic collapse. Although considerable progress has been made in Albania since 1999, a lot remains to be done. Albanian research suffers from a lack of up-to-date equipment. Existing equipment is often provided through international cooperation projects and Albania has little, if any, major scale equipment. Even maintenance and running costs of the modest equipment that does exist is a major strain on Albanian public resources. Effort has been made to create an academic communications network and IT system in Albania, and other modern technologies are gradually being invested in.

The Science and Technology Policy Framework

S&T management of Albania:
1. Council of Ministers
2. Council of Scientific Policy and Technological Development (CSPTD)
3. Ministry of Education and Science with Scientific Research Directorate
4. Ministries, Academy of Science, Community
5. Universities, Research Institutes, Research Centres, NGOs

The legal framework is provided through:
1. Law on Science and Technological Development
2. Law on Higher Education
3. Law of Academy of Science
4. Governmental Decisions
5. Decisions of the Council of Scientific Policy and Technological Development
6. Ministerial Regulations

The central institutions of S&T in Albania (2003) are:
1. The Academy of Sciences (13 institutes / 253 scientists)
2. Ministry of Education and Science (2 institutes / 27 scientists)
Universities and similar (10 institutes / 1,208 scientists)
3. Ministry of Agriculture and Food (14 institutes / 144 scientists)
4. Ministry of Industry and Energy (8 institutes / 359 scientists)
5. Ministry of Territory Arrangements and Tourism (4 institutes / 202 scientists)
6. Ministry of Culture, Youth and Sports (2 institutes / 46 scientists)
7. Ministry of Transportation (1 institute / 18 scientists)
8. Ministry of Public Health (1 institute / 62 scientists)

Total: 55 central scientific institutions and 2,319 scientists

Article published in eJournal summer 06.