ERAWATCH Research Inventory Report For: Romania: European Commission

EUROPEAN COMMISSION
ERAWATCH Research Inventory Report For:

Romania
This document presents information published in the Research
Inventory of the ERAWATCH website. ERAWATCH provides timely
and comprehensive information on national and regional research
policies, structures, support measures and organisations. ERAWATCH
is a being conducted on behalf of DG Research of the European
Commission by DG Joint Research Centre - the Institute for
Prospective Technological Studies. The information is mainly collected
by the ERAWATCH Network.
For any further information see http://cordis.europa.eu/erawatch
Contents:
Overview
Research Policy
Important policy documents
Impact of EU developments
Regional research policies
Structure of the research system
Main research policy making mechanisms
Research Funding system
Important support measures
Research performers
Key research indicators

Overview
Basic characterisation of the research system
The current situation of the Romanian R&D system is closely related to the country's
economic performance, which continued to improve in recent years but slowed
down significantly since early 2009. Until late 2008, Romania developed as one of
the fastest growing economies in the region, gradually moving away from
the growth patterns of the transition years, based mainly on low-cost export,
to investment and domestic consumption as the main engines of economic growth.
Other economic drivers have been the technology upgrading primarily based on
imports and foreign direct investments, industrial downsizing and restructuring, as
well as a prudent monetary policy that reduced inflation, improved the stability of
the business environment and the functionality of the Romanian market.
The economic downturn manifested especially since early 2009 affected important
sectors of the economy and brought about significant cuts in the public funding for
R&D, with consequences that are difficult to quantify yet. For example, the
GERD level foreseen for 2009 was 0.89% of the GDP, an amount that was supposed
to continue the gradual progression from 0.41% in 2005, 0.46% in 2006, 0.5% in
2007 and 0.7% in 2008 and the subsequent increase to 1% by 2010, as part of the
government commitment to meet the 3% objective of the Lisbon Strategy.
Instead, in January 2009, the government allocated only 0.18% of the GDP to RDI
activities, accounting for only one third of the 2008 level. This measure was met
with significant protests from the scientific community so that in February 2009,
GERD was supplemented with RON 620 million (approx. EUR 148 million),
reaching approx. 0.3% of the GDP (RON 1.8 billion, approx. EUR 430 million at
an exchange rate of 1 EUR = 4.2 RON), still significantly lower than the actual 2008
level of approx. 0.5% of the GDP.
The evolution of the R&D system over the last 10 years was marked by positive
developments and gradual recovery after the strong decline of the transition
years. The dramatic drop of the GDP during 1995-2000 had a severe impact on the
R&D system, which is largely dependent on public funding (0.80% in 1995, 0.71%
in 1996, 0.58% in 1997, 0.49% in 1998, 0.40% in 1999, 0.37% in 2000). GERD as a
percentage of GDP halved over the decade 1993-2003, with the lowest level in 2000.
In this period, the government-funded share of GERD fell most steeply, but started
to recover from 2003, while the decline in industry-financed GERD was less severe,
but continued after 2000 and the first signs of recovery appeared only in 2006. New
policy initiatives and the increase in the public funding for R&D in recent years
contributed to the partial recovery of the R&D system.
The major player in research policy-making is the Ministry of Education,
Research and Innovation (MERI) through the National Authority for Scientific
Research (NASR), which has the mission to formulate and implement specific
policies for the R&D and innovation area. MERI collaborates with other ministries
involved in RDI activities, the link between them being ensured primarily by the
National R&D institutes they coordinate: Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Public
Finances, Ministry of Regional Development and Housing, Ministry of Agriculture,
Forests and Rural Development, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of
Communications and Information Society, Ministry of Transport and Infrastructure,
Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Protection, Ministry of Health, Ministry of
© European Communities, 2009.
Reproduction of ERAWATCH © is authorised provided the source is acknowledged.
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National Defence, Ministry of SMEs, Trade and Business Environment. In
addition, MERI also collaborates with a few government-subordinated agencies
that have specific functions related to R&D and innovation, such as the
National Institute for Statistics and the National Commission for Prognosis.
The main R&D performers include (Government of Romania, 2007):
a. 263 institutions of public interest: 45 national National R&D Institutes, 56
accredited public universities, 66 institutes and research centres of the Romanian
Academy (52 institutes, 14 research centres), 96 R&D institutes, centres or stations
organised as public institutions;
B. 32 accredited private universities
C. The network of specialised institutions for technology transfer and innovation
ReNITT, which included in 2007 46 specific entities (technology transfer centres,
technology information centres, technology and business incubators) as well as 4
S&T Parks located in different regions of the country.
Public R&D organisations are the most active R&D performers, while the private
sector and the higher education institutions are only marginally involved in R&D
activities. The highest share of R&D activities is conducted in applied areas: approx.
29% of R&D funding was directed to production and industrial activities.
The number of R&D personnel recorded a loss of about 10,000 researchers during
1995-2003 (about a quarter of the R&D personnel of a country with almost 23 mil.
inhabitants) (National Institute of Statistics, 2004). This was a consequence of the
lack of funding, brain drain, migration to other employment categories and the
restructuring of R&D activities during the transition period. After this dramatic
decline, the total number of R&D personnel started to rise again, reaching in 2006 a
share of 49.9 R&D personnel in 1,000 civil persons employed, of which 47.8
women. The total number of R&D personnel in 2006 was 42,220,
including 30,122 researchers and 9,341 PhDs (National Institute of Statistics,
2007). Statistical evidence (National Institute of Statistics, 2007) highlights some
notable characteristics of the total number of R&D personnel broken down by
performing sector, scientific field and age group:
The highest concentration of R&D personnel is in the enterprise sector,
followed by the government and the tertiary education sectors, with a majority
of personnel in the publicly funded R&D institutes;
The highest concentration of R&D personnel is in engineering and
technological sciences, followed at great distance by the natural and exact
sciences, and in the last positions, agricultural sciences, social sciences and
humanities. This reflects the predominantly applied character of R&D in
Romania, and the comparatively lower focus on agricultural and
socio-humanistic research;
A significant decline in the number of researchers in all age groups between
1995 and 2000, and a slight growth between 2001 and 2005, which suggests
that the declining trend in the share of researchers in the total active population
has come to an end.
The challenges for research policies and the national R&D system arise therefore
from this state of play. The 2007-2013 National RDI Strategy defines three key
objectives of the Romanian RDI system:


1. knowledge creation through internationally competitive R&D, integration

into international networks and promotion of excellence research;
2. increasing the competitiveness of the Romanian economy through
innovation and technology transfer;
3. increasing social quality by creating direct benefits for society (e.g.
providing solutions to local, regional and national problems related to social
cohesion and dynamics, health, environment, infrastructure, etc.).
The realisation of these objectives depends largely on the estimated GERD increase
to 1% of the GDP by 2010, as mentioned above, as well as a BERD increase to 2%,
but under the circumstances of the economic downturn, these funding levels may be
subject to revision, as well as the fiscal incentives for R&D-oriented firms currently
under examination by NASR in view of implementation.
Romania is one of the growth leaders among the Catching-up countries, with an
innovation performance well below the EU27 average but a rate of improvement
that is one of the highest of all countries. The European Innovation Scoreboard 2008
indicates a Summary Innovation Index (SII) of 0.277, in clear progression from
2004 (0.209 in 2004, 0.205 in 2005, 0.223 in 2006, 0.249 in 2007). Relative
strengths, compared to the country’s average performance, are in Innovators and
Economic effects, and relative weaknesses are in Finance and support and
Throughputs. Over the past 5 years, Finance and support and Throughputs have been
the main drivers of the improvement in innovation performance, in particular as a
result from strong growth in Public R&D expenditures (18.0%), Private credit
(17.4%), Broadband access by firms (24.3%), Community trademarks (36.0%) and
Community designs (44.3%). Performance in Firm investments and Innovators has
increased at a lower pace.
Last update date: 02/08/2009
Name of correspondent: Liana Marina Ranga


Overview
Main challenges for research policies
Currently, the main challenges facing R&D policies in Romania arise from the need
to ensure the convergence of national R&D policies to EU R&D orientations and
priorities in view of a smooth integration of the country into the ERA, to strengthen
the knowledge base and the economic competitiveness, and reduce the gap to the EU
Member States. The 2007-2013 National RDI Strategy defines the following key
challenges for research policy:
1. Increasing the R&D performance, in terms of scientific publications, EPO and

USPTO patents and patents registered by the National Patent Office. These
indicators of R&D performance are very low compared to the EU average.
The number of scientific publications is still relatively low, but is on an increasing

trend, indicating progressive integration of the domestic science system into world
science. For example, Romania's relative increase in the number of ISI publications
during 1981-2002 was of 86.98%, higher than the global average increase of
70.11%. Taking into account the total number of publications in the 10-year period
January 1995–August 2005, Romania ranks 48 out of 146 countries in terms of
citations, and 43 in terms of publications. Its contribution to the overall world
scientific productivity was of 0.07% for citations and 0.2% for publications. With an
average number of citations per paper of 3.46, Romania is almost three times lower
than the world average citations per paper of 9.43. In terms of scientific productivity
in the 1995-2005 period, Romania ranked 74 in terms of citations per million
population, and 69 in terms of publications per million population. Therefore, a
fourfold increase in Romania's scientific productivity is needed in order to reach the
average level of the EU New Member States, and an eightfold increase to reach EU
average level. In terms of "performance cost", scientific productivity per national
research expenditure, Romania ranks fifth, in the same 10 year-period (Eurostat).
2. Developing resources for the RDI system – strengthening human resources for
R&D is a key challenge for the Romanian R&D system, which was severely affected
by the significant losses of the 1990s. The main areas of intervention focus on:
increasing the number of researchers and decreasing the average age of researchers
to below 40 years ; increasing the weight of PhDs and PhD candidates and
supporting an average number of 2,000 doctoral scholarships; increasing the
attractiveness of research careers by ensuring access to R&D activities and career
development opportunities for the best-performing researchers; attracting
experienced researchers and young researchers at postdoctoral and PhD candidate
levels, regardless of nationality; and increasing access to high-performance research
infrastructures, by participating in large research infrastructures and developing
national research facilities and multiple user research labs.
3. Strengthening science-industry linkages is also a major challenge, considering
that the country has a low level of innovation, and lags significantly behind other
EU countries, particularly in the business sector. For example, according to official
statistics (National Institute of Statistics, 2007), the number of innovative enterprises
in industry and services is low, and has only slightly increased in recent years, from
17% in 2002 to 19.9% in 2004 (the latest available data). The share of
non-innovative enterprises remains very high, at 80.1%. Among the innovative

non-innovative enterprises remains very high, at 80.1%. Among the innovative
enterprises, only 13.3% were both product and process innovators. However,
although the share of innovative firms is still small, the economic relevance of
innovation (% of innovative sales) seems to be high, taking into account the EIS
indicators where Romania scores above the EU average, e.g. New-to-firm product
sales (149%), New-to-market product sales (115%).
The key objectives for strengthening science-industry linkages include: increasing
business R&D expenditure and the involvement of the private sector in RDI;
developing public-private partnerships in S&T by creating competence centres:
technological platforms, S&T Parks and specialised interfaces for R&D demand and
supply; simplifying the access of innovative firms to RDI co-funding schemes, and
supporting their collaboration with academic research and public R&D units. In
addition, the reduction of fragmentation of the RDI system is envisaged by
stimulating participation in national and international networks, to ensure critical
mass and internationally recognised results.
4. Strengthening international cooperation, through better international and EU
representation of Romania and involvement of the Romanian diaspora in RDI
projects.
These challenges have been defined through a broad consultation process among the
main RDI stakeholders, which was the key characteristic of the 2007-2013 National
RDI Strategy design. The document is the result of a broad consultation with a large
part of the scientific and business communities ("Romanian Delphi"), which were
invited for the first time to identify and prioritise strategic RDI objectives. This was
an 18-month project launched in 2005 and managed by a consortium of 32 R&D
institutions and universities, coordinated by the National Council of University
Research (CNCSIS) and the Executive Unit for Financing Research in Universities
(UEFISCSU). Over 800 people, comprising researchers and experts from R&D
institutions, private business people, NGO representatives, policy -makers, and
4,000 people questioned on-line provided valuable feedback to the strategy-makers.


Overview
New research policy developments
Research – the engine for the recovery of the Romanian economy
The key role of Romanian research in the economic recovery of the country,
significantly affected by the economic downturn, was discussed at the latest meeting
of the Romanian Innovation Council (6 February 2009). The participants
emphasised the need to adopt new strategic programmes in the five priority areas of
the Romanian research, which are also supported by the Structural Funds
(environment, health, energy, agriculture and new materials), considering their
major potential for the creation of new jobs and economic growth.
The Romanian Innovation Council was created in March 2008 as a consultative
body of the National Authority for Scientific Research (NASR) with the mission to
assist NASR in the elaboration of the Innovation Strategy and to assist the
Management Authority for Scientific Research, Innovation and Technology Transfer
in the implementation of the ‘Innovation’ Programme of the 2007-2013 National
RDI Plan. The Innovation Council is composed of representatives of the Romanian
scientific and business communities, who meet quarterly or at the request of the
president of the Council. The Council functions through five working groups, in the
areas of: inventions, new products and technology transfer; patents and intellectual
property rights; information and communication technologies; development of
funding sources; elaboration of new law proposals.
The ‘Innovation Roadshow’ is an initiative of the National Authority for Scientific
Research launched at the end of August 2008 and organised as a series of
conferences, seminars and meetings between representatives of R&D institutions and
firms (especially SMEs) in all the development regions of the country. On these
occasions, the most advanced products, services and technologies (ready for
implementation/acquisition) of national and private R&D institutes, universities,
other R&D actors, are presented to the business sector and adapted to the economic
specificities of the region/county. The roadshow also presents government and EU
funding opportunities for joint projects of R&D institutions and business firms, and
organises visits to the firms that are interested in taking over/developing new
innovative products, services or technologies, or entering partnerships with R&D
units. For example, the evaluation of the roadshow held in the South-West Region in
November 2008 (based on questionnaires collected from 25 participants - 12
business people and 13 researchers) showed that most of the business people
attending the event came from private firms. All the participating firms were
involved in R&D activities and most of them were domestic. Business people were
mostly interested in such areas as: energy, nanotechnologies and nanomaterials,
environment and sustainable development, transport and civil planning. Most of the
business people considered that the research results presented in the roadshow can
be partially transferred to their firms, and almost half of them declared they would
implement such results totally or partially. The researchers attending the event
focused on making new business contacts and collecting information on the needs of
the economic agents. 96% of participants considered that the event was well
organised, had good logistics (86%) and a good agenda (96%). All participants were
of the opinion that Romanian science has the capacity to provde solutions for
increasing the competitiveness of Romanian firms (see more details on the
Innovation Roadshow on http://www.fabricadebani.ro/list.aspx?tid=7).





Relevance of research policy

The Relative Importance of Research Policy
R&D and innovation policies have been recognised as a key driver of economic
revival and international competitiveness, and have been included as distinct themes
in all the government programmes after 1989. They are designed and implemented
by the ministry in charge with R&D and innovation, currently the Ministry of
Education, Research and Innovation and its National Agency for Scientific Research
(NASR), in collaboration with other ministries involved in R&D activities.
The current 2009-2013 Government programme specifies the following objectives in
the RDI area:
1. Sustaining the scientific areas with the highest performance potential;

2. Increasing the number of internationally competitive researchers;
3. Increasing the attractiveness of scientific careers and promoting young researchers;
4. Encouraging partnerships and the comeback of the Romanian scientific diaspora;
5. Improving the functionality of the RDI system;
6. Better integration of scientific research into the economy and society;
7. Increasing institutional and personal capacity of researchers to attract international
funds, public and private;
8. Communication of science results to society.
In addition, R&D and innovation policies have also been included in other
government programmes, such as:
the Pre-Accession Economic Programme, which is the precursor of the
convergence and stability programmes used by EU Member States to
participate in the coordination procedures of economic policies within the
Union;
the 2005-2009 National Export Strategy which specifies the need to bridge
technology and competitiveness gaps, producing high value-added exports by
development of R&D and innovation activities in enterprises, and enhancing
presence on global markets;
the "Industrial Policy of Romania until 2008", which emphasise the role
of RDI in increasing the competitiveness of Romanian industry;
the National Reform Plan for implementing the Lisbon Strategy,
which includes RDI policies on the theme of "Knowledge and Innovation",
among the micro-economic priorities for improving economic competitiveness
and productivity;
the 2007-2013 Sectoral Operational Programme "Increasing Economic
Competitiveness (SOP-IEC), which includes RDI policies under Priority Axis
2: Research, Technological Development and Innovation for competitiveness.
The specific objectives of this programme are to stimulate
university-industry-R&D institutions partnerships, investments in the RDI
infrastructure and access of enterprises, especially SMEs, to RDI activities.
At the interministerial level, research policy is discussed within the National

Council for Science and Technology Policy, which is the government's high-level

policy coordination body. It is chaired by the prime minister, and includes: the
Minister of Education, Research and Innovation and the Chairman of the National
Authority for Scientific Research, the Ministers of Economy , Agriculture,
Forests and Rural Development, Communications and Information Society, and the
President of the Romanian Academy. The main mission of the Council is to establish
the priorities and legislative framework for the implementation of the National
Strategy for R&D and Innovation, in line with the objectives and sectoral strategies
of the government programme, and in consultation with key stakeholders (local and
central public administration bodies, Romanian Academy, higher education
organisations, R&D institutes, economic agents, employers' federations and labour
unions, etc).
Research expenditure is planned to increase to up to 1% of the GDP until 2010.
Research policy plans and intentions have traditionally had relative difficulty in
finding their way through the political-administrative systems. However, recent
years have seen some notable improvements in NASR's horizontal collaboration
with other government ministries/agencies, local administration and regional
authorities, mainly in the context of preparations for the EU accession, and, after 1
January 2007, of the implementation of Structural Funds. Several examples illustrate
this trend:
participation in 2005-2006, alongside other economic ministries, in the
Inter-ministerial Council for Industrial Policy, which elaborated the Document
and Action Plan for the 2005-2008 Industrial Policy of Romania;
contribution to the elaboration of 2005-2009 National Export Strategy (RDI
section) and the 2007-2013 National Development Plan, coordinated by the
Ministry of Economy and Finance;
participation as Intermediate Body in the implementation of the Sectoral
Operational Programme "Increasing Economic Competitiveness" (SOP-IEC)
(Priority Axis 2–Research, Technological Development and Innovation for
Competitiveness), next to the Ministry of Economy and Finance as
Management Authority, and other institutions designated as Intermediate
Bodies.
These developments contributed to improving the communication between

innovation stakeholders and allowed for greater emphasis on RDI policies in sectoral
industrial policies and regional development strategies. An expression of the
increasing recognition of innovation as a key driver of economic development is the
November 2007 Excellence Award granted by the Romanian Chamber of Commerce
and Industries to the National Authority for Scientific Research for the support given
to increasing the competitiveness of Romanian products and services through R&D
and innovation.
Relevance of research policy
Recent political events relevant to research policy
There have been no recent political events with major influence on research policy.



Policy goals and priorities

Key Research policy focus
R&D policies and the associated policy instruments in Romania can be considered to
be in a process of transition from a broadly generic focus, mainly manifested in the
structure of the 1999-2006 National RDI Plan and other programmes that
complemented the Plan, to a more thematic focus, illustrated by the current
2007-2013 National RDI Plan.
For example, the 1999-2006 National RDI Plan was structured in 14 programmes
addressing priority areas in the broader sense (e.g. RELANSIN Programme for
economic revival through research and innovation, CERES Programme for basic and
socio-economic research, MENER Programme for environment, energy and
resources, AGRAL Programme for agriculture and food, CALIST Programme for
quality and standards, etc). The 2007-2013 National RDI Strategy reduces the
number of national priority areas to nine (ICT, energy, environment, health,
agriculture and food, biotechnologies, innovative materials, processes and goods,
space and security, and socio-economic and humanistic research), and identifies six
specific themes, similar to the EU FP7: People, Capacities, Ideas, Partnerships in
priority domains, Innovation and Sustaining institutional performance.
The 2007-2013 National RDI Plan is complemented by other programmes that
reflect a mix of generic and thematic approaches, such as:
the "Excellence Research" Programme, launched in May 2005 with the
purpose of supporting the collaboration between R&D units, universities and
firms for improving research quality in Romania, and facilitating integration in
the European Research Area. The programme includes four modules: 1.
"Complex R&D Projects"; 2. "Human resources development for training,
mobility of researchers and increasing attractiveness of research careers"; 3.
"Support of participation in European and international research programmes";
and 4. "Development of infrastructure for quality assessment and
certification".
the Core Programmes, proposed by national R&D institutes and/or public
research institutions to support specific medium- and long-term RDI strategies
for the sectoral development of the respective institutions. They are validated
by the ministries coordinating the respective National R&D institutes, then
approved and funded by NASR with amounts between 20% and 60% of the
R&D income of the applicant institution realised in the year prior to
the application;
the Sectoral R&D Programmes, initiated by NASR, and coordinated by
NASR and other ministries with responsibilities in the respective sectors. For
instance, the Sectoral R&D Plan coordinated by NASR has the objective of
strengthening NASR' s capacity to elaborate, implement and evaluate RDI
policies, strategies and programmes, and to develop instruments for their
planning and monitoring;
the INFRATECH Programme, initiated and coordinated by NASR with the
purpose to develop the innovation infrastructure in the country.



Policy goals and priorities
(Main aims of research policy)
The main institution with research policy responsibilities is the National Authority
for Scientific Research (NASR), which has traditionally designed R&D policies in a
combined approach with innovation policies, as exemplified by the 1999-2006
National RDI Plan. The differentiation between the two became clearer in the
current 2007-2013 National RDI Strategy, which sees innovation as "an outcome, of
which research can be one of the sources, next to other factors, such as experience,
communication, marketing, etc. Therefore, a coherent innovation policy needs
national horizontal coordination. The RDI Strategy sustains innovation that
includes a research component, and aims for complementarities with the Structural
Funds allocated for innovation, in order to articulate a national innovation system
as part of the knowledge-based society". This vision is reflected by the current
2007-2013 National RDI Plan - the implementation instrument of the Strategy.
Other programmes managed by NASR in parallel with the 2007-2013 National
RDI Plan also reflect the increasing differentiation betwen R&D and innovation. For
example, some programmes have a clear focus on R&D, such as the "Research of
Excellence" Programme, the Programme for scientific research grants, Core research
programmes and Sectoral R&D programmes, while other programmes have a a clear
focus on innovation, such as the INFRATYECH programme.
Although NASR's RDI policies are equally addressing public R&D community (i.e.
national R&D institutes, public R&D institutes, academic research groups) and
private business firms with R&D capabilities, their impact is much stronger in the
public R&D community than in private business firms, because of the relatively
weak R&D potential of business firms and mismatches in the supply and demand of
R&D between the public and the business sector. This situation explains the current
RDI policy goals, which include:
the development of the national RDI system and strengthening its capacity to
create, transfer and use knowledge;
fostering RDI activities and services in all socio-economic sectors, and
increasing their demand for RDI;
supporting the provision of specialised human resources for RDI activities and
services;
improving the innovation climate and the capacity of business firms, especially
SMEs, to absorb, diffuse and generate innovation;
stimulating local and regional technological development and innovation
potential, and the international collaboration in these areas.
These goals are part of NASR's objective to consolidate the "Romanian Research
Area", which is expected to smoothen integration into the European Research Area.
Within this process, the most significant action lines include:
increasing the quality of R&D activities, through an increase of public R&D
expenditure to 1% of the GDP by 2010, restructuring of R&D units,
improvements in planning, funding, monitoring and evaluation mechanisms,
improving the number and quality of R&D personnel, researchers' mobility
schemes, and attracting young researchers, creation of centres and networks of

excellence;
increasing the participation of Romanian researchers in international
programmes, especially in EU RTDI initiatives such as ERA and FP7, to
stimulate transnational learning and better access to EU funding;
fostering industry-university-R&D institutions partnerships and the
involvement of the private sector in R&D activities, for accelerating the
process of technology transfer to industry and the increase of the R&D
capacity of domestic firms.



Research policy
Main instruments of research policy
The main instruments to support research in Romania are both direct and indirect,
with a heavy reliance on the former and a poor development of the latter, which
have, however, become a priority in the recent policy documents. Both types will be
briefly discussed below:
A. Direct instruments
The main funding instruments currently used by the National Authority for Scientific
Research (NASR) for supporting R&D policy are:
The 2007-2013 National Plan for R&D and Innovation (launched in May
2007). This is the most important funding instrument of NASR, both policy-
and budget-wise, and has the largest budget of all current programmes. It is
organised in six programmes, similarly to the EU FP7: 1. Human Resources
(accounts for 9% of the total budget); 2. Capacities (13.5%); 3. Ideas (18%);
4. Partnerships (36%); 5. Innovation (13.5%) and 6. Sustaining the
institutional performance (10%). The first call for proposals for all
programmes was issued in June 2007. Participation in the programme is
competition-based;
Core Programmes, launched in 2003 as complementary measures to the
1999-2006 National RDI Plan. They are defined by the national RDI institutes
on an annual or multi-annual basis to provide further institutional support to
their own R&D activities and development strategies, with funding of up to
60% of the institution's R&D expenditure in the previous year. The Core R&D
Programmes are validated by the ministries which coordinate the respective
institutes, and are approved and financed by NASR. In 2009 NASR provides
funding for 46 Core programmes initiated and developed by national R&D
institutes;
Sectoral R&D Plans, launched at the end of 2003, also as complements to
the 1999-2006 National RDI Plan, supporting sectoral technological
development. These programmes are financed by the coordinating ministries
of the respective areas, including NASR, Ministry of Economy, Ministry of
Agriculture, Forests and Rural Development, Ministry of Environment. NASR
is the most advanced in this process, having created the legal and operational
framework for the implementation of its Sectoral R&D Programme.The
Ministry of Economy launched its R&D sectoral plan in 2007 covering the
period 2007-2009. The Plan focuses on specific issues to increase the
competitiveness of industrial sectors. The Ministry of Communications and
Information Technology (MCIT) finalised its R&D sectoral plan in 2007 for
the period 2008-2010. The Plan includes two programmes in specific
areas: R&D for Communications (development of communications networks
and services, including the digital system) and R&D for information
technology (information architectures and solutions for e-Government);
The "Research of Excellence" Programme, introduced in 2005 to support
the formation of excellence poles through research consortia, development of
human resources and infrastructures for R&D and the participation of
Romanian RDI units in international programmes and networks;
IMPACT Programme, launched in July 2006 and planned to be operational
until 2010, providing support to RDI projects related to the Priority Axis

until 2010, providing support to RDI projects related to the Priority Axis
"Increasing Economic Competitiveness through R&D and Innovation" of the
2007-2013 National Development Plan;
INFRATECH Programme, initiated in 2004 as the main instrument by
which NASR sustains the development of the innovation and technology
transfer (ITT) infrastructure in the country. It consists of two sub-programmes:
(i) Sub-programme for the development of technology transfer centres,
technology information centres, industrial liaison offices, etc ; (ii)
Sub-programme for the development of S&T Parks and Technology and
Business incubators.
These programmes address a broad target of R&D performers both in the public and
the private sector (national R&D institutes, public R&D organisations, academic
research centres, business firms with R&D activities, etc. There are no specific
programmes for the private sector alone.
In addition to the NASR's R&D programmes listed above, one can also mention two
other R&D programmes coordinated by institutions other than NASR:
National priority research projects coordinated by the Romanian
Academy, which address complex scientific and cultural issues of national
importance, and have a clear focus on R&D;
the Programme of scientific research grants, coordinated by the National
Council for Academic Research, which supports the formation of scientific
careers, and the development of research teams based on scientific
personalities.
The programmes mentioned above do not promote selective R&D support schemes
for existing high-tech sectors/technology domains, selective R&D support schemes
for new sectors/technology domains or selective R&D support schemes for low- to
medium-tech sectors.
B. Indirect instruments
Tax incentives in general are poorly represented at present, as only a few remained
active after 1 January 2007. With regard to specific measures for R&D activities,
the Tax Code (Law 571/2003 revised, as entered into force on 1 January 2007)
introduced 100% deductibility for the following categories of expenditure:Law
345/1 June 2002 stipulates VAT exemption for RDI activities related to the National
RDI Plan, as well as RDI activities financed in international, regional and bilateral
partnership. The tax regime for micro-enterprises enables them to pay either the
corporate tax (a flat rate of 16% applied to the company's profits) or a turnover tax of
2% during 2007, 2.5% during 2008 and 3% during 2009, subject to certain
conditions. The income tax exemption for the salaries of software creators is
applicable provided that the IT activities are rigorously registered, and separately
carried out, and the software creators are highly educated in IT, and hired as software
engineers, system designers, system engineers or analysts. There are also tax
incentives for the establishment and development of an industrial park. Companies
organising training for up to 20% of employees may be partially reimbursed for
training expenses for a maximum of one training programme per year. However,
only specialist training companies may provide such services, according to the


norms of the Ministry of Labour. The introduction of new tax incentives is stipulated
in recent policy documents, in order to reach the 2% of GDP level from private
funds foreseen by the 3% Barcelona target. The 2007-2010 National Strategy on
RDI promotes the introduction of fiscal incentives for joint projects between R&D
institutes, universities (tax reduction by deduction of R&D expenditures, and through
the expenses depreciation regime) and the creation of a risk capital fund. The
2007-2010 National Reform Plan stipulates the creation in 2008-2009 of a Risk
Capital Fund for innovative SMEs and start-ups. The Sectoral Operational
Programme "Increasing Economic Competitiveness" (SOP-IEC) specifies in its
Priority Axis 1 "Innovative production systems" the creation of venture capital and
risk capital funds that will be implemented with JEREMIE (Joint European
Resources for Micro to Medium Enterprises) assistance.
· Costs related to the management of information systems;
· Costs for the introduction, maintenance and improvement of quality
management systems;
· Costs for marketing, market study, promotion of existing or new markets;
· Participation in trade fairs and exhibitions;
· Costs related to environmental protection and conservation;
The Tax Code also introduced flexible options for depreciation of the following
categories of expenditure:
· Purchase of patents, copyrights, licenses, trademarks or trade;
· Manufacturing and other similar development expenses (purchase of
technological equipment, machinery, tools, computers and peripherals);
· Non-taxable revenues of patent owners for 5 years from the first application.
In collaboration with the Ministry of Economy, NASR currently promotes a draft

law for the introduction of tax incentives, aimed to encourage the R&D activities of
economic units. The draft law stipulates an increase of the deductibility of R&D
expenditure from the current 100% to 120% at the calculation of taxable amounts for
those units whose own R&D activities account for at least 15% of their total yearly
expenditure.
In addition,
The analysis of current policy mix described above suggests that it continues to be
primarily oriented towards direct instruments, but a trend towards the development
of new indirect instruments, such as tax incentives, is observed in the new policy
documents adopted in 2007 as a response to the Lisbon Strategy (the new 2007-2010
National RDI Plan, the 2007-2010 National Reform Plan and the Sectoral
Operational Programme "Increasing Economic Competitiveness" (SOP-IEC). The
current policy mix can thus be considered to be a result of conscious and
coordinated targeting of policy strategies and logic of intervention towards the
business sector, in order to correct some of the main weaknesses of the Romanian
RDI system – weak linkages with the business sector, low R&D capacity of firms
and low numbers of innovative SMEs.


Main instruments of research policy
Public-private collaboration
Strengthening public-private collaboration is recognised as a priority of Romanian
R&D policy. The 2007-2013 National RDI Strategy encourages the involvement of
the private sector in RDI activities, with a view to increasing the capacity for
innovation, technological development and industrial up-take of research results. In
particular, it encourages the development of public-private partnerships in S&T by
establishing centres of competence, technology platforms, scientific parks and
specialised interfaces between the RDI demand and supply. It also proposes a
simplified access of innovative enterprises to the RDI financing schemes directed
towards co-financing and support to their cooperation with research in universities
and public R&D institutes.
The main mechanisms to promote public-private partnerships are:
The 2007-2013 National RDI Plan, through its "Partnerships" programme,
coordinated by theThe programme supports RDI projects classified by
thematic directions and themes, and research networks between RDI entities,
consortia, companies, local or central public administration units, in
partnership with RDI entities;
the "Research of Excellence" Programme, managed by NASR, stimulates
the collaboration between R&D institutions, universities and firms in order to
improve the quality of the Romanian RDI system, align it to the EU standards
and facilitate partnerships with international research and technology
consortia, with a view to effective integration into the ERA and participation in
FP7. It supports the formation of excellence poles, development of human
resources and infrastructures for R&D and the participation of Romanian RDI
units in international programmes and networks;
National Technology Platforms – launched by NASR in 2005 with a view
to the joint development of strategic agendas for medium- and long-term
research between public and private institutions, and integration into the
European technology platforms. At present, NASR monitors 21 national
technology platforms, in domains such as: alternative energy sources,
including hydrogen and fuel cells, plants, genomics and biotechnology, water
management, future manufacturing, nanoelectronics, nanomedicine, innovative
medicines, sustainable chemistry, maritime transport, aeronautics. The 21
platforms are based on the active participation of 45 public R&D institutions,
and 40 private sector organisations. Most of the platforms have already
established the working groups for formulating the common research agendas
('mirror groups'), and nominated their representatives for the similar European
platforms.
A specialised structure for the management of public-private partnerships was

created in 2001 – the Agency for Qualifications in Higher Education and
Partnerships with the Socio-Economic Environment (ACPART), which
promotes the partnerships between universities and the business sector through a
dedicated division in its structure. ACPART initiated two programmes in this
respect: "Partners for Excellence" (in 2004) and "University in Society"

(UNISO) (in 2002), which aims to promote the dialogue between universities and
business firms, and build long-term relationships between them in a multicultural
context.


Research policy
Related policies in other domains
Fiscal Policies
Fiscal facilities for RDI activities in the Romanian tax system are very limited, but
include:
VAT exemption for RDI activities performed in relation to the programmes,
sub-programmes and projects of the National RDI Plan;
local tax exemption for RDI activities of Industrial and S&T Parks.
In addition, there are a number of incentives currently applied to Industrial Parks:

exemption from land-related taxes, when changing the destination of land
related to the industrial park, or for its removal from the agricultural circuit;
tax reduction may be approved by the local public administration for the land
and buildings destined for the use of the industrial park;
other incentives that may be granted by local public administration in
accordance with the law.
Risk capital is not significantly present on the Romanian market, and consists of
only a few general investment funds, which provide relatively low levels of funding,
usually obtained from foreign funds, which makes the market very dependent on the
country's perception by foreign investors. Regional risk capital funds have become
much more active than national ones, especially for high value transactions, because
competition is less intensive at this level, but none of them can compete with banks,
as they are not prepared to provide funding for long-term development. Currently,
there are 10 risk capital funds on the Romanian market, but only one of them
(Romanian American Enterprise Fund – RAEF) offers funding for SMEs. In
addition, granting of risk capital is conditioned by a minimum funding provided by
the firm, which can be a significant obstacle for SMEs.
The development of a National Risk Capital Fund for R&D and Innovation, initially
based on state capital and further developed with private funds has been included in
the 2005-2008 Government Programme (Chapter 6 – R&D and innovation) as a
priority for stimulating the intensity and quality of RDI, but no significant measures
in this sense have been adopted so far.
Human Resource Policies
Several measures adopted by the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth can be
mentioned here as having a significant impact on providing human resources for
research:


1. Law 288/2004 establishes the new structure of the higher education system in
Romania according to the Bologna Agreement, and introduces the three cycles of
academic education (1 – academic diploma, 2 – master's programme, 3 – doctoral
programme). The last two cycles include scientific research activities.
2. Law 287/24 June 2004 regarding the creation of Consortia of universities and
R&D institutions, which promote joint education (Master programmes) and
research (PhD programmes) for consortium members, identify excellence research
domains and provide logistical and financial support to consortium research centres.
The law facilitates the mobility of academic staff within the consortium, supports the
development of joint national and European programmes and scientific associations,
etc.
3. Order 3861/13 April 2005 of the Minister of Education and Research

regarding the creation of postdoctoral research programmes starting with the
academic year 2005-2006. These are advanced two-year research programmes
funded by MERY through grants from the Research of Excellence Programme. The
programme comes to fill an important gap in the education and research system in
Romania, as universities and research institutions had not developed postdoctoral
programmes prior to this policy measure. Therefore, the programme aims to attract
young PhDs, increase the attractiveness of scientific careers to young PhDs in the
country and abroad, and encourage the return to the country of young PhDs currently
working abroad.
4. A grant system for young doctoral students or young researchers (under 35

years) introduced in 2000, followed in 2002 by a new type of grant for young
doctoral students in the final stage of their research.
5. Currently, there are several international collaboration agreements that give

young researchers and doctoral students the opportunity to participate in training
stages in EU countries, US and Japan.
Interaction between Innovation and Research Policies
R&D and Innovation policies have been traditionally addressed in a combined
approach by the ministry in charge with R&D and innovation (currently the Ministry
of Education, Research and Youth and its National Authority for Scientific
Research). The 1999-2006 National RDI Plan is illustrative of this approach. The
differentiation between R&D and innovation has become more visible in subsequent
programmes, that address either the R&D dimension (e.g. the Research of Excellence
Programme, the Programme for Scientific Research Grants, the Core Research
Programmes and the Sectoral R&D Plans) or the innovation dimension (e.g. the
INFRATECH Programme or the National Technological Platforms.
Other programmes with a stronger focus on innovation with a potential positive

impact on research are managed by agencies other than the National Authority for


Scientific Research:
the programmes of the National Agency for Higher Education Qualifications
and Partnership between Universities and Economic–Social Environment
(ACPART): "Partners for Excellence" Programme for facilitating
Science-Industry contacts and joint projects and "UNISO – Universities for
Society" Programme for fostering regional university-industry linkages and
increase public awareness on the role of entrepreneurial universities in society;
the multi-annual programmes for SMEs of the Ministry for SMEs, Trade,
Tourism and Liberal Professions;
the "Industrial and Software Parks Programme" of the Ministry of Public
Administration and Home Affairs (2002-2005 ), aimed at improving the
regional infrastructure by encouraging economic diversification and private
initiatives.

Other Policies
As described in section 1.1, the major player in R&D policy-making is the Ministry of
Education, Research and Youth, through the National Authority of Scientific Research
(NASR), which is the only government agency in charge of the formulation and
implementation of research policies. NASR collaborates with other ministries involved in
R&D activities, most of this involvement arising from the coordination exerted by some
ministries on some national R&D institutes, e.g. the Ministry of Economy and Finance
coordinates eight National R&D institutes, the Ministry of Transport – three, the Ministry of
Communication and Information Technology – two, the Ministry of Labour, Family and
Equal Opportunities – two, the Ministry of Public Health – two, the Ministry of
Environment and Sustainable Development – three, the Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development – six (Source: NASR, December 2006).
Some important aspects of this coordinating role are related to the financing by the
respective ministries of the Sectoral R&D Programmes proposed by some national R&D
institutes for the technological development of the respective sectors, or to the validation by
the respective ministries of the Core Research Programmes developed by some national
R&D institutes in order to support their specific medium- and long-terms strategies. In the
latter case, after validation by the respective ministries, the programmes are approved and
funded by NASR, with max. 60% of the R&D income of the institute realised in the year
prior to the application (see all the Core R&D programmes funded by NASR in 2007 at
http
://www.mct.ro/ancs_web/index.php?action=viewart&artid=1037&idcat=229&sub=&ssub=).
Other forms of interaction between NASR and these ministries include participation in the
National Council for S&T Policy, in the management of some Sectoral Operational
Programmes, such as the Programme for Increasing Economic Competitiveness (where the
Management Authority is the Ministry of Economy and Finance), or consultations in the
process of elaboration of sectoral strategies regarding the role of R&D in the respective
sectors (e.g. IT, energy, environment).
The R&D activities of these ministries remain, however, very limited, as they have very
limited R&D budgets, e.g. the Ministry of Economy and Finance – 3.94% of the total public

funding for R&D, Ministry of Defence – 2.84%, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural
Development – 2.69%, Ministry of Environment and Sustainable Development – 0.99%.
other ministries – 0.39% (NASR, 2006).
Another agency with R&D activities is the Romanian Space Agency (ROSA), which is the
national coordinating body of space activities. ROSA is an independent public institution
under the auspices of MERY, and has the mission to promote and coordinate national
efforts in the space area, and promote international cooperation. In particular, ROSA is
authorised to establish R&D centres oriented towards specific objectives of the Romanian
Space Programme and to develop its own R&D projects. One of the ROSA´ s main
responsibilities is to coordinate and integrate the activities of the National Space Research
Programme, where it coordinates projects on basic space science, space structures,
technologies, microgravity, communications, information, education, Earth observation and
remote sensing applications, life sciences and medicine. In 2001, ROSA became the
contracting authority for the National Aeronautics and Space Programme, and since 2004,
ROSA has been the executive president of the Inter-ministerial Group for Security Research.
Policy mixes to stimulate research
The degree of coordination between research policy and other policies has increased
in the recent years mainly in the context of preparations for EU accession, and, after
1 January 2007, in relation to the implementation of Structural Funds. For instance,
R&D policies have been included in the Document and Action Plan for the
2005-2008 Industrial Policy of Romania, the 2005-2009 National Export Strategy
(RDI section) and the 2007-2013 National Development Plan, coordinated by the
Ministry of Economy. The Sectoral Operational Programme "Increasing Economic
Competitiveness" (SOP-IEC), managed by the Ministry of Economy, includes an
R&D component in Priority Axis 2–Research, Technological Development and
Innovation for Competitiveness.
This was a much-needed improvement, reducing to some extent some weaknesses of
the innovation governance system, such as fragmented communication between
innovation stakeholders and poor correlation between RDI policies, industrial and
regional policies. At the same time, it allowed for greater emphasis on RDI policies
in sectoral industrial policies and regional development strategies, and led to an
increased recognition of innovation as a key driver of economic development.
The European Commission Policy Mix Web Portal



Research policy
Research policy trends
The main trends in research policy are primarily determined by the need to align the
Romanian RDI system to EU standards, and to facilitate the integration in the ERA.
Therefore, several trends can be mentioned here, including:
increasing differentiation between R&D and innovation policies, with the
latter being oriented mainly towards improvement of the innovation
infrastructure and hybrid institutions at the science-industry interface (e.g.
technology transfer offices, business incubators, science parks, etc.);
improvement of transparency and public accountability, and the spread of an
evaluation culture for programmes funded from the public budget as well as
from Structural Funds;
strengthening of competitive-based funding for public research, and the
introduction of better performance criteria;
greater emphasis on support for collaborative research, public-private
partnerships and the consolidation of R&D excellence centres and networks;
introduction of new indirect funding instruments, such as tax incentives, and
risk capital funds;
consolidation of R&D personnel, especially by attracting highly skilled
young researchers. The majority of R&D personnel is in the enterprise sector,
followed by government and the tertiary education sectors, with the highest
numbers in public R&D institutes, which also have commercially oriented
activities;
participation in international R&D programmes and consortia, especially
within ERA.



Romania - Important policy documents
Title of document Date Organisation responsible Type of Document

Government Decision 2005-12-07 Government of Romania / Government Decision
1449/17 November Government of Romania
2005 regarding the
functioning of the
National Authority for
Scientific Research
Law 324/8 July 2003 for 2003-07-16 Parliament of Romania / Law
approving GO 57/2002 Parliament of Romania
regarding scientific
research and
technological
development
National Strategy for 2007-03-29 Government of Romania, Strategy
Research, Development Ministry of Education,
and Innovation Research and Youth -
2007-2013 National Authority for
Scientific Research /
Government of Romania,
Ministry of Education,
Research and Youth -
National Authority for
Scientific Research
2007-2010 National 2007-11-07 Government of Romania, Strategy document
Reform Plan Department of European
Affairs / Government of
Romania, Department of
European Affairs
2007-2013 Sectoral 2007-02-27 Government of Romania, Structural Operational
Operational Programme Ministry of Economy and Programme for the
'Increasing Economic Finance / Government of implementation of the
Competitiveness' Romania, Ministry of 2007-2013 National
(SOP-IEC) Economy and Finance Development Plan. Approved
by the Romanian Government
on 27 February 2007 and by
the European Commission on
12 July 2007.


Towards ERA and Lisbon

Towards European Research Area
The integration of the Romanian S&T community into the ERA is seen as a major strategic
policy option, which is largely welcomed in the country. Several action lines have been
adopted by NASR in this respect:
correlation of thematic priorities of national R&D programmes with those of the EU
Framework Programmes (e.g. the 2007-2013 National RDI Plan has a quasi-identical
structure as FP7, being structured in the same main components 'People', 'Capacities',
'Ideas', 'Priority partnerships', 'Innovation');
ensuring the legal, institutional and financial support for participation in EU RDI
programmes (e.g. the Framework Programmes, COST, EUREKA);
development of the infrastructure for information, assistance and promotion of
participation in ERA (National Contact Points network and associated information
and assistance services, Romanian Office for Science and Technology by the
European Union);
intensifying collaboration with researchers from EU Member States and other
Candidate Countries, and strengthening R&D cooperation with inter-governmental
structures such as CERN, ESA, ESFRI (Romania currently participates in 9 of the 36
ESFRI projects), and other international organisations (e.g. UNESCO, etc.).
Romania was one of the first EU Member States that adopted the legal framework for
implementing the Scientific Visa, by transposing the EU directive 2005/71/CE into the
national legislation. The directive refers to the specific procedure for admitting into the
country third country citizens undertaking scientific activities for periods longer than three
months.
Romania also contributed to the large-scale debate organised by the European Commission
in relation to the Green Paper 'The European Research Area: New perspectives' EC
COM (2007) 161 final. NASR launched a national consultation of the S&T community,
which highlighted the national consensus on sustaining the priorities proposed by the Green
Paper. In her position as member of the Competitiveness Council, Romania supported the
creation of the European Technological Institute (EIT) and promoted the participation of
Romanian universities and research institutes in this project.
The country is also involved in specific ERA initiatives developed within FP7, such as:
The ERA-Nets - Romania participated in 14 ERA-Nets, including the SEE ERA-Net
project coordinated by Austria, which monitors the research programmes of South
Eastern Europe.
Technological Platforms and Joint Technology Initiatives (JTI), as well as other
new forms of public-private research partnerships. In 2007-2008, Romania registered
as member to 4 of the approved six Joint Technology Initiatives: ARTEMIS
(integrated information systems), ENIAC (nanotechnologies), IMI (innovative
medicines) and CLEAN SKY (aeronautics) (NRP 2008). Romania is a founding
member of CLEAN SKY, in which it participates through a consortium of two
research institutes and two plane manufacturers, as well as of IMI , through the
Romanian Association of International Medicines Manufacturers. Romania also
participates in the Joint Technology Initiative for Aeronautics.
Romania acknowledged her interest to participate as direct investor in the
establishment of some pan-European research infrastructures and started the legal
procedures to allow such investments in 9 priority projects funded through FP7. The
country is a founding member in the FAIR project ( FAcility for Ion and

Antiproton Research) , conducted in Germany, and in ELI (Extreme Light
Infrastructure), for which a possible location in Romania is being considered.
The funding for complex R&D projects in the thematic areas of FP7 and their correlation
with the European Technological Platforms was provided through the Research of
Excellence (CEEX) programme, which supported the development of S&T partnerships
among teams, institutions and research networks in Romania and similar structures in the
European space until 2008. At present, the Capacities programme (module III) of
the 2007-2013 National RDI Plan provides funding for national participation in FP6, FP7,
FP7 Euroatom and CERN.

Towards ERA and Lisbon

Lisbon-strategy related activities
In Romania, Lisbon Strategy objectives have been examined in the light of national priorities,
and a first document called "Romania's contribution to the intermediate evaluation of Lisbon
Strategy" was issued in March 2005 both in the country and to the European Commission
officials in Brussels. The document was prepared by two independent organisations: Romanian
Centre for Economic Policies, and the Applied Economy Group, on an initiative of, and support
from, the Ministry of Foreign Affairs. The Government approved the National Reform Program
(NRP) (http://x.gov.ro/obiective/200705/pnr_ro_oficial_2 .pdf) in July 2007.
The Romanian NRP is based on the main strategy documents elaborated by the Government of
Romania, and is in line with the Integrated Guidelines and the NRPs prepared by the Member
States. In the elaboration of the Romanian NRP, the Department for European Affairs has
started from a detailed analysis of the current situation in the main economic and social
domains at the moment of EU accession, and established the following reform priorities:
- Improving administrative capacity - this is a horizontal priority of major importance

for supporting competitiveness in key fields: public policies, EU funds management, capacity of
public authorities to launch public procurements, the judiciary reform.
- Improving the quality and management of governmental expenditure - aims at ensuring

the efficiency of productive investments in the context of the implementation of some prudent
macro-economic policies.
- Improving the market functioning - refers mainly to the energy and the communications
markets, including investments for the interconnection with European networks.
- Further improvement of the business environment - includes the reduction and

re-orientation of state aid, increasing the quality of the regulatory framework and facilitating the
access to capital.
- Fostering employment and participation in the labour market - involves the adoption of
measures conducive to jobs creation, improvement of the adaptability of enterprises and
workers, fostering employment and improvement of the quality of human resources.
- Improvement of life quality through sustainable management of renewable resources and

climate change - tackles the increase of energy efficiency, the management of natural resources,
bio- diversity conservation and the reduction of pollution.
The key factor in pursuing these priorities is the development of appropriate infrastructures, both


human and material. Knowledge and Innovation are included among the micro-economic
priorities for improving economic competitiveness and productivity (chapter 3.2 of the NRP -
see details at htt
p://ec.europa.eu/enterprise/entrepreneurship/financing/enterprise_finance_index/pdf/romania.pdf)
.


Impact of EU instruments
Impact of Structural Funds on Research Funding
A. The main channel for the distribution of Structural Funds to RTDI activities is
Priority Axis Two "Research, Technological Development and Innovation for
Competitiveness" of the 2007-2013 Sectoral Operational Programme "Increasing
Economic Competitiveness" (SOP-IEC), which supports the innovation-based
development of Romania with a high degree of compatibility with and convergence
to the EU.
The total funding allocated to Priority Axis Two for the programming period
2007-2013 is €646,259,176, of which the community funding is€536,395,116 and
the national funding (from public sources only, no private funding) is €109,864,060.
This represents a co-financing rate of 83%, provided by the European Regional
Development Fund (ERDF). The main areas of intervention for Priority Axis Two
funding are:
1. R&D partnerships between universities/research institutes, and enterprises
for generating results directly applicable in the economy, through joint R&D
projects and complex research projects fostering the participation of high-level
international experts;
2. Investments in RDI infrastructure and related administrative capacity,
including the development of the existing R&D infrastructure and the creation of
new infrastructures(laboratories, research centres), poles of excellence, networks of
R&D centres, nationally coordinated and linked with European and international
networks (GRID, GEANT), strengthening administrative capacity;
3. RDI support for enterprises, including support for high-tech start-ups and
spin-offs; development of R&D infrastructure in enterprises, and creation of new
R&D jobs, promoting innovation in enterprises.
So far, eight of the nine operations included in priority Axis Two have been
launched, of which six are already closed (see status below). For these six
operations, 269 projects have been submitted and 85 have been selected for funding.
The current status of Priority Axis Two operations is as follows:
Operation 2.1.1: R&D projects in partnership between universities/ research
institutes and enterprises: competition launched in March 2009, closed in June
2009.
Operation 2.1.2: R&D Projects with foreign participation: competition launched
in March 2009, closed in June 2009.
Operation 2.2.1: Development of existing R&D infrastructures and creation of
new ones: competition launched in July 2009, to be closed in October 2009
(competition still open)
Operation 2.2.2: Development of excellence poles: competition not open yet, to be
launched in 2010.
Operation 2.2.3: Development of national R&D networks linked to European
and international networks (GRID, GEANT): competition launched in June 2008,
closed in August 2008.

Operation 2.2.4: Strengthening the administrative capacity: competitioon

launched in June 2008, closed in August 2008.
Operation 2.3.1: Suport for innovative start-ups and spin-offs: competition
launched in February 2008, active since March 2008 (competition still open).
Operation 2.3.2: Development of business R&D infrastructure and creation of
new R&D jobs: competition launched in July 2008, closed in September 2008.
Operation 2.3.3: Promoting innovation in enterprises: competition launched
in November 2008,closed in March 2009
In order to prepare, select and coordinate the projects to be funded through SOP-IEC
Priority Axis Two, NASR created in 2005 the Intermediate Body for RDI as
a general directorate within NASR, also having representative offices in each of the
eight development regions of the country (within universities and/or research
institutes in the respective regions). On average, the structure of funds managed by
NASR, by funding source, is the following: state budget – approx. 70-75%; private
funds – approx. 15-20%; non-reimbursable foreign funds – approx. 5-10%.
Furthermore, in 2006 the national Programme IMPACT was launched for the period
2006-2010 (see http://www.mct.ro/index.php?action=view&idcat =381), with the
aim to identify and create a stock of projects to be funded by Structural Funds.
The central NASR office of the Intermediate Body for RDI exerts the coordination of
the programme. The IMPACT programme works by funding consultancy services
and in some cases specialised technical assistance to help the bidders (which can be
Romanian legal persons, called project beneficiaries' in the framework of the
programme) in the preparation of applications for SOP IEC Priority Axis
Two. These services are provided by specialised consultancy firms (called 'service
providers' in the framework of the programme) that have been selected by NASR on
a competition basis. The list of service providers agreed by NASR is made available
to project beneficiaries, so they can select the most appropriate ones to their needs.
Thus, the programme participants are both the project beneficiaries and the service
providers.
B. The main channel for the distribution of Structural Funds to Human Resources
for Research and Development is Priority Axis 1 "Education and training in support
for growth and development of knowledge-based society" of the 2007-2013 Sectoral
Operational Programme Human Resources Development (SOP HRD). The overall
objective of this priority Axis is the development of flexible lifelong learning
pathways and increasing the access to education and training by delivering modern
quality initial and continuous education, including higher education and research. In
pursuance of these objectives, SOP HRD Priority Axis One includes the
following key areas of intervention:The total budget of Priority Axis One of SOP
HRD for the programming period 2007-2103 is EUR 991,788,814, of which
EUR 797,803,989 is provided by Community Funding, representing a co-financing
rate of 80.44%, and EUR 193,984,825 is national public funding.
1. Access to quality education and initial vocational education training;
2. Quality in higher education;
3. Human resources development in education and training;
4. Quality in CVT; 5. Doctoral and postdoctoral programmes in support of research.

4. Quality in CVT; 5. Doctoral and postdoctoral programmes in support of research.

Impact of EU framework programmes
The latest reference to Romania's participation in the EU Framework Programmes is
included in the October 2008 National Reform Programme Implementation Report.
The document specifies that, according to the July 2008 statistics supplied by the
European Commission, Romania's participation in FP6 and FP6-Euratom
comprised 541projects (some of them still running), attracting a contribution of the
European Commission of about 57 MEUR. This corresponds to a success rate of
about 13%, considering the total number of submitted projects of over 4,100.
Romanian participation in FP6 increased compared to the previous programme FP5
(1998-2000), in terms of participants, projects submitted and awarded, as well
as project budgets and EU contribution to these projects.
Romania's participation in FP7 in 2007-2008 consisted of 772 submitted project
applications, of which 98 projects were selected for financing, involving 119
Romanian participants and a contribution of the Commission of about 14.5 MEUR.
The fields with the highest numbers of applications were: ICT (about 25% of total
submitted projects) and environment (about 14% of total submitted projects). The
highest success rate was achieved in the fields of research infrastructures (68.18%)
and space (40.91%).
Romania is also directly involved in various initiatives aimed to stimulate the
development of the European Research Area (ERA), which are supported by FP7
specific instruments. For example, Romania currently participates in 16 ERA NET
projects, launched in 2006-2008 in: environment, energy, ICT, health,
biotechnologies, space, cutting-edge research and socio-economic and humanistic
research. By participating in these projects, Romania ensures both the
alignment of national RDI programmes in the respective fields to those of the other
Member States, and the direct connection to the European S&T priorities.
The country participation in the Framework Programmes has been supported by

NASR on several fronts:
· By ensuring Romanian representation in the EU organisations responsible for
RDI policy-making and programme design;
· By providing the national financial contribution to the FP6/FP7 budgets and
financial support for the Romanian researchers participating in these programmes;
· By improving the dissemination of information on the FPs and the capacity of
Romanian researchers and administration to work with EU specific procedures,
through various measures, such as:


- Extension of the national network of national contact points at regional and
institutional level and its specialization on FP specific domains. At present, the
network of contact points for FP6/FP7 covers several fields (health, genomics and
biotechnologies for health, food security and agriculture; citizens and government;
science and society, science policy; SMEs; mobilities and human resources;
environment; nanosciences, new materials and new production processes). The
personnel involved consist mainly of European integration advisers, who cover a
wide area of issues connected with European integration. For example, in the ERA –
MORE network, Romania is represented by 8 regional centres (FP6 Romob project),
giving personalized support to foreign researchers in Romania. The Romanian
mobility network is functional since 2005 and covers the eight development regions
with dedicated staff in universities, research institutes and chambers of industry and
commerce in the main cities of the country;
- Opening of the Romanian Office for Science and Technology (ROST) in
Brussels, in March 2006, aimed to facilitate the participation of Romanian
researchers in EU programmes. The office works especially on identifying S&T
partnerships between Romanian researchers and EU counterparts, for increasing the
Romanian participation in EU programmes and the amount of EU funding for
research projects, as well as for the training of R&D personnel for European
integration;
- Development of advertising, dissemination/information activities.
- Dissemination actions throughout the country, with the support of EC DG RTD.
The FP7 dissemination and advertising events were targeted both to the scientific
community and the business representatives, as potential partners in FP7 consortia.
Information events were organised in research institutes, universities, institutes of the
Romanian Academy and chambers of commerce in the main cities of the
country. The promotion of FP6 activities at national level was sustained by the
Specific Support Action (SSA) projects: ROINTERA, RODI, ROMNETERA,
coordinated by Romanian experts. Within these projects, averages of two monthly
"Info Days" have been organised, with participation of EC representatives.
The financial support for the participation in the European Framework programmes,
as well as other forms of international cooperation is channeled through the
Capacities Programme of the 2007-2013 National RDI Plan (modules III and IV)
(see http://www.mct.ro/index.php?action=view&idcat =228 for details) as follows:
Module III provides financial support for the Romanian participants in:
· FP 7 and EURATOM: RTD (75% EU + max.25% NASR) ; DEMO (50% EU +
max. 50% NASR), management, training, dissemination, etc. (100% EU). The
co-financing is made according to the state aid rules.
· Bilateral co-operation programmes, NATO and CERN
Module IV provides provides financial support for the Romanian participants in

various international institutions and organizations. The eligible costs are related to
travelling abroad and organizing meetings in the country.

travelling abroad and organizing meetings in the country.
The most visible impact of the European FPs on the national research policy-making
and activities was the effort of Romanian RDI policy-makers to ensure the synergy
of national R&D programmes with the thematic areas and S&T domains specific to
ERA. A good example in this respect is the "Research of Excellence" Programme
(CEEX), launched in 2005 as a specific instrument for the preparation of
participation in FP7, discussed in section 4.2.

Other EU developments and impacts
Romania is also involved in other European initiatives, such as COST and
EUREKA, which are seen as important ways to forging sustainable European
partnerships that may further be continued in projects developed under the EU
FPs. The latest record of Romania's participation in COST (February 2009)
shows 227 projects distributed in all the 9 priority actions as follows:
BMBS – Biomedicine and Molecular Biosciences: 25
FA – Food and Agriculture: 35
FPS – Forest Products and Services: 20
CMST – Chemistry and Molecular Sciences and Technologies: 24
ESSEM – Earth System Science and Environmental Management: 28
MPNS – Materials, Physical and Nanosciences: 27
ISCH – Individuals, Society, Culture and Health: 24
ICT – Information and Communication Technologies: 23
TUD – Transport and Urban Development: 21
Romanian participation in EUREKA is concentrated in 69 projects, of which 35 are
active.



Overview and governance

Overview
Romania is divided into eight development regions (North-East, South-East, South
Muntenia, South-West Oltenia, West, North-West, Centre, Bucuresti – Ilfov), which
do not have an administrative status and are only territorial units for which regional
development policies are formulated and implemented, with a view to more efficient
use of financial and human resources. The regional governance system has been
defined initially in Law 151/1998, later on replaced by Law 315/2004, which
specifies the regional governance structures, coordination mechanisms, objectives,
competences and specific instruments for the promotion of a regional development
policy.
The evolution of the regional governance over the last decade or so is characterised
by increasing regional disparities. At the beginning of the transition period, Romania
had a low level of regional disparities compared to the EU countries or other
accession and candidate countries, but the gap has widened in recent years,
especially between the capital region (Bucharest-Ilfov) and the rest of the country.
The major causes for regional economic disparities include: the different localisation
and volume of FDI in the development regions; the limited access to funding of
SMEs; the education level of the occupied population, and the availability of a
highly skilled workforce; the loss of internal and external competitiveness of
domestic enterprises as a result of low-tech and obsolete equipment. Similar
developments have taken place in other transition countries, but the gap between the
capital and the other development regions in Romania is much higher, given the
larger population and territory of the country. Inter-regional disparities have
developed particularly along a West-East axis, with the Western regions (closer to
the EU markets) generally more advanced, and the most under-developed areas
concentrated on the Northeast and South border.
At present, the main instrument for regional development is the 2007-2013 Regional
Operational Programme (ROP), one of the six operational programmes that
implements the National Development Plan 2007-2013, and contributes to reducing
economic development disparities between Romania and the EU, and inter-regional
disparities in the country. Among the six priority development axes of the ROP,
which are common to all Romanian regions, Axis Four: Consolidating the
regional and local business environment can be considered to include innovation
objectives, although not explicitly formulated as such, through its support to the
development of regional business support infrastructures, such as business
incubators, industrial parks, etc. and the support to SMEs and entrepreneurial
initiatives (see section 5.2 for further details on the ROP).
Currently, there are no regional RDI policies, largely due to the fact that regional
policies in general are only in an incipient development stage in Romania. The
existing RDI policies have been designed at national level, and the funding provided
on this basis is competition-based and open to R&D units and economic agents from
all over the country. The ex-post evaluation of some RDI programmes (e.g. the
1999-2006 National RDI Plans) showed, however, strong regional differences
among beneficiaries of public RDI funding, most of them being located in the
Capital region Bucharest-Ilfov. Although the ROP programme has no explicit
reference to RDI policies, its implementation can accelerate the development of
regional RDI policies, especially considering NASR's priority to ensure better

regional RDI policies, especially considering NASR's priority to ensure better
connection between RDI policies and the broader development strategies of the
government.
Regional responsibilities
Research governance



Research policies and programmes
As mentioned in the previous section, at present there are no regional R&D policies,
as all the policies and the implementing instruments have been designed at national
level by NASR. There are, however, some implications for regional R&D capacity
arising from the Regional Innovation Strategies implemented by the regional
development agencies (RDAs). For example, within the framework of West Region's
2005-2008 Regional Innovation Strategy, the West RDA, together with four
universities and other RDI institutions from the West Region, created in 2006 the
Tehimpuls Regional Centre for Promoting Innovation and Technology
Transfer, which aims to increase the competitiveness of enterprises in the West
Region by structuring a local market for R&D and innovation through brokerage
services. The centre provides assistance for developing innovative services and
commercialising the results, for developing collaborations between enterprises and
R&D institutes, and increasing awareness on innovation and technological transfer in
the region. The target group of the Centre are SMEs, large enterprises, universities,
R&D and innovation units and foreign investors.
Another example is the Regional Institute for Education, Research and
Technology Transfer (IRECTT), created in May 2007 by the North-West RDA
and 14 public authorities and local universities within the framework of the Regional
Innovation Strategy REGIS-NW. Created on the model of the European Institute for
Technology, IRECTT aims to develop competences in the
education-R&D-innovation triangle and to bridge public authorities, academia and
business. The North-East Region's Innovation Strategy, called " Development of an I
Innovative Strategy Continuously Oriented to Valorisation of the Economic
Resources in North-East Romania" (DISCOVER NE ROMANIA) has the strategic
objective to stimulate research and innovation policies policy-makers and facilitate
the integration of universities, R&D institutes, SMEs and specialised companies for
SMEs' support, in regional, national and European networks of innovation.
Based on the developments described above, one can conclude that there is a
growing emphasis on regional policy and governance structures primarily
determined by the process of EU accession, and, after 1 January 2007, by the
implementation of Structural Funds. The RIS projects are managed by the respective
RDAs, in collaboration with EU and regional/local partners, which suggests an
intensification of RDAs' role and a possible improvement of their management
competencies on a learning-by-doing basis. However, the local RDAs do not have
specific R&D-related competences, and no direct links or implications for R&D
policy-making can be drawn from these developments.
Research policies and programmes
Important policy documents
The only policy document relevant at the regional level is the 2007-2013 Regional
Operational Programme described in section 5.2.




Additional information
The spatial spread of research activities in the country is marked by strong disparities
between the capital region Bucharest Ilfov and the rest of the regions. In 2003, the
regional GERD (Table 1) for the capital region accounted for over 57% of the total
R&D expenditure, followed at a large distance behind by the South region, with
13.91%, while all the other regions didn't exceed 7%. Significant regional gaps were
also observed in the case of the regional BERD (Table 2), with the South Region
dominating with 32% of the total R&D expenditure, followed by the Centre, West
and Bucharest-Ilfov regions with 13% each, while the rest of regions remained under
the 8% mark.
Table 1 – Total R&D expenditure at national and regional level
Total R&D expenditure 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
% of GDP 0.48 0.40 0.37 0.39 0.38 0.40

By region* (%) 100 100 100 100 100 100
NORTH-EAST 5.91 5.16 5.52 5.83 5.06 4.92
SOUTH-EAST 4.41 4.94 6.29 6.15 4.59 3.47
SOUTH 10.88 10.53 13.27 14.09 15.82 13.91
SOUTH-WEST 3.15 4.0 4.51 4.84 3.76 2.80
WEST 3.87 4.32 5.51 3.79 4.63 6.11
NORTH-WEST 4.90 4.55 3.78 4.16 6.74 4.80
CENTRE 9.50 9.57 7.81 6.05 6.70 6.66
BUCHAREST-ILFOV 57.39 56.93 53.31 55.09 52.70 57.33
* calculated as shares of total R&D expenditure at country level

Source: Government of Romania (2005), p. 62, based on the Statistical Yearbook of
Romania 2004
Table 2 – Share of Business R&D in the total R&D expenditure

Business R&D in total R&D expenditure 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
% of GDP 0.30 0.26 0.24 0.23 0.21
% total R&D expenditure 50.21 48.96 47.60 41.57 45.39
% of turnover 0.12 0.10 0.11 0.09 0.10

By region*
NORTH-EAST 0.11 0.09 0.07 0.08
SOUTH-EAST 0.11 0.12 0.07 0.05
SOUTH 0.30 0.36 0.37 0.32
SOUTH-WEST 0.13 0.14 0.08 0.06
WEST 0.11 0.11 0.08 0.13
NORTH-WEST 0.05 0.05 0.04 0.07
CENTRE 0.14 0.13 0.13 0.13
BUCHAREST-ILFOV 0.15 0.13 0.13 0.13


* Regional business R&D are calculated as shares of regional turnover

Romania 2003
The concentration of resources in the capital region Bucharest-Ilfov is reflected by

several regional indicators. For example, the capital has three to eight times more
R&D units (Table 3) and four to nine times more R&D personnel than the rest of the
regions (Table 4). These regional inequalities in the concentration of R&D resources
follow closely the broader development inequalities within the country, which have
been largely determined by the spatial spread of FDI investments (Table 5). In this
case as well, one can observe that the capital region Bucharest-Ilfov concentrated
over 60% of the total FDI flows until 2005, while the other regions accounted for
only 1.3-8.4% of the total.
Table 3 - Distribution of R&D units by region (2003)
Development Region No. of R&D units (%)

ROMANIA - TOTAL 719 100.0
NORTH-EAST 81 11.0
SOUTH-EAST 34 5.0
SOUTH 67 9.0
SOUTH-WEST 40 6.0
WEST 52 7.0
NORTH-WEST 73 10.0
CENTRE 80 11.0
BUCHAREST-ILFOV 292 41.0

Romania 2004
Table 4 – R&D personnel by region

Region 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
NORTH-EAST 4,130 3,470 3,510 3,708 3,368 2,926
SOUTH-EAST 2,790 2,278 2,108 2,086 1,934 1,934
SOUTH 5,691 4,589 3,976 3,845 4,016 4,205
SOUTH-WEST 3,140 3,090 2,720 2,775 2,757 2,841
WEST 2,971 2,131 1,807 1,674 1,925 3,268
NORTH-WEST 3,319 2,808 2,379 2,992 3,183 2,742
CENTRE 5,085 4,366 3,815 3,691 4,280 3,479
BUCHAREST-ILFOV 29,999 25,381 16,926 16,925 16,970 18,590
Source: National Institute of Statistics (2003, 2005)



Region 1
Region 2
Region 3


Overview of structure
Organogram

Overview of structure
Brief description of the structure of the research system
The R&D system is structured on several levels:
1. In Parliament, the two Commissions for Education, Science, Youth and Sport of
the Senate and the Chamber of Deputies debate and approve draft laws and other
legislative documents related to science, education, sport and youth.
2. At the government level one can mention:
The National Council for Science and Technology Policy is the
government's high-level policy coordination body. It is chaired by the prime
minister, and includes: the Minister of Education, Research and Innovation and
the Chairman of the National Authority for Scientific Research, the Ministers
of Economy; Agriculture, Forests and Rural Development; Communications
and Information Society, and the President of the Romanian Academy. The
main mission of the Council is to establish the priorities and legislative


framework for the implementation of the National Strategy for R&D and
Innovation , in line with the objectives and sectoral strategies of the
government programme, and in consultation with key stakeholders (local and
central public administration bodies, Romanian Academy, higher education
organisations, R&D institutes, economic agents, employers' federations and
labour unions, etc).
Within the government, the Ministry of Education, Research and
Innovation (MERI) is the key actor in R&D. It implements the 2009-2012
Government Programme in the area of research, development and innovation
policies through the National Authority for Scientific Research (NASR),
which has the mission to formulate and implement specific policies for the
respective domains. MERI collaborates with other ministries involved in R&D
activities, the link between them being ensured primarily by the National R&D
institutes they coordinate: Ministry of Economy, Ministry of Public Finances,
Ministry of Regional Development and Housing, Ministry of Agriculture,
Forests and Rural Development, Ministry of Environment, Ministry of
Communications and Information Society, Ministry of Transport and
Infrastructure, Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Protection, Ministry of
Health, Ministry of National Defence, Ministry of SMEs, Trade and Business
Environment. In addition, MERI also collaborates with a
few government-subordinated agencies that have specific functions related to
R&D and innovation, such as the National Institute for Statistics and the
National Commission for Prognosis.
3. The consultative bodies to the Ministry of Education, Research and Innovation

include:
The Consultative Board for Research, Development and Innovation,
which consists of 33 full members, representing the S&T community (about
65%), and the socio-economic environment (other ministries, professional
associations, employers' associations, etc. – about 35%). The Consultative
College includes 10 commissions for R&D, and three support commissions.
The National Council for Research in Higher Education Institutions
(CNCSIS) includes representatives of the academic research community. They
are organised in seven commissions, with different S&T specialisations:
The Commission for Social Dialogue provides the institutional framework
for consultation with the social partners and includes representatives of the
ministry, unions and employers' associations.
The National Council for Ethics, created by Law 206/2004, consists of 11
members appointed for a 4-year period, and organised in three Permanent
Commissions: Socio-Humanistic Sciences, Life Sciences, and Exact and
Technical Sciences.
The Romanian Committee for Research Infrastructures (CRIC) was

established by NASR in April 2007 as a strategic forum providing
recommendations and advice for the long-term planning and the efficient
allocation of resources necessary to develop research infrastructures. The basic
mission of CRIC is to define, and periodically review, the national priorities
for the development of research infrastructures and to formulate
recommendations for the phases to follow in their construction and operation,
in the form of a national roadmap.


4. The funding agencies within the Ministry of Education, Research and

Innovation include:
The National Centre for Programme Management for RDI programmes
coordinated by the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth;
The Executive Unit for Funding Academic Research (as part of the
National University Research Council) for RDI programmes in universities,
focusing on the development of scientific careers and academic research
capacity.
The Managerial Agency for Scientific Research, Innovation and
Technology Transfer (part of the Polytechnica University), for the Innovation
Programme of the 2007-2013 National RDI Plan and EUREKA-Eurostars
programme
Institute of Atomic Physics, for FP7 EUROATOM projects.
5. Other national institutions involved in the formulation of R&D policies

and strategic decision-making include:
Romanian Academy: it has 13 scientific divisions specialising in technical
sciences, basic sciences and socio-humanistic sciences. It has its own national
network of 60 research institutes and centres, which participate in national RDI
programmes and can initiate and coordinate research projects of national
impact;
Branch academies: the Academy of Medical Sciences coordinates a
network of 23 institutes and research centres, and 12 clinics affiliated to
medical universities, and the Academy of Agriculture and Forestry
Sciences coordinates a network of 25 institutes and research centres, and 91
research and production units;
Academy of Technical Sciences (AST);
several NGOs with an active role in R&D policy design, e.g. the
Romanian Economic Society (SAR), the Romanian Centre for Small and
Medium-Sized Enterprises (CRIMM), the Romanian Centre for Economic
Policies (CEROPE).
6. Coordinating national agencies specialising in strategic areas:

Romanian Standards Association (ASRO), which develops national
standardisation and quality certification, and participates in international
activities in the area;
Romanian Association for Accreditation (RENAR), in charge of
accreditation and development of a national quality system, based on
EU-compatible practices and infrastructures, and the recognition of Romanian
products and services on the EU market. The two agencies ASRO and RENAR
constitute the National Quality System.
The Nuclear Agency, which is a specialised body of the central government
reporting to the prime minister. It is in charge of formulating nuclear policies
and monitoring nuclear activities in Romania, and has the mission to elaborate
the Nuclear Development Strategy and the National Nuclear Programme.
The Romanian Space Agency (ROSA), which is the national coordinating
body of space activities, reorganised in 1995 as an independent public
institution. It coordinates national space activities, and represents the
government in cooperative agreements with international organisations, and in

government in cooperative agreements with international organisations, and in
bilateral governmental agreements. ROSA is authorised to establish R&D
centres oriented towards specific objectives of the National Space Programme,
and can also develop its own R&D projects.
7. R& D organisations - the main R&D performers include (Government of

Romania, 2007):
a. 263 public R&D institutions: 96 R&D institutes, centres or stations organised as

public institutions; 45 national R&D institutes, 56 accredited public universities
(with 742 faculties) , 66 institutes and research centres of the Romanian Academy
(52 institutes, 14 research centres). Public R&D organisations are the most active
R&D performers, while the private sector and the higher education institutions
are only marginally involved in R&D activities.
B. 32 ACCREDITED PRIVATE UNIVERSITIES
C. The network of specialised technology transfer and innovation institutions, which

included in 2007 46 specific entities (technology transfer centres, technology
information centres, technology and business incubators) as well as 4 S&T Parks
located in different regions of the country.
8. R&D personnel: The total number of R&D personnel in 2006 was 42,220, of
which 30,122 were researchers, including 10,339 PhDs (National Institute of
Statistics, 2009) .



Public Private Collaboration

Overview
After the political changes of 1990s, the public administration of research in
Romania was coordinated by three main organisations according to the type of
activities performed:
1. The Ministry of Research and Technology (MCT, 1993-1999) for the
general R&D activity. In 2000 MCT turned into the National Agency for
Science, Technology and Innovation (ANSTI) and subsequently into the
Research Department of the Ministry of Education and Research
(MER-Research, 2001-2005) led by a delegate minister and a secretary of state
for research.
2. Ministry of National Education for research in the higher education system.
3. Romanian Academy for its own network of basic and advanced research
institutes.
In 2005, in order to unify scientific research coordination in R&D institutions and in

the higher education system, the Ministry of Education and Research (MER) was
created and a state secretary for scientific research was appointed. Within the
ministry, a specialised and independent structure for designing, implementing and
monitoring RDI policies was created - National Authority for Scientific Research
(NASR), and the state secretary for research within MER became also the Chairman
of NASR. NASR is currently the only institution authorised to coordinate the state
budget for the public funding of R&D activities.
To ensure horizontal policy co-ordination at the government level, the National

Council for Science and Technology Policy was created in 2002 by Government
Ordinance no. 57/2002 (Art. 40).
R&D institutes, active in specific industry branches, account for the largest share of
the R&D system and are predominantly oriented on applied research. The 65 R&D
institutes co-ordinated by the Romanian Academy, are predominantly oriented on
basic research and the humanities. In the 1990s, all R&D institutes faced serious
difficulties arising from the drastic decline in public funding for R&D, the lack of
demand for R&D in the radically new setting of a market economy, and the necessity
to reorganise their activities according to the new reality of the market. The impact
of such hardships was extremely negative, resulting in fragmentation, loss of
personnel, especially young researchers and obsolescence of R&D equipment. Some
institutes continued to operate as remainders of public institutions affiliated to
different ministries, while others became private companies, often associated with
certain ministries. They derive their income from both public and private sector
sources.
In the current structure of the R&D system there are over 700 research organisations,
including 34 National R&D Institutes and a further 65 institutes under the auspices
of the Romanian Academy; 270 state or privately owned companies which have
R&D as their primary activity; and 74 universities which undertake only a modest
amount of research. In addition, it is estimated that as few as 5% of firms in the
Romanian manufacturing sector undertake R&D activities. In contrast to many other


EU countries, where it is common to have a strong tradition of basic research in
universities and more applied R&D in industry, the Romanian university sector
performs only a small amount of mainly basic research.
The weak R&D base of the industry makes that science-industry links are still very
weak, although several programmes oriented in this direction have been adopted by
NASR in recent years (such as the National Technological Platforms, the
INFRATECH Programme, the 'Partners for Excellence' Programme or the TransIno
Programme).
Public Private Collaboration
Relation between public and private actors
Public-private partnerships (PPPs) in Romania are a recent development, as the legal
framework in this repect was created only in 2002 by Government Ordinance
16/24.01.2002. The implementation of the concept, however, has been very slow
because of several factors, such as the lack of interest of public structures to
collaborate with private structures, the legislative instability and delays in updating
the Application Norms of the GO 16/2002 regarding the PPPs, the political
influences exerted on PPPs and the lack of experience in the collaboration between
public and private structures, which has determined considerable delays in key
public utility projects, such as the Fourth European Corridor.
Efforts to promote PPPs have been initiated by the Chamber of Commerce and
Industry of Romania, which holds a central position within the business community.
A recent project of the Chamber of Commerce and Industry is the creation
of Excellence Centres for PPPs which should function within the regional Chambers
of Commerce and Industry. It is envisaged that such Excellence Centres for PPPs
offer free consultancy for SMEs to help them overcome the financial difficulties.
In the R&D area, public-private partnerships are encouraged through the

National Technology Platforms, a project launched in 2005 by MER-NASR, which
currently monitors Romania’s participation in 18 European Technology Platforms
(e.g. hydrogen and fuel cells, water management, maritime transport, future
manufacturing, nanoelectronics, nanomedicine, innovative medicines, sustainable
chemistry, plants genomics and biotechnology, aeronautics). In addition,
the 'Research of Excellence Programme’ (CEEX) supports the creation of R&D
institutions-university-business firms partnerships and the orientation towards high
level technology fields, harmonised with EU priorities.


Policy making and coordination

Government policy making and coordination
The main policy-making and coordination structures for R&D policy in Romania
include:
1. The National Council for Science and Technology Policy, which is the
government high-level policy coordination body chaired by the prime minister. It
includes the Minister of Education, Research and Innovation, and the Chairman of
the National Authority for Scientific Research, the Ministers of Economy and Public
Finance, Agriculture, Forests and Rural Development, Communications and
Information Society, and the President of the Romanian Academy. The main mission
of the Council is to establish the priorities and legislative framework for the
implementation of the National Strategy for R&D and Innovation , in line with the
objectives and sectoral strategies of the government programme and in consultation
with key stakeholders (local and central public administration bodies, Romanian
Academy, higher education organisations, R&D institutes, economic agents,
employers' federations and labour unions, etc).
2. The Ministry of Education, Research and Innovation (MERI) has the main
responsibility in the design and implementation of RDI policies through its
specialised structure, the National Authority for Scientific Research (NASR). For the
development of government policies in the RDI area, MERI collaborates with
other ministries and seven government-subordinated agencies described in section
6.2. It is also advised by a number of its own consultative bodies, also described in
section 6.2.
The historical evolution of MERI includes several stages: after the political changes
of 1989-90, the public administration of R&D in Romania was coordinated by three
main organisations, subject to the type of activities performed: (i) the Ministry of
Research and Technology (MCT, 1993-1998) for the general R&D activity; (ii) the
Ministry of National Education (1990- 2001), for research in the higher education
system, and (iii) the Romanian Academy, for its own network of basic and applied
research institutes. In 1998 MCT turned into the National Agency for Science ,
Technology and Innovation (NASTI). In 2001, NASTI was included in the Ministry
of National Education, in order to unify R&D and education activities, and the new
structure was renamed the Ministry of Education and Research (MER). NASTI
became thus the Research Department of MER (MER-Research) and was led by a
delegate minister for research. In 2005, MER-Research was re-organised as the
National Authority for Scientific Research (NASR), an independent structure still
under MER, taking over MER-Research functions to design, implement and monitor
RDI policies, and coordinate the state budget for R&D. The secretary of state for
research within MER became the chairman of NASR. In April 2007, after a
government reshuffle, MER became the Ministry of Education, Research and Youth
(MERY), but the change did not affect NASR. In January 2009, after general
elections, MERY was renamed as the Ministry of Education, Research and
Innovation (MERI) without any changes in the structure and functioning of NASR.
3. Other national institutions involved in the formulation of R&D policies
and strategic policy-making are the Romanian Academy with its branch academies:
the Academy of Medical Sciences and the Academy of Agriculture and Forestry

Sciences; the Academy of Technical Sciences (AST) and several NGOs with an
active role in R&D policy design, e.g. the Romanian Economic Society (SAR), the
Romanian Centre for Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises (CRIMM), the
Romanian Centre for Economic Policies (CEROPE). In addition, one can also
mention some coordinating national agencies specialising in strategic areas, such as
the Romanian Standards Association (ASRO), Romanian Association for
Accreditation (RENAR), the Nuclear Agency and the Romanian Space Agency
(ROSA) (described in section 6.2).
Science Policy Advice
The most significant recent event related to the provision of scientific advice in the
elaboration of R&D policy was the elaboration of the 2007-2013 National RDI
Strategy, which was initiated in 2005 by NASR within its Sectoral R&D Plan. The
project had an 18-month duration, and had the objective to elaborate the 2007-2013
National RDI Strategy and the 2007-2013 National RDI Plan based on specialised
foresight systems and instruments (group consultation, strategic planning) to
determine the main directions of evolution of the RDI system. The project was
performed by a consortium including 26 higher education institutions, research
institutes of the Romanian Academy, national R&D institutes, public and private
research institutions, coordinated by the National Council for Higher Education
Research (CNCSIS) – the Executive Unit for the Funding of Higher Education and
Academic Research (UEFISCSU). The consortium was supported by the European
Commission, and was assisted by an international group of foresight experts. The
project launch in September 2005 was followed by a series of public events to debate
the intermediate results. In February 2006, a broad Delphi survey was initiated, in
which over 3,500 persons identified in the first part of the project were consulted
online in two rounds that ended in May 2006.
Another example of scientific advice is the activity of the consultative bodies to the
Ministry of Education, Research and Innovation discussed in section 6.2: the
Consultative Board for Research, Development and Innovation, the National
Council for Research in Higher Education Institutions (CNCSIS), the
Commission for Social Dialogue and the National Council for Ethics. They
provide advice to the ministry on a permanent basis.
Actors in policy implementation
The following bodies operate under the coordination of the National Authority for
Scientific Research, as agencies for the implementation and financing of national
R&D and innovation programmes:
The National Centre for Programme Management (CNMP), which
ensures the management of a part of the R&D programmes coordinated by


NASR: two programmes of the 1999-2006 National RDI Programme still in
operation (CORINT and ESTROM), three modules of the Research of
Excellence Programme (M1 - Biotech, M1 - Infosoc and M3 – Promotion) as
well as Programme 4 "Partnerships in priority domains" of the 2007-2013
National RDI Plan.
The Executive Unit for Financing Research in Universities (UEFISCSU),

which ensures the management of research programmes mostly addressing the
development of scientific careers and increasing the research capacity in
universities. UEFISCSU organises national competitions and monitors the
winning projects funded by MERI through the National Council for Research
in Higher Education Institutions for the development of higher education
research. It also participates in national and international bids for attracting
external funding for education and research and facilitates information
dissemination in these areas.



Main Research policy making mechanisms

Tools for policy advice
See section 7.2 for actors involved in the foresight exercise leading to the elaboration
of the 2007-2013 National RDI Strategy and its implementing instrument, the
2007-2013 National RDI Plan.


Main Research policy making mechanisms

Role of Evaluation
The culture of research policy evaluation in the country is moderately developed and
has improved in recent years under the pressure of public accountability and
alignment to EU rules and procedures, especially in the context of the EU accession.
The typical focus of evaluation is on:
1. R&D policy and programmes – in these cases, evaluations are performed by
NASR through the specialised commissions of the Consultative College for R&D
and Innovation, which is also involved in the elaboration of the National RDI Plan.
Formal evaluation of R&D programmes has been made so far on a yearly basis since
2002 up to the present for the programmes included in the 1999-2006 National RDI
Plan. The projects funded under the new 2007-2013 National RDI Plan are only in
the initial stages, as the first calls for proposals were launched in June 2007. The
Sectoral and Core Research Programmes, launched in 2003, as well as the Research
of Excellence Programme initiated in 2005 have also been evaluated annually. These
evaluations have a relatively high degree of transparency, as the evaluation reports
are published on the ministry's website and discussed with the main stakeholders.
The main type of evaluation for these programmes is ex post, and the main
customers of the evaluation are the programme managers within NASR or outside it.
2. R&D institutions – in 2006, NASR elaborated the draft project of the
"Government Decision for the approval of evaluation criteria, standards and
methodology". The document was meant to complete the normative framework for a
unitary evaluation of R&D competences, infrastructures and resources at national
level, initiated in 2002 (through Government Ordinance 57/2002 on scientific
research and technological development) and further completed in 2004 (by Law
no.230/2004, which established the evaluation bodies: the Consultative Board for
R&D and Innovation, the Romanian Academy, and the National Council for
Research in Higher Education Institutions). The draft Government Decision
differentiates between institutions with an established R&D profile and performance,
which will be accredited as components of the national R&D system, and institutions
with R&D activities but no established track record, which will go through a process
of certification of their R&D capacity. The draft Government Decision was
elaborated in consultation with an expert panel of representatives of the evaluation
bodies. The panel provided the criteria and the methodology for the unitary
evaluation and accreditation of all categories of organisations that undertake R&D
activities. These criteria are those currently used at international level, and are based
on relevant quantitative and qualitative indicators – input and output indicators that
cover the whole range of R&D activities. After the approval of the respective
Government Decision, the access to public funds for R&D will be given only to
organisations that have been evaluated according to these criteria.


Research funding system

Overview of funding flows
Funding Flow diagram

Brief description of funding flows
The main funding sources for R&D in Romania consist of: economic units,
government public funds, higher education public general funds, tertiary education
units, non-lucrative purpose institutions and external funds. In 2007 (latest available
data), the total R&D expenditure amounted to 2,177,335 thousands RON (approx.
EUR 622million, exchange rate 1 EUR=3.5 ROL). The highest share of R&D
expenditure came from the public funds (1,309,843 thousands RON, 60.16%)
followed by economic units (585,046 thousands RON, 26.87%), higher
education public general funds (152,034 thousands RON, 6.98%), tertiary education
units (30,456 thousands RON, 1.4%), non-lucrative purpose institutions (1,078
thousands RON, 0.5%) and external funds (98,878 thousands RON, 4.54%) (source:

National Institute of Statistics, Tempo-Online database
https://statistici.insse.ro/shop/)



National public research funding
Overview
The level of government funding for R&D varied significantly over the last decade:
from 0.16% of the GDP in 1995-1996 to 0.07% of the GDP in 1999-2000, followed
by considerable increases in subsequent years, from 0.13% of the GDP in 2004 to
0.38% of the GDP in 2006. Public funding for R&D is allocated primarily on a
competition basis, through the programmes coordinated by MER-NASR described in
the previous sections. By type of research, public funding is distributed
between basic research (about 36% in 2004), applied research (about 56% in 2004)
and experimental development (about 8% in 2004) (Source: Romanian Statistical
Yearbook 2006, ch. 13).
Institutional Support
The majority of the public funding for R&D managed by NASR( about 82%) is
allocated for competition-based programmes (about 95%) and the rest (about 5%) is
allocated as institutional funding for subsidies (2.5% for the organisation of
scientific events in the country or abroad, publications, information activities, etc.)
and overhead/management costs(2.5%). Many of the events receiving NASR's
support as institutional funding are national or international events in which Romania
has successfully participated in recent years, and aims to continue the tradition, or
new events that NASR is interested to promote (e.g. at the national level, the
"Romanian Research Week", as a part of the International Trade Exhibition,
Bucharest), including the "Research Showroom" and the "National Exhibition of
Inventions – INVENTIKA", prizes, or at the international level, various exhibitions,
with RTD and innovation focus. One notable budget increase in 2009 was theat of
the Romanian Academy, which received EUR 99 million from public funds – a
major increase compared to the EUR 77 million in 2008, in the context of drastic
R&D cuts produced by the financial crisis. Part of this amount is allocated for
finalising construction works started in previous years (approx. EUR 14 million) and
the rest will be used to support cultural and scientific events, research activities and
professional training ( http://www.gardianul.ro/index.php?pag=nw&id= 128985).
Project-based funding
The main instrument for project-based funding that includes all three main types of
instruments (i.e. bottom-up/ 'free funding' projects, research programmes and

research network) is the 2007-2013 National RDI Plan, which comprises six
programmes, with the following objectives:
Programme 1. Human resources

Increase the number of researchers and improve their professional performance, as
well as the attractiveness of a research career.
Programme 2. Capacities
Support for research capacities and the opening of the RDI system to the national
socio-economic environment and the international scientific community, acquisition
of high technology equipment, scientific management.
Programme 3. Ideas
Support for increasing the visibility and international recognition of Romanian
research, especially basic research and scientific excellence, through complex
research in frontier fields, interdisciplinarity and participation in international
networks of excellence research.
Programme 5. Innovation
Support for innovation, technological development and implementation of research
results in industry, in order to improve the competitiveness of the national economy
and increase the quality of life. Finances technological development and innovation
projects initiated and led by the economic units, as well as technology transfer and
innovation infrastructure.
Programme 6. The institutional performance

Support for institutional performance by ensuring the continuity and the stability of
activity in RDI entities. Allows the public and private non-profit research institutions
to implement own development strategies in accordance with the National RDI
Strategy. Sets out competition-based institutional financing, as well as international
assessment of research performance at 3-5 year intervals.
The implementation of the 2nd National Plan is coordinated by the NASR and
carried out in collaboration with four other institutions:
- The National Council for University Research
- The RDI Consultative College (RDICC);
- The Management Agency for Scientific Research, Innovation and Technologic
Transfer and the Innovation Council,


The public funding of the 2007-2013 National RDI Plan is made in accordance with
the European regulations on the state aid for research-development and innovation
(CE Regulation 323/2006 on the RDI state aid).

Other modes of funding
One example of government funding to support the development of human resources

is the Human Resources Programme of the 2007-2013 National RDI Plan, which
includes several components, among which is the granting of rewards to researchers
or research teams who have ISI publications or patents filed/granted by national and
international patent offices.
Another example is the funding provided through the 'Support for high-tech start-ups
and spin-offs' operation of the SOP-IEC. The operation supports the innovation
activities of high-tech or high added value start-ups and spin-offs (based on R&D
results obtained in universities or research institutes) in order to ensure the transfer
of knowledge and technology and to assist the respective enterprises in marketing the
products and services derived from research. The enterprises to be assisted are
selected based on a careful analysis of their business plans. The operation is
complementary to SOP Human Resources Development, priority axis "Increasing
the adaptability of workers and enterprises”, which is promoting training
programmes for the development of entrepreneurial and managerial skills, as well as
support services for initiating new businesses.

Targeted or Thematic Funding


Government funding for research in specific technological areas is provided through:
the 'Partnerships in priority S&T domains' Programme of the 2007-2013
National Plan for R&D and Innovation. The programme has an overall
budget of ROL 5400 million for the period 2007-2013, distributed across nine
priority research areas (each with its own specific themes) as follows: ICT
10%; 2. Energy 10%; 3. Environment 14%; 4. Health 14%; 5. Agriculture,
food security and safety 12%; 6. Biotechnologies 7%; 7. Materials, innovative
processes and products 15%; 8. Space and security 8%; 9. Socio-economic and
humanistic research 10 %.
the Core research programmes, which support specific sectoral

development strategies of the national R&D institutes. They can provide
between 20% and 60% of the institution' s R&D expenditure in the previous
year;
Sectoral R&D programmes, that complement the National RDI Plan and
support RDI objectives related to the development of sectoral technologies.
The public funding allocated through the Sectoral R&D Programmes (about
30%) is provided by the coordinating ministries of the respective areas and the
private funding is provided by the beneficiary organisation.
the National Roadmap proposed by the Romanian Commitee for
Research Infrastructures (CRIC), including several projects in ICT, Energy,
Environment, Physics, Health, Agriculture, food safety and security,
Biotechnologies, biology and genetics, Innovative materials, processes and
products, Space and security, Socio-economic and humanistic research.

Role of European and international funding
According to latest statistics (National Institute for Statistics, 2007), non-national
funds for R&D account for approx. 4.5% of the total R&D budget. They originate
primarily from the Framework Programmes (FP7) and the Structural Funds.
For the 2007-2013 programming period, these funds are estimated at about EUR 700
million FP7 funds and about EUR 600 million Structural Funds for infrastructure
and R&D activities. The annual contribution of the Structural Funds accounts
for about 0.1 % of the GDP.
Structural Funds for R&D activities are channelled through Priority Axis 2 of the
Sectoral Operational Programme "Increasing Economic Competitiveness"
(SOP-IEC). The approx. EUR 600 million budget allocated throught thi sfunding
instrument acounts for about 21% of the total budget of the SOP-IEC Programme.
Projects are funded on a competition basis, with amounts between EUR 3-20 million,
and the co-funding scheme depends on the programme. In order to help Romanian
R&D units that have been awarded projects under Priority Axis 2 to cover their
funding share, NASR has concluded an agreement with Eximbank (Romanian
Export-Import Bank), meant to facilitate credits.





Private research funding
Intramural
The R&D expenditure provided by the private sector has more than doubled over the
2000-2005 period, with the most important contribution being made by the
economic units. The contribution of external funds has increased over seven times
over the given period.
Total R&D expenditure in the enterprise sector by funding source (
RON thousands current prices)
2000 2005
Enterprise sector by funding source: 205,610 588,538
Economic units 129,680 338,531
Public funds 69,876 216,630
Tertiary education units 790 919
Non-profit institutions 396 45
External funds 4,868 32,413
Source: National Institute of Statistics, 2006 Annual Statistical Yearbook

Extramural
The share of R&D expenditure financed by the business enterprise sector (BES) in
Romania decreased continuously over recent years, from 49% in 2000, to 44% in
2004 (Eurostat Science, Technology and Innovation in Europe, 2007). The share of
R&D expenditure financed by BES in the higher education R&D increased only
slightly in the same period, from 7% in 2000 to 7.46 in 2005 (Annual Statistical
Yearbook of Romania, 2007), but this evolution is not conclusive evidence for an
intensification of university-industry links, taking into account the low levels of
R&D performed both in universities and in the business sector.
Charitable foundations and not-for-profit funding
The latest statistics (National Institute for Statistics, Tempo-online database 2007)
show that approx 0.05% of the total R&D budget comes from Non-lucrative purpose
institutions. There is no available evidence about these institutions.




Romania - Support Measure(s)
Start
Title of support measure Organisation responsible
Date
National Agency for Partnership between Universities and
the Economic-Social Environment (APART), currently known
UNISO - University for Society
2002 as the National Agency for Qualifications in Higher Education
Programme
and Partnership with the Economic and Social Environment
(ACPART).
INFRATECH National
Programme for the
development of the innovation 2004
and technology transfer (ITT)
infrastructure
1999-2006 National R&D and Ministry of Education and Research - National Authority for
1997
Innovation Plan Scientific Research
Minsitry of Education and Research - National Authority for
Core R&D Programmes 2003
Scientific Research
'Research of Excellence' Ministry of Education and Research - National Authority for
2005
Programme' Scientific Research
2007-2013 National RDI Plan 2007 National Authority for Scientific Research


Research performers
Higher Education Institutions
The higher education system includes a total number of 125 institutions, including
state universities (49), state military higher education institutions (seven)
and accredited private universities (20) (Source: http://www.universitati.ro). Among
the most important universities of the country, one can mention: the University of
Bucharest and 'Politehnica' University of Bucharest, 'Alexandru Iona Cuza'
University of Iasi, 'Babes-Bolyai University of Cluj-Napoca, West University of
Timisoara, etc.
HERD and the business share of HERD figures have increased continuously since
2000 as shown in the tables below, with significant relative changes from one year to
another, particularly in 2004 and 2005:
Higher Education Research and Development expenditure, 2000-2005 period
(million EUR, EUR/RON exchange rate = 1/3.33)
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
7,158 9,849 14,476 12,821 23,075 36,591
Business share of Higher Education Research and Development expenditure,

2000-2005 (million EUR, EUR/RON exchange rate = 1/3.33)
2000 2001 2002 2003 2004 2005
685 951 1,510 1,847 1,923 3,656
Source: Romanian Statistical Yearbook, 2007

(http://www.insse.ro/cms/files/pdf/ro/cap13.pdf)
In the academic year 2006/07 (latest available data), the higher education system
showed the highest concentration of students in economics (242,330
students, approx. 31% of the total number of 785,506 enrolled students) and social
and basic sciences (238,711 students, approx. 30%), followed by technical
studies (170,921 students, approx. 22% ), medicine and pharmacy (40,028
students in 2006/07, approx. 5%) and law (82,696 students, approx. 11%) (Source:
Statistical Yearbook of Romania 2007).
Universities are primarily teaching institutions, with research activities being
undertaken on a relatively reduced scale, and often in a non-systematic way.
According to the "White Book of Research" produced by the AdAstra Association of
Researchers ( http://www.ad-astra.ro/cartea-alba/?lang=en), state universities
produce the country's largest share of scientific output by institution type, measured
by the ratio of ISI articles per 100 staff (55.67%), followed by the national R&D
institutes and Romanian Academy (with 20.30% and 15.02% respectively), while
private universities are at a distance behind, in seventh position, with only 0.57%
(2006 ranking, see http://www.ad-astra.ro/cartea-alba/institution _types.php for
further details).
Research performance is also generally very low, given the relatively low rates of
funding, and the outdated research infrastructure. The top of Romanian universities

ranked by the ratio of ISI articles per 100 teaching staff ("White Book of Romanian
Research", http://www.ad-astra.ro/universitati/universities. php) includes, for
example, in the first three positions, the "Alexandru Ioan Cuza" University of Iasi
(with 31.87 articles per 100 staff), "Babes-Bolyai" University of Cluj-Napoca
(24.01) and the University of Bucharest (21.26) (2007 figures). In spite of
continuously improving results (e.g. the relative increase in the number of scientific
articles published in 2007 compared to 2006 by the "Alexandru Ioan Cuza"
University of Iasi and "Babes-Bolyai" University of Cluj-Napoca was of 24% and
13% respectively), none of the Romanian universities is included in the Shanghai
top 500 of world universities. This suggests a poor research productivity, even in
relation to other Central and Eastern Europe universities, many of which are
included in the Shanghai top 500 (e.g. Poland has three universities, Hungary has
two, and Czech Republic one) ( http://www.ad-astra.ro/journal/8/florian
_shanghai_romania.pdf).
According to the Decemebr 2007 study of the Romanian Agency for Quality in
Higher Education (ARACIS) presented to the Parliament Commissions on
Education, Science, Youth and Sport, Romanian universities keep the pace with
European universities in terms of curricula and scientific research, but are lagging
behind in terms of student scholarships and correlation of academic specialisations
with labour-market demand. Students are not adequately motivated through
attractive scholarships, they are poorly informed and do not have optimal conditions
for practice. In addition, the universities have a multitude of specialisations which do
not provide relevant qualifications for the labour market: they have minimal
requirements on admission, and neglect the didactic processes.
Academic research programmes are coordinated by the National Council for
Research in Higher Education Institutions (CNCSIS), which includes representatives
from the academic research community. They are organised in seven commissions
with different S&T specialisations. The Council is the main Romanian funding
organisation for university and postgraduate research programmes. It was created in
late 1994 as a key component of the ongoing reform of the higher education system.
The Council is also a consultative body of the Ministry of Education, Research and
Innovation, as well as a representative of the Romanian scientific community on
research policy-making issues. The Council plays a major role in the allocation of
funding for university research and the evaluation of scientific research performance.
There is a significant degree of interaction and cooperation between the activities of
the Council and those of the NHEFC (the National Higher Education Funding
Council). The funds granted on a competition basis are part of higher education and
research extra-funding. The project-oriented system of committing funds for R&D
ensures that funding for higher education and research is dynamic and promotes
excellence in scientific research.


Research performers
Public research organisations
Most R&D organisations are active in technical and engineering sciences, with
specialisation profiles corresponding to various branches of processing industries.
Other R&D institutions are active in agricultural sciences, natural and exact sciences,
medical sciences, social sciences and humanities (NASR, 2005). The most
significant R&D performers are the National R&D institutes, which, in the vast
majority of their activities (approx. 90%) undertake programmes/projects in national
R&D programmes. National R&D institutes also develop their own R&D
programmes, oriented towards long-term strategic objectives , specific to their own
sectors. These are the so-called "Core R&D Programmes", the only financial
instrument which works in institutional regime (not on a competition basis). The
Core R&D Programmes are validated by the ministries which coordinate the
respective institutes, and are approved and financed by NASR. At present NASR
provides funding for 46 Core Programmes initiated by National R&D institutes. The
projects developed by National R&D institutes as part of national programmes and as
part of Core R&D programmes are non-profit, and the results are largely
disseminated. From the point of view of state aid regulations, according to Law
143/1999, National R&D institutes are also considered as commercial units due to
the additional commercial activities of micro-production they develop. This involves
the production of prototypes that are tested in the institutes' own laboratories before
being supplied to industry, or the small-scale (or unique series) production of some
products or product components that are required by industry to meet some specific
needs, or are used to advance the institutes' own research, avoiding the importation
of similar products from abroad. In order to define more clearly the functional status
of the National R&D institutes, in accordance with the provisions of EU state aid
regulations, Government Ordinance no. 58/2006 was adopted in 2006. It stipulates
that the two types of activities, research and micro-production, will be registered in
distinct accounts, to avoid any possibility of confusion.
The main public R&D performers include:
a. 263 public R&D institutions
45 national National R&D Institutes, ccordinated by seevral ministries, as
follows: Ministry of Education, Research and Innovation, through NASR (18),
Ministry of Economy (8), Ministry of Environment (3), Ministry of
Communications and Information Technology (2), Ministry of Transport and
Infrastructure (3), Ministry of Labour, Family and Social Protection (2),
Ministry of Health (3), Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Development (6);
56 accredited public universities,
66 institutes and research centres of the Romanian Academy (52 institutes,
14 research centres);
96 R&D institutes, centres or stations organised as public institutions;
B. The network of specialised institutions for technology transfer and innovation

ReNITT, which comprised in 2007 46 specific entities (technology transfer centres,
technology information centres, technology and business incubators) as well as 4
S&T Parks located in different regions of the country (Government of Romania,


2007). ReNITT covers evenly the national area, with important nodes in the capital
and other major cities of the country. In addition, one can mention the Innovation
Relay Centres Network, coordinated by the "Romanian Centre for SMEs" (CRIMM)
Foundation, in partnership with local authorities. The specialised institutions for
technology transfer and innovation included in the ReNITT network are supported
through the "INFRATECH" programme for the creation and development of
technology and business incubators, technology-transfer centres, technology
information points, S&T parks, as well as offices matching the industry demand
with the technological research supply. The multi-annual "INFRATECH"
programme was established in 2004, and will continue up to 2009. The procedure for
accessing the funds is on a competitive basis, according to the following scheme:
Sub-programme 1 – for technology transfer centres, technology information
points, industry-linked offices for technological development, and other
similar bodies;
Sub-programme 2 – for S&T parks, technology and business incubators.
There are no calls for competition: the procedures are open for submission
throughout the year.
Public R&D organisations are the most active R&D performers, while the private
sector and the higher education institutions are only marginally involved in R&D
activities. The highest share of R&D activities is conducted in applied areas.


Research performers
Private research performers
The national R&D network includes 310 joint-stock public or private companies that
can be:
R&D institutions organised as business companies;
business companies and subsidiaries that perform R&D activities as part of a
broader range of activities;
accredited private higher education institutions and affiliated structures;
NGOs.
There is no available data on the R&D expenditure of private firms, or on the top
private R&D spenders. Some major private R&D players include, for instance,
Oracle, which in 2006 decided to create in Romania an R&D centre for South-East
Europe, or Renault, which made a similar decision, and aimed to employ over 2,000
Romanian specialists.
Private research performers
Private Research and Technology Organisations
There is no clear evidence on the number of private research and technology
organisations, mainly because many of the public R&D institutions mentioned above
have an independent status, which allows them to be funded from both public and
private funds. In addition, the number of entirely private R&D performers has not
been precisely determined.



In recent years (2001-2005 period), the public funding coordinated by both the
Ministry of Education and Research and the Romanian Academy was allocated
for basic research up to approx. 30% and applied research up to 70%. The
breakdown of GERD by socio-economice objectives and by performing sector and
research fields presented below shows that the dominant share of R&D activities are
concentrated in industrial technologies, and, respectively, technical and engineering
sciences.
GERD by socio-economic objectives
; & nbsp; &nb sp; ; -

million ROL current prices -
TOTAL
2001 2002 2003
TOTAL 4593429 5743861 7620646
of which:
Land exploration and exploitation 122890 63740 94644
Territory planning and infrastructure 41122 75442 148463
Environmental pollution and protection 216224 206381 394544
Public health. Medicine 175379 309883 687459
Energy production, distribution and use 521517 542921 545373

Agricultural production and technology 382095 478080 674182
Industrial production and technology 2087866 2408054 3211209
Social structures and relations 25606 79559 76847
Space exploration and exploitation 8079 8078 18733
Research from general funds for Higher education 134560 489648 138634
Fundamental research 619475 701527 1099784
Other civic researches 233815 316680 427081
Source: Romanian Statistical Yearbook 2005



GERD, by performing sectors and by main scientific domains
&n bsp; &nbs p; &n bsp;

- million ROL current prices -
1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003
TOTAL 1833389 2195810 2962046 4593429 5743861 7620646

Scientific fields
Natural sciences 388747 442980 240093 572737 814917 1028005
Engineering and
1098921 1395441 2129424 3130693 3706937 4594060
technology
Medical sciences 82456 122319 111402 259025 386253 816596
Agricultural sciences 202157 181206 286795 439484 520391 811046
Social sciences 32245 33239 154933 134786 231805 226168
Humanities 28863 20625 39399 56704 83558 144771
Enterprises sector 1406739 1633443 2056097 2830304 3461509 4433722

Scientific fields
Engineering and
983982 1276531 1765100 2388353 2888093 3458397
technology
Social sciences - - - - - -
Humanities - - - - - -
Government sector 342976 407600 557358 1243434 1388367 2446662

Scientific fields
Engineering and
64936 74612 154980 416826 371954 670646
technology
Social sciences 22551 30938 58320 117357 182359 186845
Humanities 18770 16158 36206 51891 74790 94079
Higher education
83674 154767 348591 519691 893895 718187
sector
Scientific fields
Engineering and
50003 44298 209344 325514 446890 443030
technology
Social sciences 9694 2301 96613 17429 49446 39323
Humanities 10093 4467 3193 4813 8768 50692
Private non-profit
... ... ... ... ... 22075
sector
Scientific fields
Natural sciences ... ... ... ... ... 88


Engineering and
... ... ... ... ... 21987
technology
Medical sciences ... ... ... ... ... -
Agricultural sciences ... ... ... ... ... -
Social sciences ... ... ... ... ... -
Humanities ... ... ... ... ... -
Source: Romanian Statistical Yearbook 2005

Expenditures on R&D
There are two ways of measuring the funds spent on R&D. The first is to consider
the units that carry out R&D (firms, institutes, universities, etc.) in order to identify
the amount spent on R&D: this is the way GERD is calculated. According to the
sector of performance, it is possible to distinguish between business, government,
higher education and private non-profit expenditure on R&D (BERD, GOVERD,
HERD and PNERD, respectively). The second way, using data from budgets,
considers the government budget appropriations or outlays for R&D (GBAORD)
identifying socio-economic objectives. These different measures of R&D
expenditures are presented below.
The data (time series from 1995 onwards) to be downloaded give access to a
file containing all indicators for the specific country, including breakdown by
sector of performance and by source of funds for the GERD, by NUTS2 region
for the GERD, by economic sector for the BERD and by socio-economic
objective for the GBAORD
ERAWATCH indicators follow the Eurostat geographical data coverage.

Notes
EU27 Member States
GERD: 2004 for it, nl, ro, uk
BERD: 2004 for ro, uk
GBAORD: EU25 instead of EU27. 2004 for pl, ro
Associated countries
GERD: 2004 for hr, is, ch. 2002 for tr
BERD: Reference year is 2002 for tr. 2004 instead of 2005 for the other
countries.
GBAORD: EU25 instead of EU27
Other countries
GERD: 2004 for us, jp. 2003 for cn
BERD: 2003 for cn, jp
Download the data in Excel format


Source : Eurostat and DG Research compiled by ERAWATCH


Human resources for R&D
Human resources play a crucial role in knowledge production; they produce and
convey knowledge. This page displays the number of researchers found in the
different sectors, such as business enterprise, government, higher education, and
private non-profit institutions. It also shows data about doctoral graduates, doctoral
candidates and scientists and engineers.
file containing all indicators for the specific country, including breakdowns by
sector of performance for the researchers, by gender of researchers, by field
and gender of doctoral graduates and by nationality of doctoral candidates

Notes
EU27 Member States
Researchers: EU25 instead of EU27. 2003 for be, de, gr, lu, nl, pt, se
Associated countries
Researchers: 2002 for tr; 2003 for is, no
Other countries
Researchers: 2003 for jp





Publications
Publications are one of the most common indicators used to measure the output of
scientific research. The number of scientific articles (deflated per million
inhabitants) produced by a country can be considered as a basic proxy for the
national scientific knowledge productivity. Citations to these publications are a
proxy for the quality of the publication in a given country.
file containing all indicators for the specific country.

Notes
EU27 Member States
Publications: EU25 instead of EU27. Full counting method has been
used at country level. At the aggregate level for EU25, double counting
was avoided.
Associated countries: GERD: 2004 for hr, is, ch. 2002 for tr
Publications: EU25 instead of EU27; Source: DG Research
Other countries
Publications: EU25 instead of EU27; Source: DG Research




Patents


Patents are one of the most common indicators used to measure the technological
output of R&D. The number of patents (per million inhabitants) in a country can be
considered as a basic proxy for the national technological knowledge productivity.
file containing all indicators for the specific country, including European
Patent Office patents and US Patent Office patents and their breakdown by
technological field.



Additional relevant indicators
The main source of S&T and other research indicators in Romania is the National
Institute of Statistics (http://www.insse.ro), which produces annual statistical
yearbooks including a specific chapter on R&D. The 2006 R&D indicators
are available at http://www.insse.ro/Anuar%202005/CAPITOLE/cap13.pdf .
Romania - Information source
Name Date
National Institute of Statistics 2007-07-25


ERAWATCH Research Inventory Report For: Romania: European Commission

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ERAWATCH Research Inventory Report For:

For any further information see http://cordis.europa.eu/erawatch

© European Communities, 2009. 

1. knowledge creation through internationally competitive R&D, integration

© European Communities, 2009. 

1. Increasing the R&D performance, in terms of scientific publications, EPO and

The number of scientific publications is still relatively low, but is on an increasing

© European Communities, 2009. 

© European Communities, 2009. 

Last update date: 02/08/2009

© European Communities, 2009. 

Relevance of research policy

1. Sustaining the scientific areas with the highest performance potential;

At the interministerial level, research policy is discussed within the National

These developments contributed to improving the communication between

© European Communities, 2009. 

Policy goals and priorities

Last update date: 02/08/2009

Name of correspondent: Liana Marina Ranga

Last update date: 02/08/2009

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© European Communities, 2009. 

In collaboration with the Ministry of Economy, NASR currently promotes a draft

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A specialised structure for the management of public-private partnerships was

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In addition, there are a number of incentives currently applied to Industrial Parks:

© European Communities, 2009. 

3. Order 3861/13 April 2005 of the Minister of Education and Research

4. A grant system for young doctoral students or young researchers (under 35

5. Currently, there are several international collaboration agreements that give

Other programmes with a stronger focus on innovation with a potential positive

© European Communities, 2009. 

Last update date: 02/08/2009

The European Commission Policy Mix Web Portal

© European Communities, 2009. 

Last update date: 02/08/2009

© European Communities, 2009. 

Romania - Important policy documents

Title of document Date Organisation responsible Type of Document

© European Communities, 2009. 

Towards ERA and Lisbon

Last update date: 02/08/2009

Towards ERA and Lisbon

- Improving administrative capacity - this is a horizontal priority of major importance

- Improving the quality and management of governmental expenditure - aims at ensuring

- Further improvement of the business environment - includes the reduction and

- Improvement of life quality through sustainable management of renewable resources and

© European Communities, 2009. 

© European Communities, 2009. 

Operation 2.2.4: Strengthening the administrative capacity: competitioon

Last update date: 02/08/2009

The country participation in the Framework Programmes has been supported by

© European Communities, 2009. 

Module IV provides provides financial support for the Romanian participants in

Last update date: 02/08/2009

Last update date: 02/08/2009

© European Communities, 2009. 

Overview and governance

© European Communities, 2009. 

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