Support to Romania in the implementation of 10 PSF Country recommendations

Following the PSF Country review of the Romanian R&I system carried out between September 2021 and June 2022, the Romanian Minister for Research, Innovation and Digitalisation (MCID), Sebastian Burduja, expressed his commitment to the reform needs defined in the PSF final report and his engagement with the PSF in implementation of recommendations. PSF Open is a novelty of the PSF tool and the PSF Open Romania is the first of such an exercise intending to provide tailor-made support in the implementation of PSF recommendations.

The focus of PSF Open Romania is on 10 PSF recommendations falling under three key policy messages, notably on governance, human resources and internationalisation:

• Reinforcing the overall governance of the R&I system through cross-governmental coordination and inclusion of the voice of society into this system: PSF Country recommendation 1.1; 1.2, 10.1, 10.2.
• Providing a better environment for human resources in the public research system: PSF Country recommendations 6.1, 6.2, 6.3.
• Offering more effective support for the internationalisation of Romanian research actors: PSF Country recommendations 9.2, 9.2, 9.4

One of the main outcome of the PSF Open is to create a common vision of the Romanian R&I governance in line with the relevant recommendations of the PSF Country report. It will also propose a concrete plan for setting up a coordination structure for all R&I activities in the country and to develop 6 implementations plans defining concrete sets of actions, activities, and information with a timeline for their implementation and monitoring of progress on human capital and internationalisation. The PSF Open joins forces with the Word Bank, which provides technical assistance to Romania, to support the country in the implementation of PSF recommendations for an ambitious reform agenda.