In brief

  • All research, development and innovation (R&D&I) funding competitions using public money must run entirely digitally, through a single electronic point of contact.
  • Two new structures are created: the Research, Development and Innovation Observatory (OCDI), which monitors the performance of the system, and RoInovare, the unit dedicated to attracting private investment and technology transfer.
  • Companies get concrete incentives: tax breaks for R&D&I activity, access to venture-capital funds, and a requirement that at least a third of funded projects have a company as leader or partner.
Act: Law no. 144/2026
Published: Official Gazette of Romania (Monitorul Oficial) no. 588 of 20 July 2026
Enters into force: 23 July 2026

Romania’s research, development and innovation system is going through a fundamental reform, with direct stakes for researchers, universities and companies working with public funds. Law no. 144/2026, promulgated by Decree no. 419/2026 and published in Official Gazette of Romania no. 588 of 20 July 2026, requires the state authority for research and development (the Ministry of Education and Research) and every agency that manages public money for R&D&I to move entirely onto interoperable IT solutions, from launching a project competition through to reporting results. The law comes in the same legislative context as other public-administration digitalisation measures, such as the reform of public electronic services under way across several ministries in 2026.

Besides digitalisation, the law creates a new institutional framework for encouraging private investment in research: an observatory that analyses the system’s data (OCDI), and an operational unit, RoInovare, which will manage grants, vouchers, accelerators and participation in venture-capital funds for innovation projects.

What it changes in practice

From 2027, no publicly funded research project competition or call may be launched without an IT solution that meets the interoperability standards set by order of the Minister of Education and Research. In practice, submission, evaluation, contracting, reporting and monitoring of R&D&I projects moves entirely online, with machine-to-machine communication between funding agencies’ platforms and the single electronic point of contact.

For European funds, the platform remains MySMIS2021/SMIS2021+, used through the Ministry of Investments and European Projects (MIPE) for the Smart Growth, Digitalisation and Financial Instruments Programme and the Health Programme, including through regional development agencies for regional programmes.

The way project evaluators are selected also changes: the law requires automatic, random allocation of experts, avoidance of conflicts of interest, and the presence of independent observers at every competition, plus an ex-post, sample-based evaluation of already-funded projects, which includes their economic and social impact.

Beneficiaries of public R&D&I funding get a new obligation: publishing research results in open access on the project’s website, except for those in the field of national security and defence. Failure to meet this obligation, checked within one year of project completion, can lead to the full or partial recovery of the funds received.

What has changed compared with the previous situation

  • Mandatory, not optional, digitalisation: until now, R&D&I funding procedures varied from one agency to another; the law imposes a single framework, with interoperable IT solutions mandatory from 2027.
  • A single point of entry: the single electronic point of contact centralises competitions, funding conditions, contracting, reporting and project results, replacing separate workflows at each funding agency.
  • A new monitoring structure, rooted in the NRRP: the Research, Development and Innovation Observatory (OCDI) takes over the activity of the research-development reform implementation unit (policy support facility) that operated under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan, turning it into a permanent structure.
  • A unit dedicated to private money: RoInovare is the new central innovation structure, with an operational role in attracting private investment, taking part in venture-capital funds through the Investment and Development Bank, and developing accelerators, incubators and sandbox-type testing spaces; it is set to become a legal entity in its own right within 4 years of becoming operational.
  • A minimum quota for companies in funded projects: at least a third of R&D&I projects funded through national instruments must have a company as partnership leader or partner, not only institutes and universities.
  • Open access, with a real penalty: publishing the results of publicly funded research becomes mandatory, with the possibility of clawing back funding for non-compliance, not just a best-practice recommendation.

Advantages and disadvantages

What it improves

  • More transparent, faster procedures for researchers and universities, with a single place to see all competitions and the status of projects.
  • Concrete tools for companies: tax breaks, access to venture capital, and a guaranteed minimum share of projects with private-sector partners.
  • Results of publicly funded research become easier to find and check, through the open-access obligation.
  • Multi-year budget planning for R&D&I funding instruments, giving more predictability to institutes and companies submitting long-term projects.

What remains a problem

  • The law leaves many essential details to later ministerial orders (the list of IT solutions, OCDI’s organisation, RoInovare’s organisation), all due within 90 days of entry into force – until then, the framework remains incomplete.
  • The obligation of full digitalisation for R&D&I competitions only applies from 2027, so the practical effects for researchers will be felt with a delay, not immediately.
  • RoInovare starts out without its own legal personality and without a clearly quantified dedicated budget in the law; its operation depends on “stable and predictable” sources that remain, for now, at the level of principle.
  • Tax incentives for private investment in R&D&I (deductions, tax credits, accelerated depreciation) are mentioned as possible, not mandatory, tools, and depend on further collaboration with the Ministry of Finance.

Practical advice

  1. If you’re a researcher or a research institute: watch for the order of the Minister of Education and Research listing the mandatory IT solutions (expected by around mid-October 2026), and get ready for future project submissions to go entirely through the single electronic point of contact.
  2. If you’re a company interested in research funding: check early for competitions looking for private-sector partners – the law guarantees a minimum quota of a third of funded projects with companies as leader or partner, so partnership opportunities will grow.
  3. If you’re a beneficiary of active R&D&I funding: plan to publish your project’s results in open access before the one-year deadline from completion, to avoid the risk of having funds clawed back.
  4. If you’re an investor or a venture-capital fund: keep an eye on RoInovare becoming operational, the structure through which the state will co-finance innovation projects, via the Investment and Development Bank, alongside private investors.

Frequently asked questions

What is Law no. 144/2026?
It is the law on some measures for the digitalisation and streamlining of research, development and innovation (R&D&I) activity and the stimulation of public and private investment in this field. Published in Official Gazette of Romania no. 588 of 20 July 2026, it requires full digitalisation of publicly funded R&D&I funding competitions and sets up two new structures, OCDI and RoInovare.
Who does the new law affect?
Researchers and research-development institutes, universities, agencies that fund R&D&I programmes, companies (especially those that want to or can become partners in research projects), as well as the state authority for research and development and the Ministry of Investments and European Projects, for European funds in the field.
What is OCDI?
The Research, Development and Innovation Observatory is a permanent department, without legal personality, set up within the state authority for research and development. It takes over the activity of the former NRRP R&D&I reform implementation unit and centralises data from the national research system, to inform policies and strategies in the field.
What is RoInovare and what does it do?
RoInovare is the central innovation unit, set up as an operational structure under the state authority for research and development. It handles attracting private investment in R&D&I, grant, voucher and equity-investment programmes, as well as accelerators, technology incubators and sandbox-type testing spaces. It becomes a legal entity in its own right within 4 years of becoming operational.
From when does the obligation of full digitalisation of R&D&I project competitions apply?
The law enters into force 3 days after publication, i.e. on 23 July 2026, but the requirement that no publicly funded research project competition can be launched without an interoperable IT solution applies starting in 2027.
What happens if a beneficiary of R&D&I funds doesn’t publish the research results?
Beneficiaries of R&D&I projects funded fully or partly from public funds must publish their results in open access within one year of project completion. If they don’t, the funding authority must recover the funds paid, in full or in part, proportional to the extent of non-compliance, based on an audit by the National Council of Scientific Research.

On the pre-university education side, also in July 2026, the regulation governing how schools operate was amended too: school principals are now disciplinarily liable if they fail to ensure the school’s defence in court, while students repeating their first year of study can re-enrol above the usual place quota.

Original text of the legal act

Below is the full text of Law no. 144/2026, as published in the Official Gazette of Romania, Part I, no. 588 of 20 July 2026. The text below is reproduced in Romanian, the official language of publication.

The full text, as published in the Official Gazette of Romania

Official Gazette of Romania no. 588 of 20 July 2026 16 pages PDF, 110 KB the act starts on page 4

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This article is for informational purposes only and does not constitute legal advice. For specific situations, consult a licensed attorney or tax advisor.