In brief

  • The National Research Authority gains a new innovation unit, RoInovare, and a permanent directorate, the Research, Development and Innovation Observatory, with a minimum of 17 posts.
  • The authority also gains access to the General Register of Employees, REGES-ONLINE, along with the right to conclude collaboration protocols, including with private companies, for the exchange of information.
  • The organisational chart is replaced in full: 241 posts, of which 19 management positions.
Act: Government Decision no. 641/2026
Published: Official Gazette of Romania (Monitorul Oficial) no. 694 of 21 August 2026
Adopted: 20 August 2026

The institution that hands out public money for research is changing its own structure: a unit dedicated to innovation appears, together with a directorate that will keep its own eye on what happens in Romanian research. Government Decision no. 641 of 20 August 2026, published in Official Gazette of Romania no. 694 of 21 August 2026, amends and supplements Government Decision no. 188/2025 on the organisation and functioning of the National Research Authority. This is the same institution that appears, in the distribution of the European budget published on the very same day, with 217.03 million euro to coordinate under the National Recovery and Resilience Plan.

The changes come from Law no. 144/2026 on certain measures for the digitalisation and streamlining of activity and for stimulating public and private investment in research, development and innovation. The present decision translates into an organisational chart what the law asked for.

The act has a single substantive article, Article I, containing six amendments, plus a transitional provision on staff. It does not change the authority’s core powers, it adds structures and levers for obtaining information.

What it changes in practice

The first effect is the creation of RoInovare. The new Article 81 provides that the central innovation unit, named RoInovare, operates under the authority as an operational specialised structure without legal personality, organised in accordance with Article 4(4) and (10) of Law no. 144/2026. It is listed in a new annex, Annex no. 6.

The second effect concerns the Observatory. Article 16, rewritten in full, establishes that the Research, Development and Innovation Observatory Directorate, abbreviated DOCDI, operates within the authority as a permanent directorate, for the tasks set out in Article 3 of Law no. 144/2026. It becomes operational with a minimum of 17 posts, contractual posts, included in the maximum approved headcount.

The third effect is access to employee data. Through the new point bb) added to Article 7(1), the authority receives information from the General Register of Employees, REGES-ONLINE, under the conditions of Article 10(1) of Government Decision no. 295/2025.

The fourth effect is the power to conclude protocols. The new point cc) allows the authority to conclude collaboration protocols with public authorities and institutions, but also with legal persons governed by private law, including for the exchange of information needed for its own tasks.

The fifth effect is the size of the institution. Annex no. 1, the organisational chart, is replaced in full. The new structure yields 241 posts in total and 19 management positions, and the directorates are rearranged, with the Observatory and the directorate-general for the management and coordination of the National Recovery and Resilience Plan among them.

The sixth effect concerns staff. Under Article II, making the Observatory operational and carrying out its tasks are ensured by the staff of the implementation unit for research and development reforms, PSF, taken over within the directorate until the individual employment contracts come to an end.

What has changed compared with the previous situation

Government Decision no. 188/2025, published in Official Gazette of Romania no. 185 of 3 March 2025, had organised the authority with five annexes. There are now six, and Article 23 was amended precisely in order to state that Annexes nos. 1 to 6 form an integral part of the decision.

The second change is that, for the first time, a list appears of the operational structures without legal personality that operate under the authority. For the moment it has a single entry, RoInovare, but the existence of the list shows that the model can be extended.

The third change concerns the nature of the Observatory. It is not a temporary project structure, but a permanent directorate, with a minimum threshold of posts written into the decision.

The fourth change concerns the flow of data. Until now, the authority had no express provision granting it access to the register of employees, nor any general legal basis for protocols with legal persons governed by private law.

What does not change is the authority’s standing in relation to the ministry. The decision does not touch its subordination, nor the main powers set out in the basic act.

Advantages and disadvantages

What it improves

  • It gives the Observatory permanent status and a minimum threshold of posts, so it no longer depends on the lifetime of a project.
  • It ensures continuity by taking over the staff of the reform implementation unit, instead of starting from scratch.
  • It creates a public list of the operational structures under the authority, which makes it easier to follow what actually functions beneath it.
  • Access to the register of employees may cut the duplicate reporting demanded of the institutes and companies that receive funding.
  • The published organisational chart puts a number on the size of the institution, 241 posts and 19 management positions, so the size of the apparatus can be verified.

What remains a problem

  • The organisational chart is published in facsimile, as an image, so it cannot be read automatically or searched as text.
  • RoInovare is set up without the decision describing its tasks; those remain in Law no. 144/2026 and in later organisational acts.
  • The text does not say from what date the new unit actually becomes operational, nor with how many posts.
  • The protocols with legal persons governed by private law come with no publicity rules, so it is not known whether they will be publicly accessible.
  • The staff are taken over „until the individual employment contracts come to an end”, wording that does not clarify what happens to the posts after that moment.

Practical advice

  1. If you work in a publicly funded research institute, watch for the organisational acts of RoInovare. The decision sets it up, but does not spell out its tasks.
  2. For the organisational chart, open the official PDF edition attached to this article. Annex no. 1 is reproduced as an image and does not exist in text form.
  3. If you are an employer in a research project, bear in mind that the authority can receive data directly from REGES-ONLINE. Check your entries in the register.
  4. When you cite Decision no. 188/2025, use the updated version. It now has six annexes, not five.
  5. If you are negotiating a collaboration protocol with the authority, ask from the outset for clarification of the categories of data covered by the exchange of information.

Frequently asked questions

What is RoInovare?
The central innovation unit, an operational specialised structure without legal personality, operating under the National Research Authority. It is set up on the basis of Article 4(4) and (10) of Law no. 144/2026 and listed in the new Annex no. 6 to the organisational decision.
What does the Research, Development and Innovation Observatory do?
It carries out the tasks set out in Article 3 of Law no. 144/2026. The decision organises it as a permanent directorate within the authority, operational with a minimum of 17 contractual posts.
How many posts does the authority have?
241 in total, of which 19 management positions, according to the organisational chart in the new Annex no. 1.
Why can I not find the organisational chart in the text?
Because Annex no. 1 is reproduced in facsimile in the Official Gazette of Romania, that is, published as an image of the graphic scheme. It can be consulted in the official PDF edition.
What does access to REGES-ONLINE mean?
The authority receives information from the General Register of Employees, under the conditions of Article 10(1) of Government Decision no. 295/2025. It is a new power, added to Article 7(1) of the organisational act.
Who will work in the new Observatory?
The staff of the implementation unit for research and development reforms, PSF, taken over within the directorate until the individual employment contracts come to an end, under Article II of the decision.

Original text of the legal act

The text below is reproduced in Romanian, the official form of publication.

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

Official Gazette of Romania no. 694 of 21 August 2026 16 pages PDF, 128 KB the act starts on page 10

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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.