Romania at the Tail End of Government Digitalization
A report prepared by experts from Estonia at the initiative of the Edge Institute shows that Romania scores only 3.1 out of 10 in digital maturity. The analysis highlights the absence of a coherent strategy and a central decision-making body capable of coordinating the country’s digital transformation.
Despite significant investments made over the past decade, Romania continues to lag behind in the digitalization of public administration. The report, titled “Digital Governance Framework of Romania,” developed by the Edge Institute in collaboration with Digital Nation Estonia, emphasizes that the digital infrastructure exists, but public services are fragmented and not designed around citizens’ needs.
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The document also notes that digital transformation has become “a hostage to short-term political interests,” with responsibilities split among institutions that lack a common direction.
Findings and Proposed Solutions
The report identifies several key issues: the lack of a unified national digital strategy, fragmented public services, low digital skills among civil servants (62% have never attended any digital training), the absence of CIO or CTO roles in ministries, and institutional resistance that blocks the implementation of existing projects such as eID or the interoperability law.
To overcome these challenges, Estonian experts propose a four-tier digital governance model that could be implemented over the next two years:
– Establishing a Deputy Prime Minister for Digital Transformation to provide strategic coordination;
– Creating a Government Chief Information Officer (GCIO) position and a dedicated office to coordinate ministerial CIOs;
– Forming a Digital Council, chaired by the Deputy Prime Minister, including ministers, experts, and representatives of the private sector and civil society;
– Setting up an agile implementation agency, either as a new GovTech structure or by transforming the existing Authority for the Digitalization of Romania into an “ADR 2.0.”
Photo: freepik.com
