Since joining the Vanguard Initiative, North-East Romania has grown into one of its most proactive and committed members, combining a strong regional development agenda with a genuine drive to connect its industrial ecosystem to European interregional collaboration networks.
The region has been active at every level of the network. At the strategic level, North-East Romania has held a seat on the Board and has been the driving force behind the creation of the VI Industry Group (a new consultative body designed to bring the voices of companies, clusters and technology organisations directly into the Initiative’s strategic discussions). This move reflects a firm conviction: that meaningful industrial transformation requires more than policy dialogue. It requires the active involvement of those who actually innovate and produce on the ground. At the operational level, the region has engaged in Smart Health and Artificial Intelligence pilots and has been committed to the VInnovate instrument since its very first implementation cycle.
This Vanguard engagement is part of a much broader European cooperation footprint. North-East Romania RDA participates in the S3 Community of Practice, EURADA, ERRIN, EIT Food, the Enterprise Europe Network, the I3 Support Facility and S3 Thematic Partnerships, including a co-lead role in Textile Innovation and involvement in several European projects (I3, HE, Interreg Europe etc). The region is also part of the Regional Innovation Valleys landscape through PRECISEU, a Horizon Europe-funded initiative focused on connecting European innovation ecosystems and accelerating the development and uptake of personalised medicine.
Beyond its European engagement, North-East Romania is one of the largest regions in the country by both surface area and population, home to approximately 3.2 million inhabitants across six counties. While historically among the less developed regions of the European Union, the region has undergone significant transformation over the past decade, driven by sustained investment in infrastructure, education and innovation capacity.
The regional economy draws on a diverse industrial base spanning manufacturing, agri-food processing, IT and software development, health, and an emerging clean energy sector. The city of Iași, the region’s main urban centre, has grown into one of Romania’s most dynamic technology and higher education hubs, home to major universities and a rapidly expanding IT cluster that continues to attract talent from across the country.
Innovation is increasingly central to the region’s development model. North-East Romania RDA actively steers the implementation of the Regional Smart Specialisation Strategy, channelling European structural funds towards research, technological upgrading and the internationalisation of local SMEs.
Its participation in Vanguard pilot projects and interregional value chain initiatives reflects a clear ambition: to deepen the region’s integration into European industrial networks and build lasting partnerships within them.