Assessment of the Impact of COVID Pandemic on Research, Development and Innovation Infrastructure in Romania

Infrastructure is a complex facility that provides resources, and related scientific services used by scientists for fundamental and applied research, fostering innovation. All research infrastructures were put to a test during the COVID-19 pandemic across the world. The aim of this study was to evaluate the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic on the Romanian research infrastructure. A questionnaire was developed and sent to the Romanian RDIIs (Research, Development and Innovation Infrastructure) to understand the pandemic’s impact on the organizations. The pandemic has not influenced the performance of the Romanian RDIIs, nor created difficulties in maintaining existing customers, identifying new opportunities to access funds, or identifying project implementation. For the RDIIs participating in this survey, the COVID-19 pandemic has not impacted financial growth or staff retention but has created difficulties in finding partners/clients for particular research projects. Unfortunately, due to a limited eligible population, the reported results strictly reflect the respondents’ perception and cannot be generalized, hence, no recommendations can be made based on the reported results.