The National Institute of Statistics (INS) on Wednesday launched the DISTINCT project, aimed at implementing an integrated IT system for data collection, which can be described as INS 4.1, according to the INS President, Tudorel Andrei.
'We are launching not just a new project, an ambitious digitalisation project - I would go further and say that today we are launching a new development concept for the National Institute of Statistics. I would symbolically refer to this concept as INS 4.1, and I will explain why. First of all, what must we bear in mind? Official statistics can no longer be developed without two essential elements. The first concerns the use of data from economic operators, public institutions and households, through a user-friendly approach to our relationship with them. Secondly, we cannot develop statistics without human resources capable of meeting the requirements of digitalisation. In 2018, Romania hosted the meeting of Directors-General of official statistics from across the European Union, the so-called DGINS meeting. At that important gathering for European statistics, a memorandum was approved to guide the development of statistics on the basis of digitalised processes,' Tudorel Andrei said at the project's launch conference, agerpres reports.
He noted that this is a vast project, not only in terms of its value, but also in terms of the changes it will bring to official statistics and beyond.
'The second project is already at an advanced stage and is entitled Digitalization of National Accounts in Romania'. It is financed directly by the European Commission and its main objective is the full automation of national accounts production processes,' Tudorel Andrei added.
The INS president also said that the institution is considering a third project, 'Performant Administration through Advanced Technologies', which is important for the digitalisation of certain production processes.
He stressed that better use of statistical data in a society where decisions are essentially information-based - both in terms of the scale and granularity of information and the speed at which it is obtained - could lead to an increase in gross domestic product of at least 1%.
For his part, Dragos-Cristian Vlad, president of the Authority for the Digitalisation of Romania (ADR), said that cooperation between the Authority and the National Institute of Statistics began in February 2022, when the Institute's ideas and needs were first outlined.
The project is entitled 'Technologised Statistical Data and Information of National Interest for Knowledge and Transparency - DISTINCT', SMIS Code 343122.
On 17 December 2025, the financing contract was signed between the Authority for the Digitalisation of Romania (ADR), acting as Intermediate Body for the Smart Growth, Digitalisation and Financial Instruments Programme 2021-2027, on behalf of the Ministry of Investments and European Projects (MIPE) as Managing Authority, and the National Institute of Statistics (INS) as Beneficiary, granting non-repayable funding for the project.
The project is co-financed by the European Regional Development Fund (ERDF).
The overall objective is to implement an integrated IT system that will, on the one hand, ensure a fully digital environment for data collection from economic operators, companies, enterprises, individuals and households, and, on the other hand, provide aggregated information to citizens, the business community, public institutions, academia and the wider public - in practice, all categories of statistical users - enabling the reuse of collected data for studies, analyses and research tailored to specific demands.
The total eligible value of the project amounts to 94.466 million lei, VAT included, of which 70.801 million lei represents non-repayable ERDF funding, while 23.664 million lei constitutes eligible co-financing. The project will run for 36 months, starting on 17 December 2025 and ending on 16 December 2028.
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