In many situations, we turn to public services knowing from the start what is going to happen: we will dedicate good hours of our lives as paper couriers. Without generalizing, however, every Romanian has such an experience that they can share. It is also an important reason why, while Romanians perceive digitalization as massively positive, they harshly evaluate the digital performance of the state. There are also studies that show that 7 out of 10 Romanians find themselves forced to spend a day of vacation solving problems related to interaction with the state, while 8 out of 10 say that, in principle, they do not solve the problem on the first visit.
In practice, although you turn to the state to be served yourself, you end up serving the state, in a series of bureaucratic processes. The problem is all the more critical in the context in which the citizen urgently needs support. Social services are the best example; we generally turn to them at key moments in life, either when we are vulnerable or when the need is great. This is precisely when the solidity of the social contract is tested: how well can we rely on the state when we need it most?
This is where digitalization comes into play. Every industrial revolution has brought about major technological advances, and they have rewritten the social contract as it was built. The Fourth Industrial Revolution is no exception: technologies are reshaping the welfare state as we know it. At present, it seems that digital transformation and emerging technologies are rather accentuating the inequalities between us. However, things should not be like this; they should be exactly the opposite. Therefore, the new social contract must be digital, and the welfare state must go through the same kind of transition.
Before developing a digital social state, however, we need an intermediate stage. We call it the “digital-enabling state.” If, until now, the debate about the digital “enabling” state referred to the transition towards a form of social organization that empowers the autonomy of the individual and communities through targeted services, in the digital space such a scenario takes on a completely different shape.
By the concept of digital-enabling state we understand the set of electronic services, platforms, governance and efficiency tools that facilitate the interaction between welfare state institutions and their beneficiaries. The concept of digital-enabling state proposes, in practical terms, the transfer from a fragmented management paradigm of welfare state services in the current ecosystem to a paradigm of making these services accessible and adapting them through innovative means. In essence, digital-enabling state as a paradigm constitutes the transition stage between the operational and programmatic phases of the welfare state.
To define this type of state, we need a solid operational strategy: electronic, accessible and inclusive social services. The most pragmatic analytical angle is that of integrated life events. By integrated life events we essentially refer to digital services that the state offers to meet the citizen’s need at a key moment.
Our study shows that Romania already has important “pieces” in this puzzle. For example, HUB MMPS, the digital social benefits hub developed by the Ministry of Labor, has taken a concrete step in digitizing some benefits: it provides information on steps, estimated calculation and digital submission (with analysis, calculation and decision without traveling) for the state allowance, child-rearing allowance, insertion incentive and minimum inclusion income.
In the employment ecosystem, there are multiple digital initiatives at ANOFM (platforms, online services), and in the area of social assistance, investments such as SNIAS are emerging, which indicate a direction of integration. In addition, in the field of disability, ANPDPD plays an essential role in coordination and standardization, and implements specific programs that can be integrated into a digital path (for example, financial support for the purchase of assistive technologies). The problem is not that there is no digitalization; the problem is that these pieces are not yet orchestrated into a unitary experience on life events.
Therefore, the policy paper develops three use-cases, as “pilots” for a state that supports citizens at key moments in life, instead of complicating them. The first is unemployment: the termination of the employment contract should trigger a path in which the application is simplified and pre-filled, eligibility is quickly verified, the decision is clearly communicated, payment starts on time, and reintegration (counseling, training, mediation) becomes part of the same path, not a separate service.
Source: Lovable, 2026.
The second is disability: we propose a single digital file, empowerments for relatives, transparent assessment and decisions, followed by coherent activation of rights and connection with relevant support (including assistive technologies), along with case management for complex situations.
Source: Lovable, 2026.
The third is family planning: from family planning and pregnancy, to childbirth, benefits, child health, and education enrollment—a predictable path that reduces administrative uncertainty and makes support real, not just theoretical.
Source: Lovable, 2026.
Our proposal for a digital enabling state does not presuppose a technological “big bang”. It does, however, presuppose coherent governance formulas, regulated testing environments (sandbox type) and unique, structured pathways for citizens in a context of necessity. It also presupposes that digital identity, electronic wallet and interoperability become universally valid in the Romanian institutional space.
In essence, the state must make a major decision in the current climate: either let technologies accentuate inequalities or transform them into a force for inclusion. This material proposes specific solutions for digital transformation to become a pillar of social inclusion in Romania. The ideas in this document will be developed along the way, in the context of future lucrative efforts to consolidate the public policy proposals developed in this material.