An analysis based on SICAP data and public documents indicates a highly concentrated market, where demand is supported by legal obligation, and market access depends on approval and regulatory mechanisms.
The Romanian psychological testing market, largely supported by public funds, has generated contracts worth a cumulative amount of over 186 million lei, the equivalent of approximately 38 million euros, in recent years. Centralized data from SICAP, corroborated with decisions of the Romanian College of Psychologists and public information regarding the structure of some companies in the field, paint the picture of an extremely concentrated market, controlled by a small number of players.
The investigation conducted by Cătălin Antohe and Sorin Ghica raises a relevant question for the area of public policy and competition: to what extent the current regulatory architecture of the psychology profession favors the emergence of a closed market, in which the same actors are simultaneously present in the academic area, in professional structures and in the companies that provide the tests used by the state.
A market with guaranteed demand
Unlike other service markets, psychological testing has a major structural advantage: demand is guaranteed by law. Psychological assessments are mandatory in multiple sectors of the state, from the structures of the Ministry of Internal Affairs and the penitentiary system, to the army, the judiciary, public health and education.
The consequence is obvious: public institutions cannot give up on such purchases. Under these conditions, the market does not function according to the usual logic of free competition, in which demand fluctuates and suppliers compete aggressively for contracts. On the contrary, we are talking about a market with recurring and predictable institutional consumption.
According to the data presented in the investigation, 12 companies appear in SICAP , with a total of 7,076 contracts and an aggregate value of approximately 186 million lei .
High concentration and small number of suppliers
The data indicates a significant concentration of revenues around a few groups of companies. According to the investigation, three companies controlled by Doru Dima — Great People Inside SRL, Dima Consulting Group SRL and ASK 4 IT SRL — together accumulate over 134 million lei from public contracts.
Another important pole is the one associated with Dragoș Iliescu , through a portfolio of five companies — D&D Consultants Grup SRL, 42 Organizational Assessment SRL, BRIO Teste Educăționale SA, D&D Research SRL and GIUNTI Psychometrics Romania SRL — totaling over 31.5 million lei .
In addition to these groups, other relevant providers are also appearing on the market, such as Cognitrom SRL , associated with Mircea Miclea, Psiho Proiect SRL , managed by Alin Florin Sava, as well as companies such as HART Human Resource Consulting or RTS Romanian Psychological Testing .
The overall picture is that of a highly concentrated market, in which an overwhelming part of the value of public contracts is absorbed by a limited number of economic operators.
Who buys?
The list of beneficiaries of these contracts shows how deeply psychological testing is integrated into the functioning of the state. According to the analysis, among the buyers are institutions from the penitentiary system, structures from the national security area, municipal and county clinical hospitals, public health institutions, as well as educational units and county centers of educational resources and assistance.
In other words, we are not talking about a marginal segment, but about a procurement infrastructure spread across almost the entire public administration.
The decisive role of endorsement
The central point of this market is not only the obligation of purchase, but also the mechanism by which certain instruments come to be officially used. In practice, a psychological test has institutional relevance only if it is endorsed by the Romanian College of Psychologists.
Here arises one of the most sensitive themes raised by the investigation: the overlap between the area of academic validation, the area of professional regulation, and the commercial area.
The authors claim that some of the influential actors in the field occupy or have occupied, over time, key positions in universities, in academic evaluation bodies such as ARACIS and CNATDCU, in structures of the College of Psychologists and, at the same time, in companies that market psychological tests.
This overlap does not automatically constitute a violation of the law, but it raises legitimate questions regarding potential conflicts of interest, the compatibility of functions, and the degree of real competition in the market.
Three levels of influence
In the synthesized form of the investigation, the system operates on three levels.
The first is the academic level , where assessment instruments gain scientific and professional legitimacy. The second is the administrative and regulatory level , dominated by the role of the Romanian College of Psychologists, the institution that establishes professional norms, approves tests, and grants the right to practice. The third is the commercial level , where private companies actually provide the tests and collect the revenues generated by their mandatory use.
It is precisely this continuity between validation, regulation and commercialization that gives consistency to the investigation and fuels the suspicion that the market operates in a closed framework, difficult to challenge from the outside.
The CSM case and the logic of the captive market
An example cited in the investigation is that of the Superior Council of Magistracy, which recurrently purchases certain psychological tests intended exclusively for internal use. In such situations, market competition becomes limited not only by the mandatory institutional demand, but also by the specialized nature of the instrument and the existence of a single supplier or a very small number of approved suppliers.
This means that, in certain segments, the selection is not necessarily made between substitutable products, but between solutions already validated in a restricted professional and administrative circuit.
Key actors in the system
The investigation also focuses on the profile of the main actors in the field.
Doru Dima emerges as one of the most important players in the area of psychological and human resources services, with an extensive portfolio of companies and a significant presence in public contracts.
Dragoș Iliescu , a professor at the University of Bucharest, is presented as one of the most influential figures in applied psychology in Romania, with international notoriety in the area of standardized testing and assessment. In parallel, his associated companies have a consistent presence in the test supply market.
Alin Florin Sava , from the West University of Timisoara, is presented as a relevant actor in both the academic and institutional areas, as well as in the commercial one, through the company Psiho Proiect.
Mircea Miclea , the founder of Cognitrom and former Minister of Education, is another major name in the field, with influence in the area of cognitive assessment and educational policies.
Also mentioned in the investigation is Anca Dobrean , associated with the clinical and educational instruments segment for children.
The fundamental question
The real stakes of this investigation are not just the financial size of the contracts, but the way the market is constructed. When demand is imposed by law, when supply is filtered by professional advice, and the relevant actors are simultaneously connected to the academic, regulatory, and commercial areas, the question arises whether we can still talk about a competitive market in the classical sense of the term.
For the state, the issue is one of efficiency and governance: is there enough real competition for public institutions to benefit from the best solutions at fair costs?
For the profession, the issue is one of autonomy and balance: how open is the system to new providers, new tools, and a real challenge to the status quo?
Conclusion
The SICAP data analyzed by the authors indicate a market of significant size, recurrently financed from public money and concentrated around a small core of companies and influential individuals. Beyond the numbers, the case raises sensitive issues for the Romanian state: competition, transparency, institutional integrity and the clear demarcation between regulation and commercial interest.
The investigation does not just provide an X-ray of a niche market, but opens a broader discussion about how functional monopolies are built in a public system where legal obligation and regulatory control can transform a profession into an extremely profitable business.
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