About CauseFinder

The next wave of Big Data and Artificial Intelligence (AI) will be centred on extracting deeper structure from observed systems. Built on the rapid development of existing Data and AI technologies, topics such as Multilevel Evolving Knowledge Graphs, Causal Reasoning, Explanation Based Modelling will result in much more efficient solutions than possible today.

The project aims at ground breaking results in theory, methodology and algorithms, especially in the fields of scalable multiresolution causality modelling, scalable probabilistic reasoning, evolving knowledge graph construction from diverse data sources and new insights into innovation ecosystem lifecycle management.

Project Duration

36 months

Project Budget

approx. 1.4 mil. Euro

Implementation

July 2023 – June 2026

Contact

office@causefinder.ase.ro

Mission & Objectives

The long-term perspective of the project lies in interconnection, model development, and understanding of all relevant aspects of the global innovation ecosystem, from the emergence of ideas to their potential implementation in business, as well as decision-making in research policy. The aim is to employ modern artificial intelligence (AI) techniques to support the modeling and analysis of the complex system of the global innovation lifecycle, with specialized approaches at the national level.

Innovation Knowledge Graph

Building an evolving knowledge graph from various data sources connected to a global model.

Causality

Constructing a probabilistic, multi-resolution causal structure of the observed world derived from data streams.

Probabilistic Reasoning

Developing scalable probabilistic reasoning that leverages the integration of knowledge graphs with multiple operators.

Representation Learning for Unsupervised Phenomena and Anomaly Detection

Using existing representation learning to enhance the grounding power of reasoning and analysis techniques for unsupervised phenomena and anomaly detection.

Use Case Validation

Validating the proposed techniques in the field of innovation management.

Our Team

Dumitru Roman
Dumitru Roman
Researcher
Alina Dima
Alina Dima
Researcher
Vasile Strat
Vasile Strat
Researcher
Adriana Davidescu
Adriana Davidescu
Researcher
Giani Gradinaru
Giani Gradinaru
Researcher
Marius Matei
Marius Matei
Researcher
Catalina Chinie
Catalina Chinie
Researcher
Stere Stamule
Stere Stamule
Researcher
Mihail Busu
Mihail Busu
Researcher
Mihai Gheorghe
Mihai Gheorghe
Researcher
Madalina Zurini
Madalina Zurini
Researcher
Cosmin Proscanu
Cosmin Proscanu
Researcher
Diana Agafitei
Diana Agafitei
Researcher
Iulia Ciurea
Iulia Ciurea
Researcher
Octavia Albu
Octavia Albu
Researcher
Tania Puia
Tania Puia
Researcher

Deliverables

Papers Web of Science

  1. Bușu, M., Staicu, G., Gheorghe, M., Prinz, E. and Fonseca, L.M., 2024. Analysing the effects of the business cycle on renewable energy consumption and sustainable development: Evidence from EU countries. Amfiteatru Economic, 26 (Special Issue No. 18), pp.1048–1064. https://doi.org/10.24818/EA/2024/S18/1048. 
  2. Birlan, I., Davidescu, A.A., Tita, C.-E. and Nae, T.M., 2025. Modeling regional ESG performance in the European Union: A partial least squares approach to sustainable economic systems. Mathematics, 13 (15), p.2337. https://doi.org/10.3390/math13152337. 
  3. Avram, A., Lungu, G.M., Avram, C.D., Popescu, L., Tobă, D. and Ciurea, I.C., 2025. Sustainability Reporting in the EU-27: The Impact of National ESG Ecosystems and Organizational Implications. Amfiteatru Economic, 27(70), pp. 957-972. https://doi.org/10.24818/EA/2025/70/957 
  4. Davidescu A.A., Lobonț O-R, Manta EM, Mihiț LD, Țăran A-M (2025) Crossing chasms: A PLS approach to EU public sector performance assessment. PLoS One 20(6): e0325994. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0325994
  5. Sorin Anagnoste, Alexandru-Victor Andrei, Vlad Bolovăneanu, Cosmin-Octavian Cepoi, Roxana Clodnitchi, Alexandru-Adrian Cramer, Robert-Adrian Grecu, Stefan Lessmann, Daniel Traian Pele, Alla Petukhina, Vasile Alecsandru Strat, The role of AI in (Re)Shaping energy Finance: A systematic literature review, Energy Strategy Reviews, Volume 61, 2025, 101833, ISSN 2211-467X, https://doi.org/10.1016/j.esr.2025.101833
  6. Novalija, I., Roman, D., Belotti, F., Alexiev, V., Rei, L., Avogadro, R., Khalilvandian, B., Bechev, B., Chinie, C.A., Ciurea, I., Brank, J., Udroiu, C., Soylu, A. and Palmonari, M., 2025. From code to concept: A semantic approach to AI innovation discovery in open source software repositories. IEEE Access. https://doi.org/10.1109/ACCESS.2025.3590135.
  7. Grigorescu, P.-C. and Ciurea, I.-C., 2025. Modelling inherent risk of data intensive technologies: Quantitatively-differentiated risk management framework proposal. Journal of Telecommunications and the Digital Economy, 13(1), pp.296–315. https://doi.org/10.18080/jtde.v13n1.1144. 

ISI Proceedings

  1. Matei, B.F., Grădinaru, G., Neagoe, I.E. (2025). The Evolution of Methodologies and Tools for Monitoring Sustainable Bioeconomy. In: Busu, M. (eds) Smart Solutions for a Sustainable Future. ICBE 2024. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-78179-7_12
  2. Davidescu, A.A., Agafiței, M.D., Strat, V.A. and Dima, A.M. Mapping the Landscape: A Bibliometric Analysis of Rating Agencies in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning. Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Vol. 18 (Issue 1), (2024) pp. 67-85. https://doi.org/10.2478/picbe-2024-0007
  3. Timiș Diana & Rotaru Cătălin-Laurențiu & Grădinaru Giani-Ionel, 2024. “A Causality Perspective: Investments in Green Energy Business vs. Conventional Business“, Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 18(1), pages 57-66.
  4. Grădinaru, G.I. and Maricuț, A.C. Spatial Analysis of Peri-Urban Areas of Bucharest in the Context of Big Data. Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Vol. 18 (Issue 1), (2024) pp. 27-42. https://doi.org/10.2478/picbe-2024-0004
  5. Neagoe, I.E. and Grădinaru, G. Technological Strategies for Reducing Food Waste. Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Vol. 18 (Issue 1), (2024) pp. 43-56. https://doi.org/10.2478/picbe-2024-0005
  6. Mirea, Bogdan, and Giani-Ionel Grădinaru. “The Business Value of Text Analysis and Topic Modeling: Evaluating Sentiment Shifts in Mobile Game Reviews after Updates” Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, vol. 19, no. 1, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 2025, pp. 1037-1050. https://doi.org/10.2478/picbe-2025-0082
  7. Rotaru, C.L., Grădinaru, G.I., Parusheva, S. and Zhelyazkova, S. Exploring Causality and Impact between Romanian Urban Real Estate Developing and Green Spaces. Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Vol. 19 (Issue 1), (2025) pp. 225-235. https://doi.org/10.2478/picbe-2025-0020
  8. Neagoe, I.E. and Grădinaru, G. Digital health defined by eHealth and mHealth: A bibliometric Analysis. Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Vol. 19 (Issue 1), (2025) pp. 201-215. https://doi.org/10.2478/picbe-2025-0018
  1. How Much is Horizon2020 Enhancing the Coherence of the East European Galaxy of  Universities?, Vasile Alecsandru Strat, Adriana Davidescu, Cosmin Proscanu, Diana Agafitei, Octavia Albu,  ICAS2024-Conference-Program.pdf Parallel Section 6
  2. Building a Knowledge Graph on Innovation in Horizon Europe Projects, Davidescu A.A., Strat V.A., Zurini M., Roman, D., RuleML+RR’24: Companion Proceedings of the 8th International Joint Conference on Rules and Reasoning, September 16-22, 2024, Bucharest, Romania, https://2024.declarativeai.net/events/ruleml-rr/accepted-papers
  3. AI Research Assistant, Gheorghe, M., Chinie, C., Roman, D., RuleML+RR’24: Companion Proceedings of the 8th International Joint Conference on Rules and Reasoning, September 16-22, 2024, Bucharest, Romania, https://2024.declarativeai.net/events/ruleml-rr/accepted-papers
  4. Causal Inference in the Innovation Lifecycle of AI Technologies for Agriculture, Gradinaru, G., Zurini, M., Matei, B.F., Petre, D.I., RuleML+RR’24: Companion Proceedings of the 8th International Joint Conference on Rules and Reasoning, September 16-22, 2024, Bucharest, Romania, https://2024.declarativeai.net/events/ruleml-rr/accepted-papers
  5. AI and HF econometric modelling tools to boost financial trading strategies and company performance, Matei, M., RuleML+RR’24: Companion Proceedings of the 8th International Joint Conference on Rules and Reasoning, September 16-22, 2024, Bucharest, Romania, https://2024.declarativeai.net/events/ruleml-rr/accepted-papers
  6. Identifying Urban Development Patterns by Local Spatial Autocorrelation in Europe. Implications for Common Urban Policies and Strategies, Gradinaru, G., Maricut, A.C., MedGU-24, Geo-Informatics and Remote Sensing section, 24-29 noiembrie, 2024, Barcelona, Spain, https://2024.medgu.org/index.php?p=program (T6-OS2)
  7. Assessing urban development model in Europe and North Africa using geospatial data, Maricut, A.C., Gradinaru, G., Strat, V.A., 12th International Geostatistics Conference, https://geostats2024.com/images/program/geostats_programme_final_withspecialsession.pdf
  8. Innovation Ecosystem and artificial intelligence: A bibliometric analysis, Gradinaru, G., Strat, V.A., Matei, M., Matei, B.F., Proscanu, C., Roman, D., 105th International Scientific Conference on Economic and Social Development – “Building Resilient Society”, 15-16 decembrie 2023, Zagreb, Croatia,  https://savearchive.zbw.eu/esstatistics/11159/632039?year=2024&month=10
  9. The Evolution of Methodologies and Tools for Monitoring Sustainable Bioeconomy. Matei, B.F., Grădinaru, G., Neagoe, I.E. (2025), In: Busu, M. (eds) Smart Solutions for a Sustainable Future. ICBE 2024. Springer Proceedings in Business and Economics. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-78179-7_12
  10. Mapping the Landscape: A Bibliometric Analysis of Rating Agencies in the Era of Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning, Davidescu, A.A., Agafiței, M.D., Strat, V.A. and Dima, A.M., Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Vol. 18 (Issue 1), (2024) pp. 67-85. https://doi.org/10.2478/picbe-2024-0007
  11. “A Causality Perspective: Investments in Green Energy Business vs. Conventional Business“, D. Timiș, C.L. Rotaru, G. Grădinaru, 2024, Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, Sciendo, vol. 18(1), pages 57-66.
  12. Spatial Analysis of Peri-Urban Areas of Bucharest in the Context of Big Data. Grădinaru, G.I. and Maricuț, A.C., Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Vol. 18 (Issue 1), (2024) pp. 27-42. https://doi.org/10.2478/picbe-2024-0004
  13. Technological Strategies for Reducing Food Waste, Neagoe, I.E. and Grădinaru, G. , Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Vol. 18 (Issue 1), (2024) pp. 43-56. https://doi.org/10.2478/picbe-2024-0005
  14. “The Business Value of Text Analysis and Topic Modeling: Evaluating Sentiment Shifts in Mobile Game Reviews after Updates“, Mirea, Bogdan, and Giani-Ionel Grădinaru , Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, vol. 19, no. 1, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, 2025, pp. 1037-1050. https://doi.org/10.2478/picbe-2025-0082
  15. Exploring Causality and Impact between Romanian Urban Real Estate Developing and Green Spaces, Rotaru, C.L., Grădinaru, G.I., Parusheva, S. and Zhelyazkova, S., Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Vol. 19 (Issue 1), (2025) pp. 225-235. https://doi.org/10.2478/picbe-2025-0020
  16. Digital health defined by eHealth and mHealth: A bibliometric analysis, Neagoe, I.E. and Grădinaru, G., Proceedings of the International Conference on Business Excellence, The Bucharest University of Economic Studies, Vol. 19 (Issue 1), (2025) pp. 201-215. https://doi.org/10.2478/picbe-2025-0018
  1. Opening Workshop – 11 septembrie 2023, ASE, sala Barbulescu, Piata Romana, nr. 6
  2. Workshop lansare Etapa 4 proiect CauseFinder – 17 iulie 2024, Piata Romana, nr. 6
  3. ICBE 2024 Minitrack CauseFinder: Causality in the Era of Big Data and AI
  4. ICBE 2025 Minitrack CauseFinder: Causality in the Era of Big Data and AI, https://bizexcellence.ro/causefinder-causality-in-the-era-of-big-data-and-ai/
  5. ICESS 2024 Session https://www.icess.ase.ro/about/minitracks/  
  6. ICDEc2024 – Exploring the Nexus of Digital and Sustainable Economies in Developing States, https://www.aten.tn/ICDEc2024/special-sessions.html 
  7. Declarative AI 2024 – Declarative AI 2024 16-22 septembrie 2024, https://2024.declarativeai.net/organization
  8. DSISS 2024 – 2024 Edition – datascience.ase.ro  
  9. ICESS 2025 Session https://www.icess.ase.ro/about/minitracks/ 
  10. DSISS 2025 – datascience.ase.ro 
  1. INSEAI – International Network for Knowledge and Comparative Socioeconomic Analysis of Informality INSEAI | Home (Adriana Ana Maria Davidescu, Diana Agafiței, Vasile Alecsandru Strat) Horizon Europe Project 101182756 — INSEAI 2023 REA.A – Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions & Support to Experts A.3 – MSCA Staff Exchanges, https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101182756
  2. MSCA Digital Finance Doctoral Network – The DIGITAL FINANCE Pathway to Industry and Academia – Home | MSCA Digital programul Horizon 2.1 – Marie Sklodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) sub topicul HORIZON-MSCA-2022-DN-01-01 – MSCA Doctoral Networks 2022, https://cordis.europa.eu/project/id/101119635  
  3. „ANTERO” a fost înscrisă în cadrul apelului european HORIZON-EIE-2024-CONNECT-02 în data de 19 septembrie 2024, având codul de înregistrare 101216220. Beneficiarul este reprezentat de consorțiul format din: UNIVERSITA DEGLI STUDI DI ROMA LA SAPIENZA – Italy (Coordonator), PANEPSTIMIO AIGAIOU – Greece (Partener), ACADEMIA DE STUDII ECONOMICE DIN BUCUREȘTI – Romania (Partener, reprezentată prin persoana de contact Stere Stamule), Helsinki Blockchain Center Oy – Finland (Partener), G-Gravity s.r.l. – Italy (Partener).
  4. „Intellectual asset management support for public research organisations, academic institutions and their spin-offs (CSA)” a fost înscrisă în cadrul apelului european HORIZON-CL4-2024-HUMAN-02 în data de 10 septembrie 2024, având codul de înregistrare 101206750. Beneficiarul este reprezentat de consorțiul format din: AIT AUSTRIAN INSTITUTE OF TECHNOLOGY GMBH – Austria (Coordonator) si 1- parteneri printre care ACADEMIA DE STUDII ECONOMICE DIN BUCUREȘTI – România (Partener, reprezentată prin Stere Stamule).
  5. „Empower Sustainable Mobility with Human-Like Intelligence Through AI-Driven Urban Digital Twins and Data Spaces” a fost înscrisă în cadrul apelului european HORIZON DUT în data de 14 noiembrie 2024, având codul de înregistrare F-DUT-2024-0014. Beneficiarul este reprezentat de consorțiul format din Sofia University, GATE Institute, Bulgaria, Coordonator si 7 parteneri printre care Bucharest University of Economic Studies (reprezentată prin persoana de contact Vasile Alecsandru Strat).
  6. “FutureMinds: Foresight & Innovation for Tomorrow’s Creative Leaders“ a fost înscris în cadrul programului EIT Culture & Creativity Education Call: EIT-labelled CPD courses în cadrul topicului Call for Education CPD courses 2025 of EIT Culture & Creativity, având codul de înregistrare 998405966. Beneficiarul este format din următorii participanți: ASE, Romania (Vasile Alecsandru Strat), Iceberg Plus SRL și Creative Industry Košice.
  7. “Youth and Young Women Entrepreneurship for Climate and Sustainability“ a fost înscris în cadrul programului EIT Culture & Creativity Education Call: EIT-labelled CPD courses în cadrul topicului Call for Education CPD courses 2025 of EIT Culture & Creativity, având codul de înregistrare 998405966_2. Beneficiarul este format din următorii participanți: ASE, Romania (Stere Stamule), Future Holders Israel și Sparkco Israel.
  1. CoEx – 42 PN-IV-P6-6.1-CoEx-2024-0085 / 1. Digitalizare, industrie și spațiu / 1.2. Economie atractivă la nivel regional și global, sigură și dinamică, agilă din punct de vedere al datelor  / Dezvoltare Durabilă prin formarea de Comunități Inteligente în jurul Ecosistemelor Deschise de Date / Virgil Baran Universitatea Bucuresti /  Academia de Studii Economice (Vasile Alecsandru Strat, Cosmin Proșcanu și Dumitru Roman au făcut parte din echipa care a depus proiectul); Institutul Național de Cercetare-Dezvoltare pentru Fizica și Inginerie Nucleara “Horia Hulubei” – IFIN – HH; Institutul Național de Cercetare-dezvoltare pentru Fizica Pamantului – INCDFP RA; Institutul de Stiinte Spatiale-filiala INFLPR; Institutul Național de Cercetare-Dezvoltare Pentru Fizica Materialelor Bucuresti RA; Universitatea de Medicina si Farmacie “Carol Davila”
  2. CoEx – 83 PN-IV-P6-6.1-CoEx-2024-0170 2. Climă, energie și mobilitate /  2.3. Către o mobilitate neutră și reziliență din punct de vedere climatic și prietenoasă cu mediul/ Ecosistem Integrat și Inteligent de Mobilitate pentru Dezvoltare Sustenabilă / Adriana Davidescu (Mihai Gheorghe, Giani Gradinaru, Diana Agafiței) / Academia de Studii Economice București / Institutul Național de Cercetare Științifică în Domeniul Muncii și Protecției Sociale – INCSMPS; Universitatea Tehnica de Constructii Bucuresti; Universitatea Alexandru Ioan Cuza Iași; Universitatea din Craiova; Universitatea din Oradea; Universitatea de Vest Timișoara
  3. „Simulatorul de Afaceri Digital Twin: Integrarea Inteligenței Artificiale pentru alinierea afacerilor la taxonomia verde a Uniunii Europene” a fost înscrisă în cadrul apelului național PTE 2024, având codul de înregistrare PN-IV-P7-7.1-PTE-2024-0587. Beneficiarii sunt reprezentați de Academia de Studii Economice din București și Assist Software SRL. Scopul principal al proiectului este de a ajuta afacerile să navigheze peisajul în continuă schimbare al cerințelor de sustenabilitate, oferindu-le instrumente avansate pentru a anticipa și a se alinia la directivele taxonomiei verzi. Prin facilitarea unei tranziții fluide către operațiuni mai ecologice, proiectul își propune să contribuie la crearea unei economii europene mai verzi și mai reziliente
  4. MA’AT – Modelul Autonom de Asistență Textuală, cod SMIS 330941 / Programul Creștere Inteligentă, Digitalizare și Instrumente Financiare 2021-2027 / Prioritatea: P1.Susținerea și promovarea unui ecosistem de CDI atractiv și competitiv în România / Acțiunea: 1.1 Sprijin pentru sectorul privat și pentru colaborarea între actorii din sistemul public și mediul de afaceri în domeniul CDI / Apel de proiecte nr: PCIDIF/159/PCIDIF_P1/OP1/RSO1.1/PCIDIF_A1 / Denumire apel proiecte: Sprijin pentru proiecte de CDI pentru consorții tematice între  parteneri publici privați / Academia de Studii Economice este partenerul public, organizație de cercetare și directorul proiectului în ASE este Vasile Alecsandru STRAT)
  5. „Ecosistem Integrat și Inteligent de Mobilitate pentru Dezvoltare Sustenabilă (INbound)” a fost înscrisă în cadrul apelului național PN-IV-PRO-CoEx-2024-1 în data de 13 mai 2024, având codul de înregistrare PN-IV-P6-6.1-CoEx-2024-0170. Beneficiarul este reprezentat de consorțiul format din coordonator – Academia de Studii Economice din București, partener 1 – Institutul Național de Cercetare Științifică în Domeniul Muncii și Protecției Sociale, partener 2 – Universitatea Tehnică de Construcții București, partener 3 – Universitatea „Alexandru Ioan Cuza” din Iași, partener 4 – Universitatea din Craiova, partener 5 – Universitatea din Oradea, partener 6 – Universitatea de Vest din Timișoara
  6. „TechBridge – Conectăm Cercetarea cu Inovația” a fost înscrisă în cadrul apelului național Festival de Transfer Tehnologic 2024 în data de 27 septembrie 2024, având codul de înregistrare PN-IV-P7-7.4-FTT-2024-0059. Beneficiarul este reprezentat de consorțiul format din coordonator – Academia de Studii Economice din București, partener 1 – Universitatea Tehnică de Construcții București, partener 2 – Universitatea din Oradea, partener 3 – Institutul Național de Cercetare Științifică în Domeniul Muncii și Protecției Sociale, partener 4 – Assist Software SRL
 
 
 

CAUSEFINDER

Contact

Bucharest University of Economic Studies

https://fondurieuropene.ase.ro/pnrr/

office@causefinder.ase.ro