In the fast-paced world of innovation, access to the right data can make or break a strategy. When organizations struggle to unlock valuable insights hidden in complex data streams, it often leads to missed opportunities and slow decision-making. However, Oana Catalina Tache, Co-Founder of Synesis Partners, has made it her mission to bridge that gap. With a keen eye for uncovering and navigating intricate data pathways, she empowers businesses to access and leverage critical information seamlessly. Oana’s ability to simplify the process of data access and transform it into actionable insights has been a game-changer for her clients. Through her leadership, Synesis Partners has become synonymous with turning complexity into clarity, helping companies stay ahead of the curve and embrace change as an opportunity.
The Journey of Oana
Oana is the co-founder and managing partner of Synesis Partners, a consultancy firm based in Romania. Her decision to enter the consultancy field was driven by a desire to apply her management expertise to help organizations access financial resources for sustainable development. After completing her studies, Oana and her business partner, Florin, recognized a significant gap in consultancy services in Eastern Europe. They discovered that many public and private organizations were struggling to access and effectively utilize available opportunities. To address this, they co-founded Synesis Partners, a company focused on delivering strategic, data-driven solutions tailored to the unique needs of their clients.
Oana’s motivation in this sector is rooted in her commitment to making a lasting economic and social impact. Beyond securing funding, she is dedicated to ensuring that the projects her company supports create sustainable value for both organizations and the communities they serve. Initially, her focus at Synesis Partners was to help organizations navigate the complexities of securing European funding more efficiently. However, as the company grew, their vision evolved to encompass a broader range of services, including project management, strategic consulting, and sustainability-focused solutions.
Today, Synesis Partners works on large-scale initiatives across various sectors, including education, healthcare, culture, tourism, environment, and energy. One of their significant achievements has been contributing to national strategies, such as Romania’s Open Government Strategy and the Urban Regeneration Strategy for the Danube Region, developed in collaboration with the Ministry of Development. Additionally, the company has increasingly been involved in projects that integrate innovation, digitalization, and green technologies.
As Synesis Partners continues to grow, so does its international presence. Oana’s ambition is to expand their reach further at the European level, engaging in cross-border projects and partnerships that drive long-term, impactful change.
Shaping Data-Driven Solutions
Oana’s approach to consulting and project management was profoundly shaped by her involvement in the Study on Economic Sectors with Competitiveness Potential in the North-East Region for 2021-2027. This comprehensive research project aimed at identifying key investment areas for SMEs and required meticulous data analysis, extensive stakeholder consultations, and strategic planning. Leading this large-scale project provided Oana with several invaluable insights that now underpin her methodology in every consultancy engagement.
A key takeaway from the project was the importance of structured planning and prioritization. Managing a vast amount of statistical data and coordinating a diverse team emphasized the need for clear timelines, well-defined responsibilities, and precise methodologies. This organized approach has become central to her work, ensuring that all projects are executed efficiently and effectively.
Leading a multidisciplinary team, including economists, data analysts, and policy experts, also allowed Oana to refine her leadership and delegation skills. Assigning tasks based on expertise and fostering smooth communication workflows became a critical focus, improving team productivity and outcomes. This experience enhanced her ability to manage diverse teams and maintain a collaborative atmosphere, ensuring all voices were heard and valued.
The project also reinforced Oana’s commitment to data-driven decision-making. She gained deep experience in selecting and interpreting economic indicators, integrating official data sources, and validating findings through stakeholder consultations, including three regional focus groups. These elements of the project solidified her belief that every recommendation should be grounded in concrete, verifiable data, ensuring that solutions are both reliable and actionable.
Another key lesson from the study was the importance of adaptability in managing risks. When faced with challenges such as inconsistent data availability, Oana’s team adjusted their methodology and innovatively solved problems to ensure the study remained accurate and relevant. This experience highlighted the need for flexibility and continuous strategy adjustments in dynamic environments, an approach Oana now integrates into all her consulting work.
This project also transformed Oana’s perspective on strategic planning, data analysis, stakeholder engagement, and risk management. These insights are integral to her current consultancy approach, where she combines both quantitative and qualitative research methodologies to ensure projects are grounded in real-world conditions. From analyzing key economic indicators to conducting in-depth stakeholder interviews, her methodology provides clients with data-driven, evidence-based, and contextually relevant solutions. Whether working on smart city strategies, public administration modernization, or social service access, Oana’s commitment to rigorous research and stakeholder collaboration ensures that every project delivers tangible, long-term results.
Strategic Consulting for Entrepreneurial Success
From Oana’s experience as a trainer and coach, she has identified that the most common challenges in project management are poor planning, ineffective communication, and inadequate risk management—each of which can significantly hinder project success.
One of the most prevalent issues is insufficient planning. Unclear objectives, unrealistic deadlines, and misallocation of resources often lead to delays and inefficiencies. To address this, Oana emphasizes the importance of clear deliverables, realistic timelines, and structured resource allocation. She advocates for the use of project management tools to track progress and ensure accountability throughout the project lifecycle.
Another challenge is ineffective communication within teams. Misaligned expectations and a lack of clarity can cause delays and conflicts. Oana promotes assertive communication techniques, structured meetings, and collaboration platforms that enhance transparency and foster alignment. This approach ensures that all team members are on the same page and can contribute effectively toward project goals.
Risk management is equally crucial, as unforeseen internal or external factors can derail a project. Oana encourages the use of risk assessment matrices and proactive mitigation strategies to help teams anticipate potential challenges and address them before they escalate. This structured approach allows teams to stay ahead of risks and minimize their impact on the project’s success.
By tackling these challenges with a combination of structured planning, clear communication, and proactive risk management, Oana ensures that projects remain predictable, efficient, and successful.
Oana’s approach to consultancy in entrepreneurship and innovation management goes beyond technical expertise. She focuses on strategic thinking, adaptability, and the ability to transform ideas into actionable, high-impact solutions. What sets her apart as a consultant is her commitment to a strategic, impact-driven approach. She doesn’t provide generic advice but deeply analyzes market conditions and client needs to develop tailored strategies that are both feasible and impactful.
In addition to her strategic mindset, Oana emphasizes data-driven decision-making. Rather than relying on assumptions, she uses concrete economic analysis, industry-specific data, and rigorous research methodologies to craft well-founded recommendations. This ensures that her advice is grounded in reality and can be backed up with reliable data.
Adaptability is another key strength in Oana’s approach. In the fast-evolving world of entrepreneurship and innovation, uncertainty is constant. Oana helps her clients not only respond to change but also anticipate and transform challenges into opportunities. Her flexibility allows her to provide solutions that evolve with the market and her clients’ changing needs.
Strong communication and influence are also at the core of Oana’s consultancy style. While technical expertise is valuable, she understands that inspiring teams, aligning stakeholders, and building consensus are essential for achieving meaningful impact. Through her clear communication, she ensures that all team members and clients are engaged and committed to a shared vision.
Lastly, Oana’s deep business understanding and empathy for entrepreneurs set her apart. Consulting isn’t just about theoretical frameworks; it’s about grasping the real-world challenges that entrepreneurs face—whether it’s managing financial constraints or scaling a business. By offering practical, results-oriented solutions, Oana helps her clients overcome obstacles and create lasting success.
By combining these essential qualities, Oana moves from being a mere advisor to a true partner in her clients’ journeys, helping them navigate the complexities of entrepreneurship and innovation with confidence and clarity.
Driving Impactful Change
A consulting collaboration is considered effective when it not only meets its established objectives but also delivers tangible, long-term impact for the client. Success isn’t solely measured by delivering the project as planned but by the usefulness of the solutions implemented and their sustainability over time. In Oana Catalina Tache’s approach, success is gauged through increased operational efficiency, optimized processes, and improved decision-making capabilities. For instance, in a project focused on developing a strategic document, success can be reflected in how well it aligns with national priorities and the extent to which its recommendations are implemented.
Another key measure of success is client satisfaction. The client’s perception of the added value provided by the consultancy is vital. Concrete parameters such as the success rate of submitted funding applications, the compliance level of documentation, and the number of stakeholders consulted during strategic projects are other tangible indicators of success.
Oana’s consulting work spans both the public and private sectors, each presenting unique challenges. The public sector, with its more structured flow of information, tends to be more predictable. However, the private sector often presents difficulties, particularly in communication and data access. A concrete example of this came when Oana encountered significant delays due to a lack of timely responses to requests for essential information. The lack of access to this data disrupted the project’s progress, highlighting the importance of data collection timing.
This challenge led Oana to refine her approach. She implemented a more proactive data collection process, requesting key information early in the collaboration and establishing periodic follow-up mechanisms to ensure smoother communication. Additionally, she adjusted the project planning to stagger the data collection process, avoiding last-minute bottlenecks. These lessons made her more attuned to the risks of poor communication and more proactive in managing client interactions, ensuring greater efficiency in future projects.
In managing projects with tight budgets and time constraints, Oana encourages innovation while maintaining a balance with available resources. To achieve this, she focuses on three main strategies:
- Creating an Innovative Environment: Oana fosters an open, creative atmosphere where team members feel encouraged to share new ideas. Structured brainstorming sessions and feedback loops are essential, as is cultivating a culture where controlled experimentation is part of the process, helping to generate breakthrough solutions.
- Prioritizing High-Impact, Low-Cost Solutions: In projects with limited resources, Oana emphasizes finding the most cost-effective solutions that deliver the most value. This approach ensures that creativity is channeled efficiently toward generating solutions that make the biggest difference within the constraints.
- Implementing Efficient Methodologies: Oana uses agile approaches that enable iterative deliveries and quick adjustments based on ongoing feedback. This methodology helps the team stay motivated, adapt quickly, and continue innovating without compromising the project’s core objectives.
By balancing innovation, efficiency, and available resources, Oana ensures that her consulting projects not only deliver results but also foster continuous improvement and creativity within her teams.
Approach to Effective Consulting and Project Management
For Oana, being a consultant means constantly learning to adapt to rapid market changes and providing relevant solutions to clients. In an environment where technologies, regulations, and economic trends are continuously evolving, she views continuous learning as not just a necessity but a key differentiator.
To ensure her professional growth, Oana stays up-to-date with the latest trends and best practices in her field by attending conferences, events, and engaging in knowledge exchanges with other experts. By connecting with professionals from diverse industries, she gains new perspectives and identifies innovative solutions for her clients’ projects.
When working with clients, Oana encourages them to embrace continuous learning, not by providing ready-made solutions, but by actively involving them in the process. She takes the time to explain the rationale behind her recommendations and how they can apply them long-term, helping clients become more autonomous in their strategic decision-making. Oana also equips her clients with practical tools, case studies, and best practices, enabling them to refine their approach and strengthen their resilience in the face of change.
Differences in vision and expectations between a consultant and the client are inevitable, but Oana believes the way they are managed determines whether the collaboration is productive or leads to a deadlock. Her approach in such situations is grounded in open communication, clear goal-setting, and data-driven decision-making.
At the start of a project, Oana collaborates with the client to develop a work plan that ensures all aspects are defined from the outset. Throughout the project, she continually aligns her proposed solutions with the client’s needs, offering transparent explanations about what is feasible and what is not.
When misunderstandings arise, Oana’s first step is to understand the client’s perspective. She organizes clarification meetings, giving the client the opportunity to express their concerns while she explains the reasoning behind her proposed solutions. Oana strives to find common ground and adjust the strategy when necessary, without compromising the quality of the outcomes.
If the client’s vision differs significantly from what Oana believes to be sustainable, she relies on concrete data, best practices, and case studies to demonstrate the impact of alternative solutions. This fact-based approach helps clients make informed decisions and reduces resistance to change. When differences are substantial, Oana proposes alternative options that address both the client’s needs and the principles of effective consulting, with the goal of building a viable solution rather than imposing a singular point of view.
Project management consulting is rapidly evolving, and Oana understands that staying relevant means embracing new technologies, adapting to shifting priorities, and responding to emerging market demands. From her perspective, four major trends are shaping the future of the field: digitalization, sustainability, modern work methodologies, and internationalization.
Digitalization and automation are no longer optional but fundamental to how work is conducted. Clients expect fast, data-driven solutions, and AI-driven project management tools are transforming how teams collaborate and make decisions. At Synesis Partners, Oana integrates business intelligence and advanced data analytics to provide clients with precise, strategic insights. She also utilizes digital platforms to streamline collaboration, improve efficiency, and ensure projects stay on track.
Sustainability is another major shift, especially with new regulations and European funding priorities placing ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance) principles at the forefront. Organizations can no longer afford to treat sustainability as a separate initiative; it must be embedded in their overall strategy. That’s why Oana ensures her projects align with long-term economic, social, and environmental impact goals, helping businesses meet regulatory requirements while creating measurable, meaningful change.
The way problem-solving is approached is also evolving. More companies are moving away from rigid, traditional models and embracing Agile, Lean, and Design Thinking methodologies. Flexibility is key, and at Synesis Partners, Oana incorporates these principles to create adaptable, high-impact solutions that are easy to implement and evolve over time.
Lastly, internationalization is becoming increasingly important in consulting. Companies are seeking expertise that transcends borders, and Oana has noticed a growing demand for firms that understand international funding landscapes, cross-border partnerships, and global best practices. This is why Synesis Partners is expanding its presence beyond Romania, building strategic collaborations that allow them to bring their expertise to a wider, more diverse audience.
