The usual and rather linear functioning of a country’s economic and social structures is mandatory for setting stable grounds towards wellbeing. However, disruptions may appear in the ordinary flow of a community and produce a new order of action, prompting social ecosystems to focus on core operations. The COVID-19 pandemic, that has profoundly affected humanity in 2020 on multiple channels, has imposed a novel strategic thinking both for individuals and businesses, demanding an enhanced societal approach more than ever. Faced with such a major crisis, known in literature as a “black swan” event, social enterprises must show developed capabilities, flexibility and proactivity. Given the inaccurate evidence of social enterprises activating in Romania and of the limited studies focusing on their risk-response behavior, the paper explores the impact triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic over social entrepreneurship and in particular on Romanian social enterprises. To investigate the ability of these entities to successfully cope with this groundbreaking challenge, the paper firstly performs a literature review analysis on the reorganization of the social and economic sphere, in light of the pandemic. Furthermore, it approaches the challenges posed by the pandemic on traditional and social entrepreneurship, together with their reshaping of organizational resilience. Building on literature review and on document analysis of reports regarding essential actions to be embraced to maintain stability during the COVID-19 crisis, issued by renowned consultancy companies and organizations supporting social enterprises, the paper formulates an instrument for mapping the ability of Romanian social enterprises to overcome the pandemic threats.

Developmental gaps between urban and rural areas are a trademark of nowadays times, accelerated by economic models that ensure advancement chances mostly to urban hubs, rather than being focused on rural life. The Sustainable Development Goals issued by the United Nations and their desired implementation by 2030 is a first guarantee for an equitable and inclusive societal and economic framework. Currently, Romania lacks rural investments and a forward-looking attitude is much needed to reach the sustainability objectives. In addition, smart rural development, which fosters knowledge, innovation and R&D at village level is a viable tool in laying the groundwork for rural welfare, in response to issues such as migration from rural to urban, demographic ageing and poverty. Despite the multitude of programs tackling rural development at EU scale, Romania appears to perform poorly, even if its population is highly ruralized. In light of these matters, the paper conducts literature review analysis on smart rural development and sustainable development in Romania, to highlight the current performance of Romanian villages in this concern. Using literature and document analysis of Horizon 2020 programs on rural development conducted in the European Union, the aim is to identify the specific points to be addressed by decision makers in order for sustainable advancement of Romanian villages to be further enhanced.