Novadays is conducting multidisciplinary research on the impact of AI and big data on public policy

The integration of artificial intelligence and big data analysis into public administration and management is a process that Spain has recently embraced, and one that is advancing more quickly in rhetoric than in the available evidence.

This gap between expectations and reality calls for a rigorous response: we need not only to understand how these technologies can improve public policy at every stage, but also to anticipate their risks, identify the biases they generate, and establish a framework of safeguards that ensures their legitimate and transparent use in government. Only then can we move from promises to practical, scalable solutions in the public sector.

In this context, Novadays is coordinating the multidisciplinary research project “Impact of Artificial Intelligence and Big Data on the Design and Analysis of Public Policies,” funded by the State Research Agency through its call for public-private partnership projects, under the Ministry of Science, Innovation, and Universities, and co-funded by the European Union. The total budget for the project is 1,058,064.77 million euros.

The three-year project brings together a consortium led by Novadays as the coordinating entity, along with the Complutense University of Madrid, San Pablo CEU University, the University of Valencia, and the IMDEA Software Institute, with teams from seven disciplines: Law, Economics, Political Science, Sociology, Statistics, Mathematics, and Computer Engineering. This project is key to:

• Analyze the entire public policy cycle—assessment, formulation, implementation, and evaluation—rather than an isolated stage, because the ability to integrate information throughout the cycle is what makes it possible to pursue more transformative policies.
• Anticipate the biases that arise in data, algorithms, and the teams that develop them, and that disproportionately affect low-income populations.
• Develop an Algorithmic Guarantee Program for Public Administrations that establishes conditions for transparency, respect for fundamental rights, and citizen participation in the public use of AI.
• Place citizens’ individual needs at the center of public service design and involve them in its co-creation.

The research is structured around three objectives: 1) to leverage AI and big data to improve the design and analysis of public policies throughout their entire cycle; 2) to analyze the risks, biases, and trust issues that arise in their implementation; and 3) to develop the necessary legal response. All of this is done with a single goal in mind: to gain a deeper understanding of the public sector and its real needs, so that the results can be applied at the local, regional, national, and European levels.

Notable expected outcomes include several publications in national and international academic journals, three books, participation in seminars and conferences, and models that can be applied to the development of technological tools and solutions that integrate AI and Big Data into public administration.

This research strengthens our position as a partner to government agencies in projects that bring together scientific knowledge, disruptive technology, and public-private partnerships.