Project

Digital Governance and Responsible Artificial Intelligence in Public Administration: transparency, traceability and evidence-based decision-making

How can principles, criteria and instruments of digital governance and responsible artificial intelligence strengthen transparency, traceability and evidence-based decision-making in public administration?

Public administration has been expanding its use of data, digital platforms and algorithmic systems in the formulation, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of public policies. These technologies can strengthen the state's analytical capacity, but they bring challenges of transparency, traceability, explainability and accountability, especially when decisions that affect citizens depend on criteria that they cannot understand, verify or contest.

The project investigates how principles, criteria and instruments of digital governance and responsible AI can support transparency, traceability and evidence-based decision-making. The aim is to systematise conceptual and methodological guidelines adaptable to different sectors, such as education, health, social assistance and budget management.

Status
Ongoing
Period
since
Type
Umbrella project
Research lines
Digital Governance, Public Data and Evidence-Based State Action and Responsible Artificial Intelligence, Algorithmic Accountability and Rights
Funder or instrument
Research project in the coordinator's Plano Global de Atividades (overall plan of academic activities) at UNESP (2026-2028)

Method

Qualitative, exploratory, descriptive and analytical research, in four partially overlapping stages: (1) literature review and systematisation, in months 1 to 9; (2) documentary and regulatory analysis of laws, guides, reports and digital government guidelines, in months 7 to 18; (3) bounded case studies of government platforms, indicator dashboards, open data initiatives and decision support systems, in months 16 to 28; (4) systematisation of guidelines and dissemination, in months 26 to 36. Activities with human participants, if any, are first reviewed by a Research Ethics Committee (Comitê de Ética em Pesquisa).

Outputs and results

Interdisciplinary theoretical framework; comparative table of principles, requirements and regulatory gaps; case reports; guidelines for assessing and improving digital governance and the responsible use of AI in public contexts; articles and teaching support materials. Possible further developments: diagnostic instruments, assessment matrices, training materials and simple prototypes.

Team

Updated on