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Project

Automation of decisions in social assistance

In the welfare state, decisions are increasingly being automated. In this project, we examine the extent to which automation of social assistance benefits leads to better outcomes for the most vulnerable clients. We examine whether, and under what conditions, automated decision-making leads to more equal, accurate, and transparent decisions regarding the social assistance benefit compared to procedures used today. We evaluate existing automated processes, develop new automated applications that can improve the social assistance benefit application process, and examine how automated processes change the behavior and decisions of professionals and to what extent it affects their ability to engage responsively with clients. In collaboration with relevant partners, we develop a valorization strategy that will greatly improve the social assistance benefit application process in Belgium and abroad.

Date:1 Nov 2022 →  Today
Keywords:social assistance, automatisation, algorithmic decision-making, poverty, non-take up, social policy, public policy
Disciplines:Counselling, welfare and community services, Social policy, Public policy, Research, science and technology policy
Project type:PhD project