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Better Regulation: Impact Assessments, Evaluations, and Related Tools
AI in Policymaking: A Practical Guide for EU Public Officials
Learn how to use AI confidently and critically across the policymaking cycle, from gathering evidence and analysing information to drafting policy documents and communicating with decision-makers.
Artificial intelligence is reshaping how public administrations gather evidence, analyse information, design policy options, and communicate with decision-makers. For most policymakers, the challenge is not understanding AI in the abstract. It is knowing how and when to use it effectively, responsibly, and critically in their everyday work.
This intensive three-day course provides a structured, practical introduction to AI across the policymaking cycle. Grounded in the EU Better Regulation framework, it guides participants through the principal phases of the policy cycle: preparation, adoption, implementation, and application. It demonstrates how AI can enhance the analytical capabilities policymakers draw upon at each stage, from finding and gathering evidence, to analysing information, developing policy options, drafting documents, and communicating findings to decision-makers.
The course approaches AI not as a technical subject but as a set of capabilities that can augment human expertise and judgement, while requiring critical oversight and responsible use. Participants also gain awareness of more advanced developments, including computational applications such as prediction, simulation, and detection, and emerging agentic AI systems.
Throughout, conceptual grounding is balanced with hands-on practice. Participants work with realistic policy scenarios, including the analysis of consultation datasets and the drafting of policy briefs, always applying critical review of AI-generated outputs.
What will you learn
- The principles of trustworthy and responsible AI use within European legal, ethical, and governance frameworks
- How to apply AI to evidence gathering: identifying, collecting, and organising evidence from legislation, research, consultations, and open data, while triangulating sources and minimising bias
- How to use AI for analytical tasks: synthesis, stakeholder analysis, consultation analysis, and regulatory gap detection, with attention to checking outputs for consistency and factual accuracy
- How to use AI to support policy design, drafting, and communication: from options papers and briefing notes to executive summaries tailored to senior audiences
- What computational AI applications such as prediction, simulation, and detection can offer policymakers, and what risks they entail
- How to critically evaluate AI outputs and maintain human judgement at the centre of policymaking
Course methodology
This three-day course is led by experts with extensive research and practical experience in AI and policymaking in the EU context. The course combines interactive lectures, demonstrations, realistic case studies, and hands-on workshops.
Practical workshops on Days 2 and 3 cover the full analytical and communication cycle: gathering and analysing evidence, designing policy options, and producing AI-assisted policy documents. These workshops are explicitly designed to build participants’ capacity to minimise bias, triangulate evidence sources, and critically interrogate AI-generated outputs before use.
The course also includes a forward-looking information session on computational AI and agentic systems, ensuring participants leave with both practical skills and strategic awareness of where AI in government is heading.
This course is led by experts who have extensive research and practical experience in AI and policymaking in the EU context and beyond. By the end of the course you will be able to:
- Use AI tools confidently and critically across the policy cycle, from evidence gathering to communicating with decision-makers
- Identify where AI adds genuine value in your work and where human judgement must take precedence
- Apply responsible and trustworthy AI use within your organisation’s legal and governance framework
- Critically evaluate AI-generated outputs for accuracy, bias, and fitness for purpose, and apply triangulation techniques to strengthen your analysis
- Commission or evaluate AI-based tools and systems with greater confidence and clarity
You will be given the slides as well as additional learning material and online resources to help you apply your new knowledge and skills to your work.
This course on AI in Policymaking is one of the courses we offer in the area of Better Regulation and Digital Government.
Are you also interested in taking a different course in the area of Better Regulation? Please click below:
This course is designed for public officials, policy analysts, and advisors working in government or parliamentary institutions in EU Member States or other countries where evidence-informed policymaking is a priority. It is particularly relevant for:
- Policy officers and senior executives involved in designing or managing policy processes
- Policy analysts and advisors working across the policymaking cycle
- Legal advisors and legislative drafters working in government or parliamentary institutions
- Staff working in Better Regulation units, impact assessment bodies, or simplification initiatives
- Public sector consultants and economists advising governments on policy design and regulatory reform
Project number: 2620306
Course venue
European Institute of Public Administration (EIPA)
O.L. Vrouweplein 22
6211 HE, Maastricht
The Netherlands
Senior Project Officer
Ms Nancy Vermeulen
Tel: +31 43 32 96 212
n.vermeulen@eipa.eu
Fee
The fee includes documentation, refreshments, and lunches. Accommodation and travel costs are at the expense of the participants or their administration.
Discounts
EIPA member fee
EIPA offers a discount to all civil servants working for one of EIPA’s supporting countries, and civil servants working for an EU institution, body or agency.
Who are the supporting countries?
Civil servants coming from the following EIPA supporting countries are entitled to get the reduced fee: Austria, Belgium, Bulgaria, Cyprus, Denmark, Finland, France, Germany, Greece, Hungary, Ireland, Italy, Luxembourg, Malta, the Netherlands, Norway, Poland, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Sweden.
For all other participants, the regular fee applies.
Early bird discount
EIPA offers 10% off on registrations made eight weeks or more before the start of a course. The early bird discount is not cumulative with other discounts or promo codes, except for the EIPA member fee.
Loyalty coupon
As a token of appreciation, we offer all our participants a 10% loyalty coupon for one of our future courses. The offer can be shared with colleagues and relevant networks. The coupon will expire one year after its release. This discount is not cumulative with other discounts, except for the EIPA member fee.
Meals
Dietary preferences can be indicated on the registration form.
Hotels
EIPA has a special price arrangement with a few hotels. The hotels are within walking distance from EIPA. Payment is to be made directly and personally to the hotel upon checking out.
- Derlon If you wish to take advantage of this special price, please click on the hotel name to book directly using the link
info@derlon.com
+31 (0)43 321 67 70 - Townhouse If you wish to take advantage of the special price, use the word ‘EIPA’ in the promotion code field
info@townhousehotels.nl
+31 (0)43 323 30 90 - Mabi If you wish to take advantage of the special price, use the word ‘EIPA’ in the promotion code field
info@hotelmabi.nl
+31 (0)43 351 44 44 - Kaboom Hotel If you wish to take advantage of the special price, use the word ‘EIPA’ in the promotion code field
info@kaboomhotel.nl
+31 (0)43 325 33 40 - Leonardo Boutique Hotel
reservations.maastrichtcitycenter@leonardo-hotels.nl - The Social Hub If you wish to take advantage of the special price, use the word ‘EIPA2026’ in the promotion code field
Confirmation
Confirmation of registration will be forwarded to participants on receipt of the completed online registration form.
Payment
Prior payment is a condition for participation.
Cancellation policy
For administrative reasons you will be charged €150 for cancellations received within 15 days before the activity begins. There is no charge for qualified substitute participants.
EIPA reserves the right to cancel the activity up to 2 weeks before the starting date. In that case, registration fees received will be fully reimbursed. EIPA accepts no responsibility for any costs incurred (travel, accommodation, etc.).
A few days before the start of the course you will receive the log-in details for accessing the course materials. You can log in here.
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Our experts
Programme
| 09.00 | Welcome and Introduction Miranda Lovell-Prescod, Senior Research Officer, EIPA This opening session welcomes participants to the course and introduces the objectives, structure, and methodology of the three-day programme. Participants introduce themselves, share their experience of using artificial intelligence within policymaking or public administration, and discuss their expectations for the course. A short interactive poll (e.g. Slido) assesses participants’ familiarity with AI technologies, their confidence in using AI to support policymaking tasks, and the challenges they currently face. Capability: Orientation and AI Literacy Guiding question: What do participants already know, and what do they hope to achieve? |
| 09.15 | Session 1: AI Fundamentals for Policymaking (Maastricht University Professor, TBC) This session introduces the foundations of artificial intelligence and explores its growing relevance for evidence-informed policymaking. Participants examine traditional machine learning, predictive AI, generative AI, retrieval-augmented generation (RAG), and emerging agentic AI systems. The session explores the capabilities, strengths, and limitations of these approaches alongside practical examples from European public administrations. Throughout the session, emphasis is placed on understanding AI as a tool that augments human expertise and judgement rather than replacing policymakers. Capability: AI Literacy Guiding question: What is AI, and what can it realistically contribute to policymaking? |
| 10.15 | Session 2: Putting AI to Work Across the EU Policy Cycle Miranda Lovell-Prescod The session opens by walking participants through the European Union’s Better Regulation framework, examining how artificial intelligence can enhance the analytical capabilities required at each stage of the policymaking process. Participants explore the principal phases of the Better Regulation policy cycle such as preparation, adoption, implementation, and application, each of which draws on a range of policy tools such as impact assessments, stakeholder consultations, and evaluations. These tools in turn involve core activities including problem definition, evidence gathering, and drafting that recur across all phases of the cycle.Building on this foundation, the session introduces a capability-based perspective, demonstrating how policymakers repeatedly draw upon capabilities such as finding evidence, understanding information, analysing data, developing policy options, testing proposals, and communicating findings throughout the policy cycle. Capability: Understanding the AI Capability Framework Guiding question: Where can AI support policymaking, and which capabilities are required throughout the policy cycle? |
| 11.00 | Coffee Break (30 minutes) |
| 11.30 | Session 3: How to ensure Trustworthy AI in Public Administration (EU AI Office, TBC) This session explores the principles underpinning trustworthy AI within the public sector and examines how governments can adopt AI while maintaining public trust, democratic legitimacy, and good administration. Participants examine the evolution of the European Commission’s Ethics Guidelines for Trustworthy AI through to the EU AI Act and related digital legislation, considering principles including transparency, accountability, human oversight, explainability, fairness, robustness, and proportionality.The session also examines the role of the EU AI Office, operational since August 2026 and responsible for overseeing the implementation and enforcement of the AI Act across the EU. Participants consider what the AI Act means in practice for public administrations using AI in their policymaking work — including obligations around transparency, human oversight, and documentation when AI systems are used to inform, prepare, or support policy decisions — and what guidance the AI Office and Member State authorities are developing to help administrations navigate these requirements in a policymaking context. Capability: AI Governance Guiding question: When should AI be trusted in policymaking? |
| 13.00 | Lunch Break (1 hour) |
| 14.00 | Session 4: Using AI Responsibly: Where Are the Red Lines? This session brings together the practical rules governing responsible AI use for civil servants with a broader critical examination of the risks and limitations that policymakers need to navigate. The first part establishes the framework: what responsible and secure AI use looks like in practice, covering confidentiality, data protection, intellectual property, model selection, and organisational governance of AI-assisted outputs. The second part moves from rules to reality: exploring where responsible use meets genuine difficulty: automation bias, hallucinations, deskilling, institutional dependency, and the risk of outsourcing judgement to systems that cannot bear democratic accountability.Participants are invited to present examples drawn from their own policymaking experience, identifying where the rules apply straightforwardly and where they encounter more complex dilemmas that existing frameworks may not fully resolve. A structured debrief draws out the critical perspectives that will inform participants’ approach to AI throughout the rest of the course.Capability: Critical Reflection Guiding question: Where should policymakers be cautious about relying on AI? |
| 15.00 | Coffee Break (30 minutes) |
| 15.30 | Session 5: AI in EU Institutions and Public Administrations: What is Happening and What it Means for You Drawing on recent developments including the Commission’s AI@EC initiative, the AI4DRPM tool, and the Better Regulation communication, the session offers participants a realistic and up-to-date account of how EU institutions and public administrations are integrating AI into their policymaking work. Rather than presenting a finished blueprint, it acknowledges that AI adoption is a live and evolving process, with some things already in place, others being piloted, and many questions still open. A particular focus is placed on what institutions are learning in practice: where verification and corroboration of AI outputs have emerged as critical concerns, how the non-deterministic nature of large language models creates specific challenges in policymaking contexts, and what governance responses are being developed at EU and Member State level. Participants are invited to reflect on what this means for their own organisations and roles. Capability: AI Awareness and Institutional Context |
| 16.40 | Wrap-up and Closing Remarks |
| 17.00 | End of Day 1 |
| AI-Augmented Analytical Capabilities for Evidence-Informed Policymaking | |
| 09.00 | Session 6: AI for Finding, Gathering, and Exploring Evidence This session unpacks how AI supports policymakers in identifying, collecting, organising, and exploring evidence from legislation, research, consultation responses, evaluations, open data, and international practice. Applications are illustrated across problem definition, policy option development, impact assessment, simplification, implementation, and ex post evaluation. Capability: Evidence Gathering |
| 10.30 | Coffee Break (30 minutes) |
| 11.00 | Workshop 1: From Search to Evidence: Putting AI to Work Participants investigate a policy challenge by gathering legislation, evidence, evaluations, datasets, stakeholder information, and international practice using AI before critically reviewing the results. Capability: Evidence Gathering |
| 12.30 | Lunch Break (1.5 hours) |
| 14.00 | Session 7: AI for Analysing Evidence, Developing Insights, and Supporting Policy Judgement This session considers how AI strengthens analytical reasoning through comparison, synthesis, stakeholder analysis, consultation analysis, regulatory gap detection and network analysis, and evidence-informed policy judgement. Capability: Analysis and Insight |
| 15.30 | Coffee Break (30 minutes) |
| 16.00 | Workshop 2: Analysing Consultation Responses with AI Participants use AI to analyse an anonymised dataset from the European Commission’s Have Your Say platform, identifying patterns, conflicts, and gaps across stakeholder positions and producing a concise one-page analytical note. Capability: Analysis and Insight |
| 17.00 | Session 7b: Computational AI for Policymakers – Prediction, Simulation, and Detection Andrea Contes – JRC This session introduces policymakers to the computational applications of AI that are transforming evidence-based policymaking, not as tools they will use directly, but as capabilities they need to understand in order to evaluate, commission, or govern. The session covers three core applications: detection (identifying unlawful or anomalous behaviours such as tax fraud, money laundering, or welfare fraud, with critical attention to risks of bias and unfair treatment); prediction (anticipating individual events or aggregate phenomena such as disease spread, economic trends, or policy outcomes, including their role in ex-ante impact assessment); and simulation (testing policy interventions before implementation through agent-based modelling and digital twins, virtual representations of physical or social systems that are continuously updated through real-time data flows and used to explore unintended consequences without causing real-world harm). Capability: Computational AI as a Policy Resource |
| 17.45 | End of Day 2 |
| AI-Augmented Analytical Capabilities for Evidence-Informed Policymaking | |
| 09.00 | Session 8: AI for Policy Design and Drafting This session addresses how AI can support drafting policy options, briefing notes, executive summaries, and tailored communication for ministers, senior managers, stakeholders, and citizens, while improving clarity, consistency, and simplification. Capability: Policy Design and Drafting |
| 9.45 | In Focus: Cut the Red Tape: AI and the Simplification Agenda Drawing on practical examples, this session examines how AI is being applied to reduce administrative burden and streamline regulatory and operational processes across European public administrations, with a focus on what simplification means in practice for policymakers. Capability: Administrative Simplification |
| 10.30 | Flash Demonstration: AI4DRPM – AI for Digital-Ready Policymaking |
| 10.45 | Coffee Break (30 minutes) |
| 11.15 | Session 9: AI for Communicating Evidence and Supporting Decision-Making This session demonstrates how AI supports the production of policy briefs, executive summaries, and presentations tailored to ministers, senior managers, stakeholders, and citizens, integrating the analytical and drafting capabilities developed across the course. Capability: Policy Communication |
| 12.30 | Exercise 3: Communicating Evidence and Supporting Decision-Making Participants use AI to produce a short policy briefing note or executive summary for a senior audience, applying iterative prompting and critical review of outputs. Capability: Policy Communication |
| 13.15 | Course Wrap-up, Evaluation, and Closing |
| 13.30 | End of Course |