e-POLICY is the name of the European project of the Seventh Framework Programme (FP7) that was developed by the Center for Research in Advanced Computer Systems (CRACS) and the Laboratory of Artificial Intelligence and Decision Support (LIAAD). The e-POLICY began in October 2011 and presents a multidisciplinary approach with the aim of supporting political agents in the decision-making process.

Decision support must take place during the entire life cycle of the integrated decisions in an original manner, and should account for both global and individual perspectives in the decision-making process. This approach makes it possible to make decision-makers aware of more global issues such as the impact of policies, budget restrictions and objectives, as well as more individual issues such as public opinion and reactions. This approach should lead to the implementation of the best decision policies.

The project was applied to decision support on energy policies and the methodology can be extended to other areas. INESC TEC's competencies in text and opinion mining will be implemented in e-POLICY to infer public opinion and public feeling in relation to different alternative energy policies. The work will also be extended to other areas of decision-making.

Luís Torgo (LIAAD) is the coordinator in Portugal. The project is led by the University of Bologna (Italy), and Alípio Jorge (LIAAD), Vítor Costa (CRACS) and Nuno Fonseca (CRACS) are also part of the team.