Decision Making and e-Democracy: Archimede, a Tool to Support the Data-Driven Process

The work highlights the need to help improve processes decision-making using e-Democracy. A general framework is proposed to support decision making in the public sector. The framework is based on the use of Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Big Data within a social network aimed at improving e-Democracy. The main objective is to study the potential offered by big data analysis and visualization techniques to support the understanding of the needs of citizens, urban and metropolitan phenomena, the sentiment towards ideas born in the area. To pursue the objective, a digital decision-making framework has been built, structured in an e-Democracy platform, which promotes the active participation of citizens. By visualizing Big Data, we intend to identify new ways of structuring the democratic decision-making process through the use and understanding of large and heterogeneous data and content. The framework was tested with the ARCHIMEDE web platform, aimed at improving participatory processes. Public decision-makers and citizens can take advantage of the platform in a system of participatory democracy that allows them to select the most useful proposals for the community based on facts and with the help of data. ARCHIMEDE, is a social network to co-design, share, monitor and evaluate public policies and innovation paths. The use of ARCHIMEDE promotes a conscious democracy through digital technologies by increasing participation to solicit social cohesion and collaboration actions in support of governance, in view of a horizontal construction of public policies. By favoring a dynamic exchange ofinformation, ARCHIMEDE is characterized as an enabling platform for the remote connection of know-how and knowledge spread throughout the territory and to compensate for the deficit of democracy and participation in the decision-making process that systems of representative democracy manifest. ARCHIMEDE allows you to combine the potential of new technologies with the aim of enhancing an active role of citizens in public decisions by building a process of shared democracy. The results of the study (framework, platform and its experimentation) are useful for public decision makers, citizens, intermediate bodies and government organizations.