New ICAI OpenGov Lab Aims to Make Government Information More Accessible and Understandable

At launch, the lab includes three dual PhD candidates embedded within the Rijksorganisatie voor Informatiehuishouding (RvIHH), with plans to grow to five researchers within the first year. The lab is led by manager Dr. David Graus, with scientific direction from Dr. ir. Jaap Kamps (Institute for Logic, Language and Computation, UvA) and Dr. Maarten Marx (Informatics Institute, UvA).

“Many advancements in IR and NLP can be directly applied to improve the usability and findability of open government data,” said Dr. Graus. “These technologies can truly contribute to a more transparent government and a better-informed society.”

AI for an Open Democracy

The ICAI OpenGov Lab is dedicated to developing custom AI tools across the full lifecycle of open government data — from creation and publication to responsible use and societal impact. As governments increasingly publish data, either proactively or in response to public information requests (e.g., via the Dutch Open Government Act, WOO), the lab aims to support transparency and citizen trust, and to enhance democratic participation.

By leveraging state-of-the-art technologies like Large Language Models (LLMs) and generative AI, the lab seeks to improve how vast volumes of government documents are searched, processed, and understood.

“We’re building a growing team of researchers working to make government information easier to search, summarize, and explain using AI,” said Dr. Maarten Marx. “We’re especially inspired by the enthusiasm from students who want to make a difference in public information systems.”

Living Lab: WooGLe

One of the lab’s main testbeds is WooGLe, a public search engine for government documents released under the Open Government Act. WooGLe functions as a “living lab,” enabling real-world experimentation. All enhancements and software produced by the lab will be made open source, ensuring broad applicability and public benefit.

PhD researchers in the lab will explore both theoretical and practical questions across IR, NLP, and information accessibility — combining rigorous science with societal impact.

“We’re working on extremely complex, large-scale datasets that can no longer be handled manually,” added Dr. Jaap Kamps. “With responsible AI, we can dramatically improve how journalists and citizens access and understand public data — and help close the gap between citizens and the state.”

About ICAI

The Innovation Center for Artificial Intelligence (ICAI) is a national network that connects academic institutions, industry, and government to accelerate AI innovation and talent development in the Netherlands. ICAI labs bring researchers and partners together to tackle real-world challenges with high-impact AI solutions.

For more information, visit: https://icai.ai