Stephan Smeekes and Ines Wilms awarded €800,000 NWO grant to pioneer Econometric Intelligence

Prof.dr. Stephan Smeekes and Dr. Ines Wilms have been awarded an €800,000 NWO SSH Open Competition L grant for a new six-year research project entitled Econometric Intelligence for Complex Time Series. The project will develop a new research methodology called Econometric Intelligence, designed to help scientists make sense of increasingly complex data collected over time.

From wearable sensors and satellite observations to social media and citizen science, new technologies are generating unprecedented volumes of data. While these unconventional data sources have enormous potential to improve decision-making, their complexity, messiness, and scale often make them difficult to analyse.

The project addresses this challenge by combining the transparency and interpretability of econometric models with the computational power of modern machine learning. Drawing on expertise from econometrics, statistics and artificial intelligence, the researchers will develop a new generation of methods that can analyse complex time series, quantify uncertainty and uncover cause-and-effect relationships while remaining transparent and explainable.

The new methodology will be applied to a range of pressing societal challenges, including economic policy, healthcare, environmental sustainability and defence. By enabling researchers and policymakers to extract reliable insights from complex data, the project aims to strengthen evidence-based decision-making in an increasingly data-rich world. The six-year project will also create opportunities for early-career researchers, with two PhD positions and four student assistant positions to be recruited as part of the research team.

Commenting on the award, Stephan and Ines say: ‘We're excited to kick off this newly funded project together. Bringing together a talented team and inspiring collaborators is one of the aspects we're looking forward to most, and we can't wait to see the ideas and discoveries that emerge over the coming years.’