Resulting from the FCT call for SR&TD Projects in all Scientific Domains 2023, of which the preliminary results were published last May, two projects from BRU researchers were approved in the Economics and Business evaluation panel:

  • YODA – Your Own Developmental Agent: Agent-led feedback for improving team interpersonal processes

YODA is coordinated by Patrícia Costa, from the Organizational Behavior & Human Resources research group, with INESC-ID as a partner. This project will develop and train an AI agent in identifying relevant patterns of conflict and affectivity during team interaction, both in text and video, and conveying appropriate real-time feedback. A set of 3 studies will test the role of the agent-led feedback on team dynamics and outcomes, such as performance, interpersonal affect regulation, engagement, as well as the role of the agent’s features in its acceptance by the team. The project received the impressive score of 4,80/5 and will receive a funding of 114 307 EUR (partially from EU FEDER funds). YODA is scheduled to start in September.

  • HEXIS – Heterogeneous expectations in inflation with switching forecast rules: prices, wages, and volatility

HEXIS is coordinated by BRU’s Director João Madeira, from Economics research group, with ISEG as a partner. This project aims to measure price and wage inflation expectations by modelling agents as being able to choose between different expectation rules based on their past performance. The study will be conducted by a group of two nuclear researchers (who specialize in macroeconomics and econometrics) and several consultants with positions in leading monetary policy institutions (who will aid with feedback and in dissemination of the results). The project received the maximum score of 5/5 and will receive a funding of 216 000 EUR. HEXIS is expected to start in the last quarter of 2025.

In addition, thanks to the new FCT programme “FCT Mobility”, BRU researcher Helena Isidro, from the Finance group, has been awarded an outgoing mobility grant to go to the London School of Economics and Political Science for 8 months during the next academic year. Her mobility project “How ESG Risks Drive Corporate Failure and Responsible Investment” was evaluated in the second round of evaluation, receiving the maximum score 5/5.