Policy Assistant

Policy Assistant is an AI-powered scratchpad for policy professionals. Chat to generate structured briefs and instantly visualize Evidence Strength and Implementation Complexity metrics. Features a clean UI, local storage persistence, and automatic source extraction. Built with Next.js, TypeScript, and OpenAI.

Overview

Policy Assistant helps policy analysts, task team leaders, and program managers to:

• Ask quick questions about policies, interventions, or program designs.
• Get concise, structured AI-generated responses suitable for policy notes.
• Automatically extract and visualize decision support metrics:
  • Evidence Strength (0-100): How well-supported the response is by research and data. Includes a "View Evidence" feature to see source links.
  • Implementation Complexity (0-100): How difficult the proposed intervention would be to implement.

Features (v1.3.3)

• AI Policy Assistant: Powered by OpenAI (GPT-5 nano) with a specialized system prompt for policy analysis.
• Smart Metrics: Automatic computation of "Evidence Strength" and "Implementation Complexity" based on response heuristics.
• Source Extraction: Automatically detects and extracts source URLs from the AI response, accessible via a "View Evidence" button.
• Conversation History: Persists your chat history locally in your browser so you can pick up where you left off.
• Responsive Design: Mobile-first interface with a collapsible sidebar and mobile-optimized layout.
• Clean UI: Polished interface using Tailwind CSS and the Inter font.

Tech Stack

• Framework: Next.js 15 (App Router)
• Language: TypeScript
• UI Library: React 19
• Styling: Tailwind CSS
• Icons: Lucide React
• AI Integration: OpenAI API

Getting Started

Prerequisites

• Node.js 18+ installed
• An OpenAI API Key

Installation

1. Clone the repository:

   git clone https://github.com/yourusername/policy-assistant.git
   cd policy-assistant

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install

3. Configure Environment: Create a .env.local file in the root directory and add your OpenAI API key:

   cp .env.example .env.local

   Edit .env.local:

   OPENAI_API_KEY=your_openai_api_key_here
   OPENAI_MODEL=gpt-5-nano
   NEXT_PUBLIC_APP_NAME=Policy Assistant

4. Run the development server:

   npm run dev

5. Open the app: Navigate to http://localhost:3000 in your browser.

Usage

1. Start a Chat: Type a policy question in the input field (e.g., "What are effective interventions to reduce maternal mortality?").
2. Analyze Metrics: View the "Analysis Metrics" panel below the response.
   • Evidence Strength: Check the score and click "View Evidence" to see cited sources.
   • Implementation Complexity: Review the score and rationale.
3. Manage History: Use the sidebar to switch between conversations or start a new one.

Project Structure

├── app/
│   ├── api/chat/         # API route for OpenAI integration
│   ├── layout.tsx        # Root layout and font configuration
│   ├── page.tsx          # Main application UI and logic
│   └── globals.css       # Global styles and Tailwind directives
├── lib/
│   └── metrics.ts        # Heuristic logic for computing metrics and extracting sources
├── types/
│   └── chat.ts           # TypeScript interfaces
├── public/               # Static assets (logos, icons)
└── ...