Welcome

Welcome to DigitalSocialPolicy.com, a digital space engaging with what social policy means in the digital age.

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The Web Ecology of Government

The web ecology of government refers to the idea that government’s web presence sits within a wider ecology or network constituted by hyperlinks. Research in this theme is being conducted as part of an Australian Research Council Grant, The institutional structure of online government: a cross-policy, cross-country comparison.

A Closer Look

The Web Ecology of Government

Take an interactive tour into the web-network ecology of UK health policy.

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Project / Research Themes

Governing Electronically

What does it mean to govern in the age of information technology? The theme of ‘Governing electronically’ provides a way of thinking about and engaging with the nexus between contemporary modes of government and information technologies.

The Web Ecology of Government

The web ecology of government refers to the idea that government’s web presence sits within a wider ecology or network constituted by hyperlinks.

Technologies of Performance

Performance measurement is now a pervasive feature of everyday life, ranging from sports and fitness, business and commerce, education and health, and government. This research theme investigates the deployment of performance measurement in higher education and its role in reconfiguring modes of government and power.

Materialities of Social Policy

The non-human material world is often regarded as passive or neutral when it comes to thinking about social activity. The popular phrase “guns don’t kill people, people kill people” is a testament to this view. However, as Eddie Izzard once said: whilst guns do not kill people, surely the gun helps. Therefore it is clear that the materiality of non-human objects has an important role to play in co-shaping the social world. The focus of this research theme relates to the materiality of social policy; that is, how material objects are enrolled in contemporary practices of governing through social policies.

Publications

Download and read papers. Download data sets for your own research. Download programming code to help you get started with analysis and exploration of data.

People

Digital Social Policy is a term coined by Paul Henman to capture his long-standing interest in the nexus between social policy, public administration and information and communication technologies, and their contribution to public governance. Digital Social Policy now includes a variety of people collaborating in this research space.