Helen Margetts is Professor of Society and the Internet and Professorial Fellow at Mansfield College. She is a political scientist specialising in the relationship between digital technology and government, politics and public policy. She is an advocate for the potential of multi-disciplinarity and computational social science for our understanding of political behaviour and development of public policy in a digital world. She has published over a hundred books, articles and policy reports in this area, including Political Turbulence: How Social Media Shape Collective Action (with Peter John, Scott Hale and Taha Yasseri, 2015); Paradoxes of Modernization (with Perri 6 and Christopher Hood, 2010); Digital Era Governance (with Patrick Dunleavy, 2006, 2008); and The Tools of Government in the Digital Age (with Christopher Hood, 2007).
Since 2018, Helen has been Director of the Public Policy Programme at The Alan Turing Insitute, the UK’s national institute for data science and artificial intelligence. The programme works with policy-makers to research and develop ways of using data science and AI to improve policy-making and service provision, foster government innovation and establish an ethical framework for the use of data science in government. The programme comprises over 25 research projects involving 60 researchers across 10 universities. As well as being programme director, Helen is theme lead for criminal justice in the AI for Science and Government programme and principal investigator on research projects Hate Speech: Measures and Counter-measures, Social Information and Public Opinion, and Political Volatility.
Professor Margetts joined the OII in 2004 from University College London where she was a Professor in Political Science and Director of the School of Public Policy. She began her career as a computer programmer and systems analyst with Rank Xerox after receiving her BSc in mathematics from the University of Bristol. She returned to study at the London School of Economics and Political Science in 1989, completing an MSc in Politics and Public Policy in 1990 and a PhD in Government in 1996. She worked as a researcher at LSE from 1991 to 1994 and a lecturer at Birkbeck College, University of London from 1994 to 1999.
Public Service
Helen sits on the Board of the Ada Lovelace Institute, the UK Government’s Digital Economy Council, and the Home Office Scientific Advisory Council (HOSAC). She is founding Editor-in-chief of the journal Policy and Internet.
Awards and Honours
In July 2019 Helen was elected a Fellow of the British Academy (FBA). In March-April she held the John F Kluge Senior Chair in Technology and Society at the Library of Congress, Washington DC. She was awarded an OBE for services to social and political science in the 2019 New Year’s Honours List. In 2018 she was awarded the Friedrich Schiedel Prize by the Technical University of Munich, for research and research leadership in politics and technology. Her co-authored book Political Turbulence won the W.J.Mckenzie Prize of the UK Political Studies Association for best politics book in 2017. She was elected a Fellow of the Academy of Social Sciences in 2011. Earlier awards include winning with Patrick Dunleavy the ‘Political Scientists Making a Difference’ award in 2003 from the UK Political Studies Association, in part for a series of policy reports on Government on the Internet for the UK National Audit Office (1999-2009).
Teaching
Supervisees
- Thomas Vogl
- Aaron Maniam (jointly with Blavatnik School of Government)
- Lisa-Maria Neudert
- Bertie Vidgen
Research summary
- digital government
- public management reform
- tools of public policy
- collective action
- political participation
- social science experiments
- social data science/computational social science
- alternative electoral systems
- political extremism.
Publications
Articles
- John, P. and Margetts, H. (2009) The Latent Support for the Extreme Right in British Politics. West European Politics, 32 (3): 496-513.
- Eynon, R. and Margetts, H. (2008) Organisational Solutions for Overcoming Barriers to eGovernment. European Journal of ePractice 1: 1-13.
- Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Bastow, S. and Tinkler, J. (2008) Australian e-Government in Comparative Perspective. Australian Journal of Political Science 43 (1): 13-26.
- Margetts, H. (2006) E-Government in BritainA Decade On. Parliamentary Affairs 59 (2) 250-265.
- Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Bastow, S. and Tinkler, J. (2006) New Public Management Is Dead--Long Live Digital-Era Governance. Journal of Public Administration Research and Theory 16 (3) 467-494.
- Margetts, H. (2005) Smartening up to risk in electronic government. Information Polity 10 (1-2) 81-94.
- Dunleavy, P. and Margetts, H. (2005) The Impact of UK Electoral Systems. Parliamentary Affairs 58 (4) 854-870.
- John, P. and Margetts, H. (2003) Policy punctuations in the UK: fluctuations and equilibria in central government expenditure since 1951. Public Administration 81 (3) 411-432.
- Dunleavy, P. and Margetts, H. (2002) Mixed electoral systems in Britain and the Jenkins Commission on electoral reform. The British Journal of Politics and International Relations 2002 (1) 12-38.
- Dunleavy, P. and Margetts, H. (2001) From Majoritarian to Pluralist Democracy? Journal of Theoretical Politics 13 (3) 295-319.
- Abrar, S., Lovenduski, J. and Margetts, H. (2000) Feminist Ideas and Domestic Violence Policy Change. Political Studies 48 (2) 239-262.
- Dowding, K., Dunleavy, P., King, D., Margetts, H. and Rydin, Y. (1999) Regime Politics in London Local Government. Urban Affairs Review 34 (4).
- Goetz, K.H. and Margetts, H. (1999) The Solitary Center: the Core Executive in Central and Eastern Europe. Governance 12 (4) 425-453.
- Abrar, S., Lovenduski, J. and Margetts, H. (1998) Sexing London: The Gender Mix of Urban Policy Actors. International Political Science Review 19 (2) 147-171.
- Margetts, H. (1997) The 1997 British general election: New labour, new Britain? West European Politics 20 (4) 181-191.
- Dunleavy, P. and Margetts, H. (1997) The Electoral System. Parliamentary Affairs 50: 733-749.
- Margetts, H. (1996) Public Management Change and Sex Equality within the State. Parliamentary Affairs 49: 130-142.
- Dowding, K., Dunleavy, P., King, D. and Margetts, H. (1995) Rational Choice and Community Power Structures. Political Studies 43 (2) 265-277.
- Margetts, H. (1995) The Automated State. Public Policy and Administration 10 (2) 88-103.
- Dunleavy, P. and Margetts, H. (1995) Understanding the Dynamics of Electoral Reform. International Political Science Review 16 (1) 9-29.
- Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H. and Weir, S. (1992) How Britain would have voted under Alternative Electoral Systems in 1992. Parliamentary Affairs 45 (4) 640-655.
Books
- Margetts, H., 6, P. and Hood, C. (2010) Paradoxes of Modernization. Unintended Consequences of Public Policy Reform. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Bastow, S. and Tinkler, J. (2006) Digital Era Governance: IT Corporations, the State and e-Government. Oxford: Oxford University Press.
- Hood, C. and Margetts, H. (2006) The Tools of Government in the Digital Age. Palgrave Macmillan.
- Margetts, H. (1999) Information Technology in Government: Britain and America. London: Routledge.
Chapters
- Margetts, H. (2010) Modernization Dreams and Public Policy Reform. In: H.Margetts, P.6 and C.Hood (Eds) Paradoxes of Modernization. Unintended Consequences of Public Policy Reform. Oxford: Oxford University Press, pp. 17-43.
- Margetts, H. (2003) Electronic Government: A Revolution in Public Administration. In: G.Peters and J.Pierre (eds) Handbook of Public Administration. Sage.
Conference papers
- Margetts, H., John, P. and Escher, T. (2009) Can the internet overcome the logic of collective action? An experimental approach to investigating the impact of social pressure on political participation. Paper to the Political Studies Association Annual Conference, University of Manchester, 7-9 April 2009.
- Margetts, H., John, P. and Escher, T. (2009) Experiments for Web Science: Examining the Effect of the Internet on Collective Action. In: Proceedings of the WebSci09: Society On-Line, 18-20 March 2009, Athens, Greece.
- Escher, T. and Margetts, H. (2007) Understanding Governments and Citizens On-line: Learning from E-commerce. 2007 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association (APSA), Chicago, IL.
- Escher, T., Margetts, H., Petricek, V. and Cox, I. (2006) Governing from the Centre? Comparing the Nodality of Digital Governments. 2006 Annual Meeting of the American Political Science Association.
- Petricek, V., Escher, T., Cox I.J. and Margetts, H. (2006) The Web Structure of E-Government - Developing a Methodology for Quantitative Evaluation. 15th International World Wide Web Conference, Edinburgh, UK.
- Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Bastow, S. and Tinkler, J. (2004) Government IT performance and the power of the IT industry: A cross-national analysis. Paper presented at the Annual American Political Science Association conference, Chicago, Panel 25-2 Digital Policy Issues: Inequality, E-government, 4 September 2004.
- Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Bastow, S. and Tinkler, J. (2003) E-government and Policy Innovation in Seven Liberal Democracies. Presented at the Political Studies Associations Annual Conference, University of Leicester, 15-17 April 2003.
- Margetts, H., Dunleavy, P., Bastow, S. and Tinkler, J. (2003) Leaders and Followers: E-government, Policy Innovation and Policy Transfer in the European Union. Paper presented at the EUSA Conference, Nashville, TN, 27 March 2003.
Presentations
- Margetts, H. and Eynon, R. (2007) Online job search in the EU: The potential of web 2.0. Presented at the workshop Fostering Innovation in eGovernment, Barcelona, 9 March 2007.
- Margetts, H. and Eynon, R. (2006) Oxford Internet Survey (OXIS) New directions, new questions. Presented at The Next Oxford Internet Survey (OxIS), Oxford Internet Institute, University of Oxford, 24 November 2006.
- Dutton, W.H., Margetts, H. and Eynon, R. (2006) Barriers to eGovernment. Presented at the workshop Learning from Experience in eGovernment: Why Projects Fail and Why They Succeed, University of Oxford, 26 June 2006.
- Margetts, H. and Hicks, T. (2006) Barriers to eGovernment: A Case Study in Digital Citizen Rights (DCR). Presented at the workshop Learning from Experience in eGovernment: Why Projects Fail and Why They Succeed, University of Oxford, 26 June 2006.
- Margetts, H. and Eynon, R. (2006) Segmenting citizens: group based approaches to eGovernment. Presented at the workshop From Barriers to Benefits: Efficiency and Effectiveness of eGovernment, Helsinki, 22 November 2006.
- Margetts, H. (2005) The structure of e-government. Conference of the Communications Research Network, Cambridge-MIT Institute, Cambridge, 29 June-1 July 2005.
- Margetts, H. and Eynon, R. (2005) Organisational Culture as a Barrier to e-Government. Presented at the 5th European Conference on eGovernment, Antwerp, 17 June 2005.
Reports
- Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Goldchluk, S., Khan, M.K., Tinkler, J., Towers, E. and Escher, T. (2009) Department for Work and Pensions. Communicating with Customers. Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, HC 421 Session 2008-2009. London: The Stationery Office.
- Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Bastow, S., Escher, T., Pearce, O. and Tinkler, J. (2007) Government on the Internet. Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, HC 529 Session 2006-2007, 13 July 2007. London: The Stationery Office.
- Margetts, H., Peter, J., Rowland, D. and Weir, S. (2006) The BNP: the roots of its appeal. Essex: Democratic Audit.
- Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H.,Bastow, S., Tinkler, J., Pearce, O. andBartholomeou, P. (2006) Achieving innovation in central government organisations. London: The Stationery Office, HC 1447 Session 2005-2006, published 25 July 2006.
- Bartholomeou, P., Bastow, S., Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Pearce, O. and Tinkler, J. (2006) Report on Seven Focus Groups conducted for the Achieving innovation in central government organisations report. Published alongside Achieving innovation in central government organisations: HC 1447-I, Session 2005-2006.
- Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H.,Bastow, S., Tinkler, J., Pearce, O. andBartholomeou, P. (2006) Achieving innovation in central government organisations: Detailed research findings. Published alongside Achieving innovation in central government organisations: HC 1447-I, Session 2005-2006.
- Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H.,Bastow, S., Tinkler, J., Pearce, O. andBartholomeou, P. (2006) Summaries of innovations submitted for the Achieving innovation in central government organisations report. Published alongside Achieving innovation in central government organisations: HC 1447-I, Session 2005-2006.
- Margetts, H., Eynon, R. and Hicks, T. (2006) Research into Barriers and Incentives for Businesses Filing Returns Online. Article to accompany NAO value for money report Filing VAT and Company Tax returns. The Stationary Office: London.
- Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Loughlin, M., Bastow, S., Tinkler, J., Pearce, O. and Bartholomeou, P. (2005) Citizen Redress: What citizens can do if things go wrong with public services. Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, HC 21 Session 2004-2005, 9 March 2005.
- Bartholomeou, P., Campbell, R., Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H. and Tinkler, J. (2005) Report on Four Focus Groups conducted for the Citizen Redress NAO report. Published alongside Citizen Redress: What citizens can do if things go wrong with public services: HC 21 Session 2004-2005, 9 March 2005.
- Bartholomeou, P., Bishop, M., Margetts, H., Pearce, O., Tinkler, J. and Welham, S. (2005) Report on the Mystery Shopper exercise conducted for the Citizen Redress NAO report. Published alongside Citizen Redress: What citizens can do if things go wrong with public services: HC 21 Session 2004-2005, 9 March 2005.
- Margetts, H. and Yared, H. (2003) Incentivization of e-government. Article to accompany NAO report: Transforming the performance of HM Customs and Excise through Electronic Service Delivery. London: The Stationery Office.
- Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Bastow, S., Bouek, F. and Campbell, R. (2003) Difficult Forms: How government agencies interact with citizens. Report by the Comptroller and Auditor General, HC 1145 Session 2002-2003, 31 October 2003.
- Bastow, S., Boucek, F., Campbell, R., Dunleavy, P. and Margetts, H. (2003) Form Survey Questions. Published alongside Difficult Forms: How government agencies interact with citizens: HC 1145 Session 2002-2003, 31 October 2003.
- Bastow, S., Boucek, F., Campbell, R., Dunleavy, P. and Margetts, H. (2003) Report on Ten Focus Groups conducted for the Difficult Forms NAO report. Published alongside Difficult Forms: How government agencies interact with citizens: HC 1145 Session 2002-2003, 31 October 2003.
- Margetts, H. and Dunleavy, P. (2002) Cultural Barriers to E-Government. Academic article for the report: Better Public Services Through e-government. London: National Audit Office, 2002, HC 704-III.
- Dunleavy, P. and Margetts, H. (2002) Government on the Web II. London: The Stationery Office, 2002, HC764.
- Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Bastow, S., Tinkler, J. and Yared, H. (2001) Policy Learning and Public Sector Information Technology: Contractual and E-Government Changes in the UK, Australia, and New Zealand. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the American Political Science Association, Hilton Hotel, San Francisco, CA, 28 August - 1 September 2001.
- Margetts, H. (2001) The Cyber Party. Paper to workshop The Causes and Consequences of Organisational Innovation in European Political Parties at European Consortium of Political Research (ECPR) Joint Sessions of Workshops, Grenoble, 6-11 April 2001.
- Dunleavy, P. and Margetts. H. (2000) The Advent of Digital Government: Public Bureaucracy and the State in the Internet Age. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the American Political Science Association, Omni Shoreham Hotel, Washington, DC, 4 September 2000.
- Dunleavy, P., Margetts, H., Bastow, S. and Tinkler, J. (2000) The Advent of a Digital State and Government-Business Relations. Paper presented at the Annual Conference of the Political Science Association, London School of Economics and Political Science, London, UK, 10-13 April 2000.