Dr Webster is the programme Director of the MBA Public Service Management and BA (Hons) Public Management & Administration degree programmes at the University of Stirling. He is also Chair of the Living in Surveillance Societies (LiSS) COST Action (IS0807). His research interests are broadly in the area of contemporary public policy and management, and the policy processes and governance structures associated with governing in the information age. He is a recognised expert on e-Government, electronic public services and democracy, and the emergence of new surveillance technologies in public service and policy settings. He is a leading authority on the policies and practices surrounding the provision of closed circuit television/video surveillance cameras and systems in public places. His research interests also include the normality of technologically mediated surveillance practices in society, the governance and regulation of privacy and data protection, and the exploration of the defining characteristics of emerging surveillance societies.

Select Recent Publications:

• Smith, C. and Webster, C.W.R. (2008) ‘The emergent ICT culture of parliamentarians: The case of the Scottish Parliament’, Information Polity, 13(3-4): 249-273.
• Smith, C. and Webster, C.W.R. (2008) ‘Is Interactive Digital Television the Future of E-Government Services? A Critical Assessment of UK Initiatives’, International Journal of Public Administration, 31(7): 771-796.
• Murakami Wood, D. and Webster, C.W.R. (2009) ‘Living in surveillance societies: The normalisation of surveillance in Europe and the threat of Britain's bad example’, Journal of Contemporary European Research, 5(2): 259-273.
• Webster, C.W.R. (2009) ‘CCTV policy in the UK: Reconsidering the evidence base’, Surveillance and Society, 6(1): 10-22.
• Webster, C.W.R. (2009) ‘Interconnections between technological and policy innovation: re-evaluating the evidence-base supporting the provision of CCTV in the UK’, Information Polity, Vol.14, No.4, pp.245-259.
• Karl Löfgren and Webster C.W.R. (2009) Policy innovation, convergence and divergence: Considering the policy transfer regulating privacy and data protection in three European countries’, Information Polity, Vol.14, No.4, pp. 295-314.
• Murakami Wood, D. and Webster, C.W.R. (2010) ‘The Normality of living in surveillance societies’. In: van de Hof, S. and Groothuis, M. Innovating Government: Normative, Policy and Technology Dimensions of Modern Government. Springer, pp.129-140.
• Webster, C.W.R. (2010/1) Technological Change and Public-Management Reform: Revisiting Theory and Context. Journal of Public Administration and Policy (in press).

Research network and Activity:
Dr Webster is Chair of the Living in Surveillance Societies (LiSS) Action (IS0807), 2009-13. He was also one of the UK’s two nominated representatives in the ‘Regulation and Control’ Working Group (No.5) of the Government and Democracy in the Information Age (GaDIA) European Union COST A14 Action. He was also appointed as a ‘specialist advisor’ to the ‘Cyberdemocracy’ Working Group (No.1) of this research programme.

William is a member of the Surveillance Studies Network (SSN) and a funding member of the Scottish Privacy Forum.  He is also a member of Permanent Study Group on ‘E-Government (Information and Communication Technologies in Public Administration)’ of the European Group of Public Administration (EGPA), the International Research Society for Public Management (IRSPM), the Chartered Management Institute (CMI) and the Information Resource Management Association (IRMA). Dr Webster is a member of the Editorial Board of the international journal ‘Information Polity’.