Dr Colin F Smith
Lecturer
Colin's research examines the relationships between new information and communication technologies (ICTs), strategic innovation and organisational change, particularly in the contexts of e-government and e-democracy. He is a member of the Centre for Social Informatics.
Core areas of interest include:
- Evaluation of the contribution of the Internet to the role played by political parties in contemporary democratic practices
- Assessment of digital delivery platforms for public services
- Exploration of the implications of new web-based technologies for parliamentarians
Memberships held:
- Member of Permanent Study Group 1: E-Government in Public Administration (European Group for Public Administration)
- Fellow of the Higher Education Academy
External duties:
- Reviews Editor of 'Information Polity'
- Colin was one of the UK's two nominated representatives on the 'ICTs and Mediating Organisations' working group of the EU COST A14 action 'Government and Democracy in the Information Age'
- Colin has carried out commission research projects on behalf of local authorities in England, and the devolved Scottish administration
Areas of Expertise 
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The technologies that help us to organise and share information on the internet are changing the way we live and work. This information society or knowledge economy people affects is in all kinds of new ways – as individuals, groups and organisations.
Contact
cf.smith@napier.ac.uk
+44 (0)131 455 2774
Room C60
Merchiston Campus
10 Colinton Road
Edinburgh
EH10 5DT
Edinburgh
EH10 5DT
PhD Project Involvement
Ella Taylor-Smith (PhD 2011-)
Participation space studies. How do interpretations of online and offline spaces influence (e)participation in community and civic life?. How can people, from diverse backgrounds, increase meaningful participation online? What perspectives influence people's online activities in this context and how is this changing?
Robert Irvine (PhD 2004-)
Success factors for organisational information systems development projects: a Scottish suppliers' perspective. The very idea that a modern day organisation might operate effectively without computerised information systems seems almost absurd. Yet, the projects that provide these systems have an unenviable...
Recent Publications
Cruickshank, P., Smith, C. (2011). Understanding the 'E-Petitioner'. Transforming Government: People, Process and Policy, 5(4), 319-329.
Cruickshank, P., Edelmann, N., Smith, C. (2010). Signing a an e-petition as a transition from lurking to participation. In: Chappellet, J., Glassey, O., Janssen, M., Macintosh, A., Scholl, J., Tambouris, E., Wimmer, M. (Eds.) Electronic Government and Electronic Participation (2010 ed.). (pp. 275-282). Linz, Austria: Trauner.
Cruickshank, P., Smith, C. (2009). Self-efficacy as a factor in the evaluation of e-petitions. In: Parycek, A. (Ed.) Proceedings of EDEM 2009 - Conference on Electronic Democracy. (pp. 223-232). Vienna: Austrian Computer Society.
See all publications