Edgar Whitley

Edgar is an Associate Professor (Reader) of Information Systems.

Edgar has a BSc (Econ) and PhD in Information Systems, both from LSE. He is the co-editor of Information Technology and People, Senior Editor for the Journal of Information Technology and the AIS Transactions of Replication Research. He has served as research co-chair for the European Conference on Information Systems in 1993, 2009 and 2021, track co-chair for the International Conference on Information Systems in 2003 and 2011. He was previously an associate editor for the European Journal of Information Systems and MIS Quarterly.

At LSE Edgar has been Deputy Head of Department for Teaching and Learning, acting chair of the LSE Research Ethics Committee, Deputy Chair for the Classification Scheme Review Group that successfully introduced resits to LSE and a member of the LSE Impact Case Studies Review Panel. He has also been an academic member of the Professionalising the Service Project Board, Assessment Service Change Project and Architecture Board.

Edgar is an advisory board member for the Ada Lovelace Institute’s Ryder review of Biometric Regulation and an expert advisor for a series of Ada Lovelace Institute reports on technological responses to COVID-19. Edgar is co-chair of the Privacy and Consumer Advisory Group (PCAG) to the Government Digital Service and GOV.UK and a member of the Cabinet Office Digital Economy Act 2017 Debt and Fraud Information Sharing Review Board and the Cabinet Office Digital Economy Act 2017 Public Service Delivery Review Board, as well as a member of the DCMS National Data Strategy Forum. He is an academic member of the DCMS College of Experts. Edgar is also a member of the Scottish Government Digital Identity Scotland Expert Group and the Open Banking Expert Group.

Edgar was the research coordinator of the influential LSE Identity Project on the UK’s proposals to introduce biometric identity cards; proposals that were scrapped following the 2010 General Election. His book with Gus Hosein Global Challenges for Identity Policies was published by Palgrave in 2010 and has provided the academic grounding for subsequent research on digital identity systems around the world. Edgar has also advised governments in Brazil, Chile, Ecuador, India, Jamaica, Japan and Mexico about the political, technological and social challenges of effective identity policies. He has contributed to reports for the World Bank, Omidyar Network and Centre for Global Development.

Edgar has successfully supervised eleven PhD students, including four with colleagues in other departments at LSE and is currently supervising two more. He has examined over 30 PhDs at LSE, University of Auckland, Brunel University, University of Edinburgh, IESE, Kings College London, University of Manchester, Nottingham Trent University, Oxford University, University of Pretoria, University of Southampton, University of Sydney, Trinity College Dublin and UCL.

In 2021 Edgar was awarded both an ATLAS Award and an Impact Award by the Association for Information Systems and has previously been awarded the AIS Community Service Award and the AIS Sandra Slaughter Service Award.

Read Edgar’s 2014 Impact Case Study on scrapping costly and controversial proposals for identity cards and his 2021 Impact Case Study on ensuring the fair treatment of Open Banking customers.