Helen Kennedy

Helen Kennedy is a Professor of Digital Society at the University of Sheffield, where she serves as Director of the ESRC Digital Good Network. She is a member of the Everyday Life and Critical Diversities and Science, Technology and Medicine in Society research groups.

• PhD, University of East London (2002)
• MA, University of Birmingham (CCCS)
• BA (First Class), University of Birmingham

Kennedy’s research explores digital society, datafication, and digital inequality, focusing on intersections with class, gender, race, disability, digital labor, and data ethics. Her work examines big data, transparency, accountability, and algorithmic bias, particularly how these phenomena are experienced in daily life.

Her recent publications and projects address data visualization in newsrooms, public trust in data systems, and collaborative research with stakeholders like the BBC and DWP. Key themes include ethical data practices, critical digital studies, and user agency.

• Fellow of the UK Academy of Social Sciences

Kennedy has supervised 13 PhD students and collaborated on over £3 million in grants, including projects funded by the Nuffield Foundation, AHRC, and ESRC. Her Living With Data program investigates public experiences of data-driven systems.

She partners with institutions like DWP, BBC R&D, and Ada Lovelace Institute, contributing to policy dialogues on digital governance and algorithmic fairness. Her work has shaped international web accessibility standards through collaborations with W3C WAI and Adobe.