---
title: "Web Science Trust"
chunk: 1/1
source: "https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Web_Science_Trust"
category: "reference"
tags: "science, encyclopedia"
date_saved: "2026-05-05T04:00:45.251628+00:00"
instance: "kb-cron"
---

The Web Science Trust (WST) is a UK Charitable Trust with the aim of supporting the global development of Web science. It was originally started in 2006 as a joint effort between MIT and University of Southampton to formalise the social and technical aspects of the World Wide Web. The trust coordinates a set of international "WSTNet Laboratories" that include academic research groups in the emerging area of Web science.
It was first announced at MIT on 2 November 2006 as the Web Science Research Initiative (WSRI), changing its name in 2009 to the Web Science Trust. Tim Berners-Lee originally led this program, now run by a Board of Trustees, which aims to attract government and private funds to support their many activities. The Web Science Trust supports curriculum development in universities and research institutions to train future generations of Web Scientists. Given the similarities between Web Science and Information Science, Web Science overlaps with the interests of the ISchool movement, particularly in the United States, but focuses more specifically on the Web itself. The annual Web Science conference brings together participants from many fields including those studying both the social and the computational aspects of the World Wide Web.
Areas of interest include:

Social networks
Social machine
Collaboration
Understanding online community
Analyzing the human interactions inherent in social media
Web observatories
Developing "accountability" and other mechanisms for enhancing privacy and trust on the Web.


== Key personnel ==
Directors/trustees

Wendy Hall (Chair)
Nigel Shadbolt
James Hendler
Noshir Contractor (Executive Director)
JP Rangaswami
George Metakides
Steffen Staab
Anni Rowland-Campbell
Bill Thompson
Jennifer Zhu Scott
Fellows

Tim Berners-Lee
John Taylor


== Conferences ==
The first Web Science conference (WebSci09: Society on Line) was sponsored in part by WSRI and was held in Greece in March 2009. The conference had over 300 registrants from a number of fields including computing, social science, law, economics, philosophy, psychology. The conference has since continued as a yearly event. The first fully virtual Web Science conference was held in July 2020 as a result of travel restrictions arising from the COVID-19 pandemic.


== Impact ==
The Web Science Trust has been influential in advancing interdisciplinary research that connects computing with the social sciences, law, and policy. Through its WSTNet laboratories and annual conferences, the Trust has encouraged studies of online trust, data ethics, and the societal impact of al


== See also ==
List of I-Schools
World Wide Web
Webometrics
Web Engineering


== Bibliography ==
Lohr, Steve (2 November 2006). "Group of University Researchers to Make Web Science a Field of Study". The New York Times.
Tim Berners-Lee, Wendy Hall, James Hendler, Nigel Shadbolt, Daniel J. Weitzner (August 2006). "Creating a Science of the Web". 313 (11): 769–71. Bibcode:2006Sci...313..769B. doi:10.1126/science.1126902. PMID 16902115. S2CID 5104030. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |publication= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Julià Minguillon, Daniel Riera, Kieron O'Hara and Wendy Hall (October 2008). "Web Science (dossier)" (7): 25. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |publication= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
James Hendler, Nigel Shadbolt, Wendy Hall, Tim Berners-Lee, Daniel J. Weitzner (July 2008). "Web science: an interdisciplinary approach to understanding the web". 51 (7): 60–69. doi:10.1145/1364782.1364798. {{cite journal}}: Cite journal requires |journal= (help); Unknown parameter |publication= ignored (help)CS1 maint: multiple names: authors list (link)
Web Science: Studying the Internet to Protect Our Future, an article by Tim Berners-Lee.


== References ==


== External links ==
Official website 
Press release
Audio: Web Science: A Conversation with the Inventor of the Web