This column is written for those interested in learning about the world of Data for Good, where statistical analysis is dedicated to good causes that benefit our lives, our communities, and our world. If you would like to know more or have ideas for articles, contact David Corliss.

With a PhD in statistical astrophysics, David Corliss works in analytics architecture at Ford Motor Company while continuing astrophysics research on the side. He serves on the steering committee for the Conference on Statistical Practice and is president-elect of the Detroit Chapter. He is the founder of Peace-Work, a volunteer cooperative of statisticians and data scientists providing analytic support for charitable groups and applying statistical methods to issue-driven advocacy in poverty, education, and social justice.

A major initiative of 2018 ASA President Lisa LaVange has been the creation of a  leadership institute with the goal of fostering leadership skills, creating resources, and developing opportunities for leadership growth. Leadership skills are a regular subject at the short presentations and workshops at the Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM), Conference on Statistical Practice (CSP), and other conferences. The new ASA Leadership Institute seeks to develop focused training and resources to help members move their skills to the next level. The initiative was developed with the following three main goals in mind:

• Communicate the theory and practice to statisticians who are becoming leaders in their work
• Achieve more as the voice of statistics on the multidisciplinary teams so often seen today
• Promote statistics, analytics, and logical thinking as key contributors to decision-making

Nowhere are these three objectives more important than in Data for Good (D4G). Data-driven advocacy is inherently a leadership activity, as we bring our special skills to help people and improve our communities and world. Data for Good statisticians work most often in a multidisciplinary setting, partnering with others whose expertise is in the problem or concern to be addressed, not statistics. The analytic approach so natural to the way we work often does not figure strongly into the background and skills development of the people and organizations served by our work. Leading as the voice of science and data-driven decision-making are critical skills in Data for Good projects.

The Leadership Institute brings together a tremendously strong group as the steering committee, including ASA Executive Director Ron Wasserstein, former ASA President Bob Rodriguez, and many other well-known statistical leaders. The first seeds were sown in 2011, when LaVange and Bill Sollecito developed a leadership course at The University of North Carolina. Rodriguez, who served as ASA president in 2012, wrote in Amstat News about the importance of statistical leadership in a column titled “Statistical Leadership: Preparing Our Future Leaders.” A core team began a series of leadership workshops at JSM in 2012, paving the way for the establishment of the Leadership Institute in 2018.

I had a chance to discuss the Leadership Institute with LaVange at CSP and JSM, focusing on its importance to people working in Data for Good. In our conversations, LaVange stressed the importance of Data for Good activities to the ASA and how leadership and D4G naturally complement one another. While the skills and resources developed by the Leadership Institute are important for anyone leading statistical projects or groups, it is especially important here.

Most D4G projects and teams are fairly small—often just one or two people. As a result, scientific leads perform all other leadership functions, as well. The people served by our work usually aren’t statisticians, so there is a need to develop collaboration skills to work in multidisciplinary groups. Scientific teams seeking to help people and communities can fail if these skills are lacking. The ASA’s new leadership initiative develops specialized training and resources to foster individuals and groups, helping their D4G work reach its full potential. Fostering advocacy using science to help others also becomes advocacy for science as a key contributor to decision-making.

Stats for Good, by its very nature, shows the type of leadership in the wider community that the ASA’s Leadership Institute seeks to develop. As I have said before, the work of the American Statistical Association can be summed by doing good statistics, doing good for statistics, and doing good with statistics. The last of these is our mission: We become involved in this work out of a deep concern for others, often in a specific area in which we feel a special calling. The training and resources of the Leadership Institute allow Data for Good to have a greater impact both on the ASA and the wider society we seek to serve.

Has the ASA Leadership Institute benefitted you or your organization? Let us know how it is making a difference in helping you make a difference! Contact me.