We invited Hubert Hamer—administrator of the National Agricultural Statistics Service—to respond to a few questions so readers could learn more about him and the agency he leads.

To raise the profile of statisticians within the federal government, the ASA’s science policy department staff have been nominating members to various advisory committees and boards in different government agencies. The ASA’s science policy fellow, Amy Nussbaum, talks about some of those nominations here.

This month’s guest science policy columnist is Arthur Kennickell. He makes suggestions for SOI to continue its success over the next century as it faces new challenges, demands, and opportunities. Kennickell’s suggestions also may help other federal statistical agencies.

Bachelor’s and master’s degrees earned in statistics and biostatistics continued their strong growth, while doctoral degrees were flat from 2014 to 2015.

Naomi Goldstein—deputy assistant secretary for planning, research, and evaluation at the U.S. Department of Health and Human Services Administration for Children and Families—writes about her agency’s evaluation policy.

Demetra Nightingale, chief evaluation officer for the U.S. Department of Labor (DoL), describes her office’s evidence-based approach for improving the effectiveness of DoL’s many programs.

AAAS Science and Technology Policy Fellow Jake Basson writes about his data-driven decision-making work at the National Institute for General Medical Sciences—and what he’s found is encouraging.

Steve Pierson, ASA Director of Science Policy, breaks down the Fiscal Year 2016 omnibus spending bill signed into law in December, which included needed increases for the National Institutes of Health and many federal statistical agencies.

In March 2011, Gordon Reikard published a widely read Amstat News piece, “Stimulating Economic Growth Through Technological Advance,” exploring the connection between investment in technology and economic growth. Revisiting the topic four and half years later, Reikard discusses the prospects for economic growth through the end of the decade.

The 2014 degree data released in late August by the National Center for Education Statistics reveal continued strong growth of undergraduate and graduate statistics and biostatistics degrees.