First ASA Conference on Statistical Practice

Phil Scinto

In response to the requests of many members, the first ASA Conference on Statistical Practice (CSP) has been set for February 16–18, 2012, in Orlando, Florida, at the Renaissance Orlando at SeaWorld.

While the Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM) is the premier conference for statisticians, it is large and diverse. In particular, JSM cannot focus on the needs of applied and consulting statisticians working on urgent problems, issues, and systems for clients and organizations to improve processes, products, and decisions.

The vision for CSP is to bring together statistical practitioners—including data analysts, researchers, and scientists—who use statistics to solve real-world problems on a daily basis. The conference will provide an opportunity to learn about the latest statistical methodologies and best practices in statistical design, analysis, programming, and consulting. Additionally, you will learn the following:

Statistical techniques that apply to your job as an applied statistician

How to better communicate with customers

How to have a positive impact on your organization

Organizing Committee
Sylvia Dohrmann
Amy Farris
Fay Gallagher
Stephen Porzio
James Rutherford
Michael Schell
Nathaniel Schenker
Keith Schleicher
LeAnna Stork
Kathleen Wert
Philip Scinto
Annual Conference Committee
David Nickerson
LeAnna Stork
James Rutherford
Don McCormack
Winson Taam
Dominique Haughton
Sylvia Dohrmann
Jennifer Van-Mullekom
Dennis Kunimura
Jyoti Rayamajhi
Stephen Porzio
Kathleen Wert
Amy Farris
Fay Gallagher
Philip Scinto

The CSP will focus on invited presentations and courses full of information for you, the practicing statistician, to take back to your job.

The intended CSP audience includes those statisticians, data analysts, researchers, educators, and scientists who engage in statistical analysis, design, and consulting as a major component of their jobs. A sizable portion of the audience will have graduate degrees in statistics or a related area, while others will have no statistics degree, but will have mastered their skills through self-study or coursework as part of another discipline.

It is not the ASA’s goal that the CSP mimic JSM or be an extension of JSM. Nor is the CSP intended to be a vehicle to highlight or promote statistical theory. The conference will have an intimate feel (we are targeting 400 people for the initial conference) and will provide opportunities for you to learn new statistical methodologies and best practices through invited courses and sessions, posters, and plenary presentations. The conference also will provide opportunities for you to further your career development through workshops and seminars on effective communication, management, and leadership skills. In addition, a goal is to strengthen relationships in the statistical community for those practitioners not necessarily part of an academic community or a large statistical organization.

Members of both the CSP Organizing Committee and the Annual Conference Committee are diligently working on the 2012 conference program. In fact, 2012 ASA President Bob Rodriguez has agreed to be the plenary speaker and kick off the conference.

This initiative will serve applied statisticians in all areas. While sessions and courses are still in development, we plan to have tracks in research and development, operations and engineering; business analytics; and communication, impact, and career development. However, do not let the track names lead you to believe the topics are limited. These tracks, still preliminary, are intended to span diverse areas, industries, and disciplines. Whether you are in industry; government; medical, pharmaceutical, environmental, business, or economic statistics; education; software; or general consulting, there will be something for you. Check the CSP website for updates.