Symposium of the U.S. Statistical Agencies

An International Year of Statistics Event

Wendy L. Martinez, Bureau of Labor Statistics

Many U.S. federal statistical agencies came together on November 13 and 14, 2013, to celebrate the International Year of Statistics at a symposium held at the Bureau of Labor Statistics conference center in Washington, DC. The symposium was organized by representatives of the Bureau of Labor Statistics, Bureau of Economic Analysis, U.S. Census Bureau, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, National Center for Health Statistics, Bureau of Justice Statistics, Internal Revenue Service Statistics of Income, National Agricultural Statistics Service, Economic Research Service, Office of Management and Budget, and the American Statistical Association.

Mirroring the goals of the International Year of Statistics, the objectives of the symposium were to increase public understanding of the power and impact of federal statistics and to nurture statistics as a profession in the public sector. The purpose of the symposium was not to have statisticians talking to other statisticians about their latest research. Instead, the goal was to inform non-statisticians about our profession and the importance of statistics.

The symposium was organized into the following five sessions that were targeted to different audiences and consumers of federal statistics and data products:

• Statistics for Economists: This session focused on statistics and related methodologies of interest to economists. Speakers came from the Bureau of Economic Analysis, National Center for Science and Engineering Statistics, the Bureau of Labor Statistics, and George Mason University.
• Statistics in Health: This session featured speakers describing the ways that statistics can be used in applications relating to health. Presenters came from the National Center for Health Statistics, the National Cancer Institute, the Census Bureau, and the Food and Drug Administration.
• Statistics for Journalists: Reporters and students found this session helped their understanding of official statistics produced by the various agencies. Paul Overberg of USA Today moderated this engaging session that included speakers from the U.S. Department of Agriculture, the Bureau of Justice Statistics, the National Science Foundation, and the Centers for Disease Control.
• Statistics in the New Media Era: A panel of expert speakers discussed how statistical agencies are implementing new media and digital tools. Agencies shared examples of how they are adapting new technologies and how this helps them provide easier public access to the data. Panel members include representatives from the Census Bureau, the Energy Information Administration, the Bureau of Economic Analysis, the Department of Justice, and the Bureau of Labor Statistics.
• Career Choices in Statistics: Two sessions were held for college students. These sessions included talks that explored various career paths, career-development skills, tips for getting a position with a federal statistical agency, and networking with professionals in government statistics. Presenters came from the Internal Revenue Service, Census Bureau, National Agricultural Statistics Service, National Center for Health Statistics, Food and Drug Administration, Department of Justice, Substance Abuse and Mental Health Services Administration, and Bureau of Labor Statistics.

More than 300 attendees from academia, government, industry, and the media participated in the event. A summary of the symposium and links to the presentations can be found at Bureau of Labor Statistics website.