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 leads a data science team at Fiat Chrysler. He serves on the steering committee for the Conference on Statistical Practice and is the founder of Peace-Work, a volunteer cooperative of statisticians and data scientists providing analytic support for charitable groups and applying statistical methods in issue-driven advocacy.

Data for Good works through so many channels! Investigators at universities and other research institutions conduct and publish studies. Statisticians and data scientists in industry create products to make people’s lives healthier and safer. Student projects make a difference today and build for the future. Professional staff at Data for Good organizations like Statistics Without Borders, DataKind, and HRDAG make a huge impact. Volunteers partner with all these organizations and work as individuals to make a difference with statistics.

Another area in which analytics has great potential for good is the government, as Data for Good workers partner with the people who make and implement programs and policies that affect everyone’s lives. Legislators and their staffers, agency personnel, law enforcement, and the advocacy groups who work with them all need statistical support and guidance.

At the national level, the ASA is active in science policy and advocacy on behalf of statistical science, analytics best practices, and the statistical community. Led by Steve Pierson, the ASA’s director of science policy, the team maintains a nonpartisan voice for statistics and the statistical community, best practices in data and analytics, and data-driven decision-making in government. They provide resources for policymakers, keep ASA members up to date on policy developments affecting our work, and advocate for government research—especially through the National Institutes of Health and National Science Foundation.

ASA science and advocacy activities play a crucial role in driving understanding and adoption of sound statistical analysis, helping Data for Good make the greatest impact. As a leading advocate for best practices in data collection, management, and analysis, the policy and advocacy team serves as a lens, focusing the concerns of ASA members on issues of the day—such as proposals for moving federal agricultural research agencies out of the Washington, DC, area and adding a citizen question to the 2020 Census. In the latter case, the ASA teamed up with the American Sociological Association and Population Association of America to submit an amicus brief in the case. The Supreme Court recently decided the case by temporarily blocking the question, finding “the secretary’s failure to consider this evidence—that adding the question would harm the census count in the interest of obtaining less accurate citizenship data—provides a sufficient basis for setting the decision aside.”

Speaking as a scientist and not an attorney, reading the decision in the census citizenship question case gives cause for concern: It doesn’t appear to say anything about the integrity of the data being protected by law. When it comes to data products at least, there seems to be no legal protections against the government deliberately producing an adulterated set of goods, despite the financial harm to individuals that can result. Advocating for data quality from government agencies has become an important avenue for Data4Good activists.

More than statistics is needed to gain the maximum benefit for people and society. As scientists, we turn information into insight. As advocates, we must turn that insight into action. Among the nonmathematical “soft skills” often needed to make #data4good more effective in the public square are effective writing and speaking and developing and leveraging relationships with elected officials, agency leaders, and their staffs. Becoming familiar with science advocacy activities from the ASA, the American Association for the Advancement of Science (AAAS), and many other organizations will provide resources needed to help further the use of science in government and support greater use of data-driven decision-making.

While ASA science policy and advocacy initiatives do much at the national level and in Washington, DC, state and local government have the same needs for careful research and statistical support in service to peoples’ needs. Working locally is also a really good way to get started and learn the process. County health departments need local breakdowns of larger studies. Local schools have the best local data and appreciate the application of statistics to find data-driven solutions but often lack the statistical resources needed to turn their data into solutions. Local and regional charities, community service organizations, social services agencies, and faith-based groups often partner with local government to meet needs in the community. Statistical skills are desperately needed to identify needs, reach out to people, and make tiny budgets do the most good. Start where you already have connections and ask how Data for Good can have the greatest impact in the community.

One interesting new opportunity is the result of the recent Supreme Court ruling on partisan gerrymandering, which found the judiciary cannot decide these issues. This is likely to further expand state-level efforts to take action. No gerrymandering happens without statistics, and so it is incumbent upon the entire statistical community to seek to use statistics to set things right. Going forward, this could be a crucial area for Data for Good.

When working on Data for Good projects in the public square, be sure to do your homework first. Find out which elected officials and agency leaders are active on the particular issue you want to address. By learning to partner with government, social service, community organizations, and other researchers, we can do even more to make the benefits of Data for Good a reality.

Statistical Action in the Public Square: Rules of the Road

• Learn which government officials affect your area of interest
• Meet with their staff and get to know them
• Ask how you can support them with statistics
• Cite reliable peer-reviewed research
• Never exaggerate statistical results