Wendy Martinez

When we selected the theme for JSM 2020, we could not have imagined the events that would make the world community so aware of our work to ensure data is available and used for the public good. Paraphrasing the prospectus for the proposed United States Statistical Journal written by our association’s founders in 1843: Our science gives form to the realities of the present and the past and serves as a guide to the future. In this special issue, you will read about the important work being done by our many talented colleagues. In that spirit, I am using this President’s Corner to share with you thoughts from my vantage point as ASA president.

To begin, I want to acknowledge my colleagues who work as part of the federal statistical agencies. As stated in the Principles and Practices for a Federal Statistical Agency : “Even more broadly, the effective operation of a democratic system of government depends on the unhindered flow of impartial, scientifically based statistical information to its citizens on a wide range of issues, including employment, growth in the economy, the cost of living, crime victimization, family structure, physical and mental health, educational attainment, energy use, and the environment.” All sectors depend on the data and analysis made available through the work of the federal statistical agencies. If you did not attend the President’s Invited Speaker session at JSM, I recommend you watch the recording. Erica Groshen gave an amazing talk, “The Future of Federal Statistics.”

Ensuring data is used for public good depends on ethical practice. I think you probably know by now that ethics is a passion of mine, and it has never been so important that we as a profession follow and advocate for ethical practices, especially when using data analysis for the public good. I am proud of the work done by the ASA Committee on Professional Ethics in support of the Ethical Guidelines for Statistical Practice. I encourage you to visit the committee’s website, which has a rich repository of resources. Please also take time to provide input to the committee on potential revisions for the guidelines. In 2021, the committee will begin the formal writing process for revisions of the guidelines, so this is a critical time for you to provide input. Guidelines for ethical practice are essential, but we also need to make contributions to the broader data ethics conversation. We are happy to announce that the three ASA presidents are forming an Anti-Racism Task Force as I write this column (with Donna LaLonde’s help). The charge of the task force is to help the ASA reach the goals outlined in our statement. The detailed charge is on the website, but we highlight the following task because it relates to data ethics:

This charge reinforces the critical role for statisticians and data scientists to ensure the ethical use of data—in the present and in the future. As statisticians and data scientists, we are responsible for not only ensuring ethical practice, but also for contributing to the public understanding of the complex issues.

If you know me, then you know I am a data challenge advocate. Not only are they educational and fun, but they provide an opportunity to expand the community of individuals engaged in thinking about data for the public good, as the challenge data sets often come from government sources (i.e., public data).

I am excited to give you a preview of the upcoming 2021 Data Challenge Expo, which is sponsored by three ASA sections: Statistical Computing, Government Statistics, and Statistical Graphics. A special thank you to Juergen Symanzik (Utah State University) for coming up with the idea and making the connections for us. I also thank Anna Valuev and Lorena Molina-Irizarry (US Census Bureau) for their efforts setting this up and making it a meaningful event for contestants.

The data set for the 2021 Data Challenge Expo is being provided by the Census Bureau in partnership with The Opportunity Project (TOP), whose tag line is “Putting America’s data to work for the people.” For this challenge, the Census Bureau will identify a core data set that contestants will use as the focus of their statistical and visualization efforts. To accompany the data, our Census Bureau colleagues will provide a problem statement to help frame the efforts around challenges faced by communities nationwide. Note that past TOP projects were not related to our ASA Data Challenge Expo. The 2021 challenge is the first time for our partnership with TOP and the Census Bureau.

Contestants will follow the typical ASA Data Challenge Expo process and submit an abstract to be presented at JSM 2021. Keep an eye out for details about the steps to enter the contest. We will make announcements through the usual ASA news channels in October.

The geographer Joni Seager wrote, “What gets counted counts.” As statisticians and data scientists, we need to play a leadership role to ensure everyone counts and data is used for the public good. We are already looking forward to JSM 2021 with the theme “Statistics, Data, and the Stories They Tell.” I am grateful that our community will play a leadership role in telling stories that ensure everyone counts and data is used for the public good.