In February 2024, hundreds of applied statisticians and data scientists gathered in New Orleans for the ASA Conference on Statistical Practice. The energy was high. We shared tools, explored new methods, and connected over a shared mission: solving real-world problems with statistics. Many attendees left feeling inspired, equipped, and part of something larger.
By these measures, CSP was a success for those able to travel to New Orleans. However, the ASA Board decided to suspend CSP this year due to lower registration and a shifting conference landscape. This strategic pause gave us a chance to reflect on how to better serve our community, especially in an environment where statisticians and data scientists now must choose among overlapping events while facing tighter time and resource constraints.
Before we look ahead, it’s worth recalling the original vision laid out by the working group in the November 2009 President’s Corner. They saw the conference as a space to elevate statistical leadership, not just through technical expertise, but also by building communication and other soft skills essential for leading applied projects. They emphasized supporting career development, particularly for students and early-career professionals, by sharing diverse career paths and practical advice. The working group also called for sessions and workshops that tackle real-world methodological challenges such as messy data and evolving programming needs. Finally, they stressed the value of collaboration between statisticians and nonstatisticians, even suggesting partnerships with other professional societies to foster broader engagement.
Upon reflection, these emphases remain relevant, so what was missing? In listening to our members—especially those from smaller institutions, state agencies, and regional organizations—a theme kept coming up: “How do we bring the benefits of a conference closer to home?” That’s where the idea for regional innovation conferences, called RICs, began.
RICs will build on the successes of CSP and continue to provide participants with opportunities to learn new statistical methodologies and best practices in statistical analysis, design, consulting, and programming, with added emphasis on fostering networking, engagement, and collaboration in local regions. As 2022 ASA President Kathy Ensor described community analytics, “bringing the best of statistical science in collaboration with municipal governments, universities, local businesses, NGOs, and community organizations to improve lives through a better understanding of our communities and how we live, work, learn, and play,” RICs will do the same.
A while ago, I attended a Florida Chapter meeting in Orlando. During the meeting, a local police officer presented his regression modeling approach to predict criminal incidence in the Orlando area. I thought that was fascinating. Later, I asked him if he had been working with a statistician. He said no. I thought that if the police officer teamed up with local statisticians, it could create a powerful and synergistic collaboration with real benefits to the community. It reinforced for me that there are many local issues in which statisticians can meaningfully engage and help mitigate challenges.
Imagine a RIC that invites city or state leaders, including mayors or governors, to listen and understand their region’s challenges. Can we also invite high school teachers and students to introduce them to our work? Can we bring in isolated local statisticians and data scientists working alone or with just a few colleagues at state agencies, banks, or local businesses? We have so much to offer. Further, we can grow and strengthen local networks by connecting statisticians and data scientists, fostering trust, and building lasting relationships between our profession and communities. That kind of engagement strengthens our ties in meaningful ways.
In this era of big data and AI, if we focus only on individual goals for academic achievement (such as peer-reviewed publications and grant funding), we risk missing many opportunities to improve our society. Of course, I recognize measuring genuine impact is challenging within today’s academic structures. However, I firmly believe this will change, and it is a conversation we must continue to have. RICs can serve as a bridge, helping to close the gap between scientific research and scalable solutions for local challenges.
With this concept in mind, we envision RICs that would empower local chapters as centers of innovation and provide a regional venue for sharing research and applications valuable for statisticians and data scientists from all employment sectors.
By leveraging our established chapter networks and building strategic partnerships, RICs have the potential to do the following:
- Create organic networking opportunities among members across different chapters in a region
- Share best practices and innovations relevant to local contexts
- Build collaborative and sustainable partnerships that address regional challenges
- Strengthen the ASA community while celebrating the richness of regional perspectives
When we first discussed the concept of RICs during an ASA Board meeting last year, the directors’ reaction was overwhelmingly positive. Among them, Melinda Holt, professor of statistics and dean at Sam Houston State University, shared her excitement with me:
I am excited that the ASA is pursuing the regional innovation conference model! I truly believe that regional conferences are unique opportunities for collaboration and community-building. As I share regularly, the Conference of Texas Statisticians has played a pivotal role in my career. It is where I gave my first presentation as a student, where I reintroduced myself to colleagues when I moved back to Texas, where I met my future employer, and what led to my service on the Council of Chapters Governing Board, then the ASA Board of Directors. COTS launched the careers of many of my students. Regional conferences will increase engagement because they are moderately sized, are relatively inexpensive, and require minimal travel time. That makes them accessible to many students, junior faculty, isolated statisticians, and universities or small businesses with limited travel funds.
That is exactly what I envisioned.
There is also an opportunity to strengthen the regional contributions to existing conferences. This could include a discounted registration category for members of chapters in the region and creating chapter-specific programming. Looking ahead, we might also consider a formal request for proposals process that allows a chapter or group of chapters to propose serving as the host for events such as the Women in Statistics and Data Science Conference or Symposium on Data Science and Statistics.
For RICs, there would be logistic support, including commitments to leverage ASA resources to secure sponsorship, apply student and early-career travel funds to support participation, and use ASA networks to identify potential collaborators. As with section-hosted conferences, we envision two levels of support. Tier 1 involves the chapter(s) and regional partners operating largely independently. Tier 2 represents a more collaborative model between the chapter(s), regional partners, and ASA.
Conference organizers would complete an event planning form and submit a proposal to the ASA office far enough in advance to allow the board of directors to review it in consultation with the Council of Chapters Governing Board. This timeline ensures both thorough evaluation and sufficient lead time for effective planning and implementation.
This is still a work in progress. But our goal is clear: to support ASA chapters as engines of regional innovation and give more members access to high-impact, community-driven events. By doing so, we hope to create a stronger, more interconnected ASA, rooted in shared mission, local relevance, and national reach. These efforts are about building strong, sustainable bridges both within our community and beyond the ASA.
Stay tuned as the policy framework continues to evolve. And if your chapter is interested in piloting a RIC, we would love to hear from you.
We envision resilient, regionally rooted collaborative partnerships that foster innovation and drive meaningful change. Let’s work together to make it happen!
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