Episode 59: The Data We Need: The State of Federal Statistics
Two distinguished leaders in federal statistics—Nancy Potok, former chief statistician of the United States and CEO of NAPx Consulting, and Connie Citro, senior scholar at the National Academies’ Committee on National Statistics, join hosts Donna LaLonde and Ron Wasserstein this month. Together, they discuss how the ASA is working collaboratively with other organizations to identify ongoing challenges for federal statistical and other data-generating organizations and to suggest longer-term improvements.
Potok and Citro share insights from their participation in ASA-led projects, “The Nation’s Data at a Crossroads” and “Modernizing the Federal Statistical System.” Both emphasize the urgent challenges facing federal statistical agencies: workforce losses; hiring freezes; declining budgets; and the erosion of public trust.
They also highlight the growing need to modernize data systems through secure data sharing, integration of administrative and commercial data, the responsible use of new technologies, and the importance of collaboration across agencies to improve data quality and efficiency. Listen to this compelling and timely discussion. And you won’t want to miss Ron’s traditional top 10, ““Top Ten Signs You are a Houston Statistician.”
Special thanks to the November sponsor of “Practical Significance,” ASA Champion Partner Cytel. With more than four decades of experience, Cytel is an industry leader in quantitative methods, biometric solutions, and best practices in adaptive clinical trial design. Cytel’s East Horizon platform is a comprehensive workbench for clinical trial design, simulation, and forecasting. Empowering biostatisticians and drug development teams with advanced AI tools, integrated open-source capabilities, and advanced cloud computing resources, the East Horizon platform is your industry-trusted solution to maximizing the probability of success.