Statistics Without Borders Assists With Haitian Data Collection Project
A team of Statistics Without Borders (SWB) volunteers is advising SciMetrika, LLC (an 8(a) firm that focuses on providing solutions to advancing human health) on the design and execution of a survey in Haiti. Data collected will be used to assess the impact of the magnitude 7.0 Mw earthquake of January 12, 2010. See here for more details.
Evaluation of the Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children (November 2009 - Ongoing)
The Rotary Oceania Medical Aid for Children supports children in desperate need of complex surgical operations that are not possible to perform in the child’s home country in the Oceanic Region (see www.romac.org.au). The evaluation committee was set up to quantitatively assess this program, in particular looking at the psycho-social wellbeing of the child and their carers through-out such a program. Mark Griffin serves in a voluntary role on this evaluation committee, and will periodically ask for technical help with these duties from other members of Statistics Without Borders.
Providing Statistical Support And Training For The Health Information Systems Knowledge Hub (March 2010 - Ongoing)
The School of Population Health at the University of Queensland has been selected to establish a Health Information Systems Knowledge Hub, which is one of the four Health Knowledge Hubs initiated by AusAID to provide improved health knowledge and expertise to inform policy dialogue at national, regional and international levels and to provide guidance to AusAID on how to ensure better health outcomes from its bi-lateral aid programs. The overall aim of the Health Information Systems Knowledge Hub is to contribute to the quality and effectiveness of Australia’s engagement in the health sector in the Asia Pacific region through expanded expertise and an expanded knowledge base that is of practical value and used by stakeholders in development. Statistics Without Borders is a collaborative partner of the HISHub and will make use of the HISHub network to provide training and education in field of statistics within the Oceanic region. Statistics Without Borders activities will be clearly marked as SWB efforts and will not be marked as efforts undertaken by HISHub staff.
An Email List Discussion Forum Supporting Statistical Endeavours In The Oceanic Region (September 2010 - Ongoing)
A major obstacle in conducting statistical analyses in the Oceanic Region is the vast limit of statistical expertise in this region. The pacific-stats@mail.lists.uq.edu.au discussion list was set up as a discussion forum for Pacific Islanders conducting such analyses where they can discuss statistical concerns with expert statisticians from around the world. Statistics Without Borders can help in answering questions posted by local residents to this discussion forum.
Developing A Clear Strategy For The Use Of Statistical Software In Developing Nations (September 2010 - Ongoing)
A major obstacle restricting adequate statistical analyses to be conducted by local statisticians within developing nations is limited access to sophisticated statistical software. The purpose of this project is to clarify the needs of statistical software within such communities (ie. identifying the types of statistical procedures most commonly desired in such software) and in evaluating the currently available statistical software available to such clients (both in terms of cost and in terms of functionality). There is no specific external client involved in this project, though we will be asking for input from a wide range of external clients.