American Statistical Association (ASA)
Table of Contents
Section 1: Introduction to the ASA Statistical Consulting Section
1.1 Mission
1.2 Strategy
Section 2: Organization
2.1 Section Officers
2.2 Executive Committee Meetings
2.3 Committees
2.4 Section Charter
Section 3: Section Activities
3.1 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM)
3.1.1 Continuing Education Course
3.1.2 Invited Session
3.1.3 Topic-Contributed Sessions
3.1.4 Contributed session abstracts (Oral, Speed, and or Poster Presentations)
3.1.5 Roundtable session abstracts
3.2 Other Conferences
3.3 Awards
Appendices
Appendix 1: Timeline of responsibilities of Chair-Elect, Chair, and Past-Chair
Appendix 2: Meeting templates
Executive Committee Quarterly Meeting Template
Section Business Meeting Template
Appendix 3. Template Voting Form for Best Contributed Paper
Section 1: Introduction to the ASA Statistical Consulting Section
1.1 Mission
The Statistical Consulting Section of the American Statistical Association (ASA) (Section) represents all ASA members involved in the practice of statistics. Our membership embraces statistical practitioners who apply methodology to solve challenging questions within and across a wide array of disciplines including agriculture, business, finance, pharmaceuticals, psychology, public policy, economics, medicine, public health, epidemiology, among others. A major goal of the section is to foster a community of statistical practitioners across such a diverse set of disciplines. The skillset required to achieve excellence in the practice of statistics is diverse and includes technical skills as well as communication skills. This latter skill set encompasses a broad area that often involves engagement in and understanding of team science. Specifically, practicing statisticians often rely on the ability to communicate technical ideas to a non-statistical audience and collaborate with others across multiple disciplines to jointly solve challenging questions.
The mission of the ASA Statistical Consulting Section is to support ASA members in the practice of statistics in the following ways:
- Foster a community that welcomes diverse viewpoints
- Bridge collaborations across members (connecting needs with resources)
- Promote and nurture career development
- Facilitate mentorship and sponsorship
- Provide a forum for intellectual exchange of ideas on the practice of statistics
- Provide resources for achieving excellence in the practice of statistics
- Provide resources for establishing one’s own statistical practice
1.2 Strategy
The strategy for achieving its mission includes:
- Sponsoring sessions at the Joint Statistical Meetings for continuing education, invited, topic-contributed, contributed oral and poster presentations, and roundtables.
- Planning and hosting webinars on topics relevant to Section members.
- Sponsoring an awards program that encourages mentoring, service, and contribution to the annual JSM program
- Maintaining a directory of statistical consultants that is open to the public
- Hosting social media accounts and website and publishing articles in the Amstat News to broadcast Section initiatives, messages, webinars, and training courses
- Organizing networking groups for Section members
- Contributing to a discussion and message board
- Developing and maintaining a Section operating manual to help current and future officers perform their duties and conduct section business in an efficient manner
Section 2: Organization
2.1 Section Officers
The Section’s Executive Committee is composed of the following elected and appointed officers. Each position contains a description of the role of the officer.
Chair
The Chair is the chief officer of the Section and is the preceding year’s Chair-Elect. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Section and the Executive Committee and coordinate the work of the Section officers and committees. The Chair shall prepare an annual report on Section activities. The Chair shall regularly review the financial reports provided by the Association's online system. The Chair appoints the Communications Officer, Webmaster, Webinar Coordinator, and the student liaisons, when the positions are open. The Chair, with the approval of the Executive Committee, may appoint additional individuals or committees to carry out Section functions. A timeline of responsibilities for the Chair-Elect, Chair, and Past-Chair is shown in Appendix 1.
Past-Chair
The Past-Chair is the previous year’s Chair. The Past-Chair shall advise and assist the Chair and the Executive Committee. The Past-Chair is Chair of the Committee on Nominations.
Chair-Elect
The Chair-Elect shall preside over meetings of the Section and the Executive Committee in the absence of the Chair. In consultation with the Chair and Secretary/Treasurer, the Chair-Elect shall prepare the budget of the Section for the year in which the Chair-Elect is Chair. Early in the Chair-Elect’s tenure, the Chair-Elect shall appoint the Program Chair-Appointee, who will succeed the Program Chair the following year.
Secretary/Treasurer
The Secretary/Treasurer shall be responsible for the minutes of all meetings of the Section and the Executive Committee. The Secretary/Treasurer shall also assist the Chair-Elect in preparing the annual budget and shall monitor the Section's dues collections and expenditures and prepare an annual report on the financial condition of the Section. In the middle of the year, the Secretary/Treasurer should notify the Executive Committee of expected committee vacancies.
Two (2) Representatives to the Council of Sections
The Representative(s) to the Council of Sections shall report to the Executive Committee (and, as appropriate, to all Section members) about issues being discussed by the Council of Sections, shall communicate feedback from members to the Council of Sections, and shall represent the interests of the Section and its members to the Council of Sections.
Three (3) At-large members
The three at-large elected members of the Executive Committee serve as a channel for information between the membership and the Executive Committee and serve on committees of the Section. They shall also assist the Section through special assignments made by the Chair and/or Executive Committee.
JSM Program Chair
The Program Chair is responsible for developing and coordinating the Section's sessions and other program events at national and regional meetings of the Association. For JSM, the Program Chair solicits submissions from Section members for Continuing Education, Invited, Topic Contributed, and Contributed sessions through electronic or other appropriate means 3-4 weeks in advance of the respective submission deadline and follows up with a timely reminder of each deadline. The Program Chair provides the abstracts received for the Continuing Education, Invited, and Topic Contributed sessions for review by the Executive Committee. By majority vote, the Executive Committee decides which submissions will be included in these sessions. The Program Chair coordinates with the JSM Program Chair in the development of contributed sessions sponsored by the Section. The Program Chair has authority to accept these abstracts without consultation of the Executive Committee. The Program Chair also encourages submissions by Section members of contributed abstracts for oral or poster presentations, with a special focus on student members of the Section.
JSM Program Chair-Appointee
The Program Chair-Appointee coordinates the Section’s roundtable sessions at the Joint Statistical Meetings and assists the Program Chair in duties as requested. The Program Chair-Appointee solicits roundtable session abstracts 3-4 weeks in advance of the submission deadline and follows up with a timely reminder. To help Section members, the Program Chair-Appointee offers to review draft abstracts and provides guidance on topic choice of greatest interest to the Section. The Program Chair-Appointee provides the received abstracts for the roundtables sessions for review by the Executive Committee. By majority vote, the Executive Committee decides which submissions will be included in the Section’s roundtable sessions. The number of roundtable sessions sponsored by the Section is specified in the annual budget. The Chair of the Section has authority to increase the number of sessions beyond the budgeted amount. The Section usually sponsors no more than six roundtable sessions.
Publications Officer
The Publications Officer shall coordinate paper and electronic publications associated with the Section including, but not limited to, Section columns in Amstat News, proceedings of meetings, and other presentations. The Publications Officer serves as Chair of the Section’s Publications Committee. The Publications Officer shall serve as the Section's representative on Association committees concerned with Section publication matters. When requested by the Editors, the Publications Officer shall assist in soliciting, reading, and editing articles on statistical consulting for publication in the Association's journals.
Communications Officer
The Communications Officer shall distribute relevant information and updates to Section members through the Section’s microsite and discussion board. The Communications Officer also heads the communications committee, which includes the Publications Officer, the Webmaster, and the Webinar Coordinator.
Webmaster
The Webmaster maintains the Section’s website and coordinates its improvement and content with the advice of the Publications Committee and Executive Committee.
The Executive Committee also invites individuals holding the following appointed positions as invited guests.
Webinar Coordinator
The Webinar Coordinator plans, coordinates, and executes webinars on topics of interest to Section members.
Two (2) Student Liaisons
The Student Liaisons assist the Program Chair and Program Chair-Appointee with tasks related to the Section’s program at JSM, assist the Communications Officer and Publications Officer in communicating with student members, and assist the Activity Coordinator to implement programming for students, including developing consulting skills and growing into a career as a statistical collaborator.
2.2 Executive Committee Meetings
The Executive Committee meets quarterly. The Q3 meeting is usually held in-person at JSM and the other quarterly meetings are held virtually using video technology. The Chair may call for additional meetings as necessary. All meetings are planned and organized by the Chair.
2.3 Committees
The Section has six standing committees, which are described below.
Nominations Committee
The Committee on Nominations shall consist of the immediate Past-Chair of the Section, who serves as chair of the Committee, and three other members, one appointed each year by the chair of the Committee for a three-year term. The Committee shall submit nominations for officers as provided in Article VI of the Charter. In June or July, the Nominations Committee identifies open positions for the following year’s voting and sends a notice to Section members advertising the openings and requesting nominations, including self-nominations. The Committee also uses its personal network to identify Section members and others who may be interested in serving. If desired, the Committee may meet in-person at JSM but usually coordinates its work via e-mail. The Committee ensures there are at least two nominees for each open position and requests biographies from each nominee. The names and biographies of the nominees are submitted to the ASA by September 15. Requests for notification of these nominees will be made by ASA staff.
Fellows Committee
The Committee to Nominate Fellows shall consist of three Section members who are ASA Fellows. The members are appointed by the Section Chair to have staggered 3-year terms. Each year the Committee shall identify Section members suitable as nominees for the honor of Fellow of the American Statistical Association (described in the By-Laws of the Association) and shall coordinate preparing and submitting nominations.
Charter Committee
The Section Chair shall appoint a Charter Committee for the purpose of reviewing the Charter of the Section as needed, normally every three years when contacted by a Vice Chair of the Council of Sections. The Charter Committee shall typically be comprised of the Chair Elect who will chair the Committee, the Secretary/Treasurer and an Executive Committee member with a Section’s Council of Sections Representative being a liaison with the Council of Sections. If revisions are merited, the Charter Committee shall prepare a revision to be submitted to the Section in accordance with Article XI of this Charter.
Publications Committee
The Publications Committee shall consist of the Publications Officer, who serves as Chair of the Committee, the Communications Officer, and the Webmaster. It shall coordinate the publication and external communication activities of the Section, including the Section’s microsite. The Committee meets at a minimum on an annual basis to review the microsite, plan publications for the Amstat News, add content to the Section’s social media channels, and consider other external communication activities.
Supervisory Committee
The Supervisory Committee shall consist of the Chair, Chair-Elect, Past-Chair, and Secretary/Treasurer. It shall advise the Chair where needed between meetings of the Executive Committee. The Chair shall summarize discussions of the Supervisory Committee, if any, at the next meeting of the Executive Committee.
Mentoring Award Committee
The Mentoring Award Committee shall consist of three members: one Representative to the Council of Sections, one additional Executive Committee member, and one additional member of the section. It shall be responsible for publicizing the Section’s annual Mentoring Award, reviewing nominations, and selecting an awardee. The Section Chair selects one member as a Committee Chair. The Committee Chair is responsible for publicizing the award nomination process, gathering nominations, and communicating with the Section Chair on the winner of the award.
2.4 Section Charter
Article I. NAME
The name of this organization is the Section on Statistical Consulting (hereafter called the Section) of the American Statistical Association (hereafter called the Association).
Article II. OBJECTIVES
The special interests of the Section are encouraging and facilitating best practices in statistical consulting and developing statistical collaborators involved in interdisciplinary research. The Section fosters the increased and improved use of statistical thinking through effective client/consultant relationships. The Section achieves these objectives by providing a forum for the interchange of ideas and information on statistical consulting and the education of statistical collaborators. The Section may engage in specific activities appropriate to pursue the above objectives, including but not limited to:
- Foster the role of the statistical
- Regularly communicate information on statistical consulting through the Section’s ASA microsite and/or appropriate
- Sponsor sessions at Association meetings and in other settings to encourage best practices in statistical
- Coordinate efforts with other Sections of the Association and with other societies and organizations.
- Encourage improved training of statistical collaborators and promote effective innovative training
- Study the organizational structure of the training of consultants and the placement of consultants within academic or non-academic
- Promote the use of ethical standards in statistical
- Promote the professional stature of consultants and statistical scientists, in
Article III. MEMBERSHIP
Any Association member may become a Section member by paying the Section dues appropriate for their type of Association membership. The membership year for each Section member shall coincide with that member's Association membership year. An individual may hold no more than one office within the Section at a given time.
Article IV. OFFICERS
All officers must be Section members in accordance with Article III above. The Section officers shall be the Chair, the Chair-Elect, the Past Chair, the Secretary/Treasurer, the Program Chair, the Program Chair-Appointee, the Communications Officer, the Activity Coordinator, the Webmaster, the Publications Officer, three at-large members of the Executive Committee, the Representative(s) to the Association's Council of Sections, and up to two Student Liaisons. The number of Representatives shall be determined by the Charter of the Association’s Council of Sections. The Chair-Elect, Secretary/Treasurer, the Publications Officer, the three at-large members, and the Council of Sections Representative(s) are elected; the Chair-Elect succeeds the Chair who succeeds the Past Chair; all other officers are appointed. All members of the Executive Committee are voting members.
The Chair is the chief officer of the Section and is the preceding year’s Chair Elect. The Chair shall preside at all meetings of the Section and the Executive Committee and coordinate the work of the Section officers and committees. The Chair shall prepare an annual report on Section activities. The Chair shall regularly review the financial reports provided by the Association's online system. The Chair appoints the Communications Officer, Webmaster, Activity Coordinator, and the student liaisons, when the positions are open. The Chair, with the approval of the Executive Committee, may appoint additional individuals or committees to carry out Section functions.
The Chair-Elect shall preside over meetings of the Section and the Executive Committee in the absence of the Chair. In consultation with the Chair and Secretary/Treasurer, the Chair-Elect shall prepare the budget of the Section for the year in which the Chair-Elect is Chair. Early in the Chair-Elect’s tenure, the Chair-Elect shall appoint the Program Chair-Appointee, who will succeed the Program Chair the following year.
The Past Chair is the previous year’s Chair. The Past Chair shall advise and assist the Chair and the Executive Committee. The Past Chair is Chair of the Committee on Nominations.
The Secretary/Treasurer shall be responsible for the minutes of all meetings of the Section and the Executive Committee. The Secretary/Treasurer shall also assist the Chair-Elect in preparing the annual budget and shall monitor the Section's dues collections and expenditures and prepare an annual report on the financial condition of the Section. In the middle of the year, the Secretary/Treasurer should notify the Executive Committee of expected committee vacancies.
The three at-large elected members of the Executive Committee serve as a channel for information between the membership and the Executive Committee and serve on committees of the Section. They shall also assist the Section through special assignments made by the Chair and/or Executive Committee.
The Representative(s) to the Council of Sections shall report to the Executive Committee (and, as appropriate, to all Section members) about issues being discussed by the Council of Sections, shall communicate feedback from members to the Council of Sections, and shall represent the interests of the Section and its members to the Council of Sections.
The Publications Officer shall coordinate paper and electronic publications associated with the Section including, but not limited to, Section columns in Amstat News, proceedings of meetings, and other presentations. The Publications Officer serves as Chair of the Section’s Publications Committee. The Publications Officer shall serve as the Section's representative on Association committees concerned with Section publication matters. When requested by the Editors, the Publications Officer shall assist in soliciting, reading, and editing articles on statistical consulting for publication in the Association's journals.
The Program Chair shall be responsible for developing and coordinating the Section's sessions and other program events at national and regional meetings of the Association. The Program Chair serves as a member of the Association's Program Committee. The Program Chair is the preceding year’s Program Chair-Appointee. The Program Chair presents the proposed invited program to the Executive Committee for final approval.
The Program Chair-Appointee shall coordinate the Section’s roundtable sessions at the Joint Statistical Meetings and assist the Program Chair.
The Communications Officer shall distribute relevant information and updates to Section members through the Section’s microsite and discussion board.
The Activity Coordinator shall work with the Communication Officer in developing Section activities throughout the year that include webinars and potentially other activities such as mentoring and student events.
The Webmaster maintains the Section’s website and coordinates its improvement and content with the advice of the Publications Committee and Executive Committee.
The Student Liaisons shall assist the Program Chair and Program Chair-Appointee with tasks related to the Section’s program at JSM, assist the Communications Officer and Publications Officer in communicating with student members, and assist the Activity Coordinator to implement programming for students, including developing consulting skills and growing into a career as a statistical collaborator.
Article V. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE
The Executive Committee of the Section shall consist of the officers of the Section. Between business meetings, the management of the affairs of the Section shall be in the hands of the Executive Committee.
Article VI. NOMINATION AND ELECTION
Each year the Section's Nominations Committee shall submit, to the Secretary of the Association and the Section Chair, at least two candidates for each position to be filled meeting the Association's general deadline for submission of nominations. As part of the Association's annual election, the Secretary of the Association will transmit a ballot to all Section members. Additional nominations may be made by submitting a timely petition, signed by at least 25 Section members, to the Section Chair and the Secretary of the Association. Such a petition must be submitted a minimum of two weeks before the Association's deadline for including candidates on the ballot. If the office of Chair becomes vacant, the Chair-Elect shall become the Chair, the term extending through the following year. Vacancies in other offices shall be filled by the Chair’s appointment with the approval of the Executive Committee.
Article VII. TERMS OF OFFICE
The Chair, Chair-Elect, Past Chair, Program Chair, and Program Chair-Appointee shall each serve a one-year term. The Chair, Chair-Elect and Program Chair-Appointee shall automatically succeed the Past-Chair, Chair and Program Chair, respectively, at the annual change of officers, occurring on January 1.
The Secretary/Treasurer and the Publications Officer are each elected to a two-year term.
The at-large elected members of the Executive Committee shall serve three-year terms, staggered so that one member is elected each year.
The term of office for the Representative(s) to the Council of Sections shall be as specified in the Charter of the Association’s Council of Sections. Staggered elections will be used when the Section has more than one Representative.
The Communications Officer, the Activity Coordinator, and the Webmaster are appointed for two year terms. The terms of the Communication Officer and Activity Coordinator shall be offset from each other. No elected officer shall be eligible for immediate re-election to the same office except the Secretary/Treasurer. The Communications Officer, Activity Coordinator, and the Webmaster may be reappointed.
The Student Liaisons are appointed for a one-year term. Liaisons may be reappointed.
Article VIII. COMMITTEES
- Types. The Committees of the Section shall consist of the Executive Committee, Standing Committees provided by this Charter, and such Standing or Current Committees as the Chair may establish. Current Committees may be established to serve a particular need or interest of the
- Membership. The term of membership on Standing and Current Committees, if not otherwise specified in this Charter, shall be three years. Initial terms shall be set by the Chair for one, two, or three years so that, as nearly as possible, one third of the members shall be appointed each year. Members of committees shall serve until their successors are appointed or elected. Unless otherwise specified in this Charter, each committee shall be governed by a chair appointed by the Section Chair. All members of Standing and Current Committees shall be members of the Association. The Chairs of all Standing and Current Committees shall be Section
- Normal Time of Appointment. So that new members of Standing and Current Committees may begin work promptly, the Chair-Elect shall normally designate these members. If possible, the designations shall be made at least two months prior to the time when the new committee members begin their
- Standing Committees. The Standing Committees provided by this Charter are as follows:
Nominations Committee. The Committee on Nominations shall consist of the immediate Past Chair of the Section, who serves as chair of the Committee, and three other members, one appointed each year by the chair of the Committee for a three-year term. The Committee shall submit nominations for officers as provided in Article VI. Members of the Committee are not eligible for nomination by the Committee.
Fellows Committee. The Committee to Nominate Fellows shall consist of three Section members who are ASA Fellows. The members are appointed by the Section Chair to have staggered 3-year terms. Each year the Committee shall identify Section members suitable as nominees for the honor of Fellow of the American Statistical Association (described in the By-Laws of the Association) and shall coordinate preparing and submitting nominations.
Charter Committee. The Section Chair shall appoint a Charter Committee for the purpose of reviewing the Charter of the Section as needed, normally every three years when contacted by a Vice Chair of the Council of Sections. The Charter Committee shall typically be comprised of the Chair Elect who will chair the Committee, the Secretary/Treasurer and an Executive Committee member with a Section’s Council of Sections Representative being a liaison with the Council of Sections. If revisions are merited, the Charter Committee shall prepare a revision to be submitted to the Section in accordance with Article XI of this Charter.
Publications Committee. The Publications Committee shall consist of the Publications Officer, who serves as Chair of the Committee, the Communications Officer, and the Webmaster. It shall coordinate the publication and external communication activities of the Section.
Supervisory Committee. The Supervisory Committee shall consist of the Chair, Chair-Elect, Past Chair, and Secretary/Treasurer. It shall advise the Chair where needed between meetings of the Executive Committee. The Chair shall summarize discussions of the Supervisory Committee, if any, at the next meeting of the Executive Committee.
Mentoring Award Committee. The Mentoring Award Committee shall consist of three members: one Representative to the Council of Sections, one additional Executive Committee member, and one additional member of the section. It shall be responsible for publicizing the Section’s annual Mentoring Award, reviewing nominations, and selecting an awardee.
- Current Committees. The life of a Current Committee may not exceed five years without a review of its need by the Executive Committee. Any committee that is to continue for more than one year must have a charge approved by the Executive Committee. Each committee must submit an annual report to the Executive
Current Committees established in accordance with this article may be dissolved at any time by a majority vote of the Executive Committee.
Article IX. PUBLICATIONS
Publication of non-journal periodicals, reports, proceedings, or other publications may be authorized by Executive Committee vote. Editors for Section publications shall be members of the Section and shall be appointed by the Chair with the approval of the Executive Committee.
Article X. MEETINGS
The Executive Committee shall meet at the annual meeting of the Association. It may also hold additional meetings at times and places designated by the Chair with the Executive Committee’s consent. Meetings shall be held at the call of the Chair or by vote of two-thirds of the Executive Committee. Between meetings, the Executive Committee may conduct business by mail, telephone, or electronic means. The annual business meeting of the Section shall be held in connection with the annual meeting of the Association and shall be announced in program of the annual meeting. The officers may also conduct business with the Section members by mail, or electronic mail or other electronic means.
Article XI. AMENDMENTS
- Amendments to this Charter may be proposed by the Executive Committee or by a petition signed by at least 25 Section members. An amendment originating by petition shall be referred to the Executive Committee, which shall vote on its recommendation regarding ratification. Periodic revisions, as provided for in Article VIII Item 4, shall be referred to the Executive Committee, which may recommend ratifications as a whole or in parts. The Executive Committee may also decide upon the final wording of a proposed amendment, as long as such wording is consistent with the original intent of the petition.
- All proposed amendments shall be submitted to the members of the Section for their vote at the time of the next annual election of officers. If approved by a majority of the members voting, the amendment shall take effect immediately. A copy of the amendment shall be filed with the Secretary of the Association.
Section 3: Section Activities
3.1 Joint Statistical Meetings (JSM)
The Section sponsors sessions at JSM for Continuing Education, Invited, Topic-Contributed, Oral and Poster Presentations, and Roundtables. The current process for soliciting submissions and choosing abstracts for each of these sessions is described below. The Section also sponsors a social mixer in conjunction with its annual business meeting, which is usually scheduled for the Tuesday evening of JSM. The Chair is responsible for organizing and planning the social mixer and business meeting. The social mixer usually includes food and two drink tickets per attendee, at the discretion of the Chair. The business meeting usually includes brief reports from most or all of the Executive Committee members, including a report on the JSM program, the Section’s finances, and Section initiatives and activities. An example business meeting template is provided in Appendix 2. Section finances are made transparent through the Treasurer’s Report, which is compiled by ASA staff and can be requested from Steve Porzio by the Secretary/Treasurer. The Executive Committee has its quarterly meeting at ASA, generally on Tuesday morning for breakfast. The Chair is responsible for finding a suitable location—hotel restaurants with a buffet are generally preferable—and planning the meeting.
3.1.1 Continuing Education Course
The Program Chair-Appointee solicits proposals for Continuing Education courses to be sponsored by the Section at the next year’s JSM through the Section’s message board. The ideal time to send out the solicitation is shortly before JSM so that organizers can meet together in-person during JSM to discuss and plan potential submissions. The Program Chair-Appointee provides a reminder solicitation one or two weeks before the submission deadline, which is usually at the end of September. After the deadline has passed, the Program Chair-Appointee sends proposals to the Executive Committee members for review and voting to accept or reject each submission. By sponsoring a Continuing Education course, the Section commits to share in either the profit or loss of the course. After course expenses are met, the Section receives 50% of profits (or loss) if sponsoring a course and 25% of profits (or loss) if co-sponsoring a course. The potential for financial loss should be considered when contemplating the type and number of courses sponsored by the Section.
3.1.2 Invited Session
The Program Chair-Appointee solicits proposals for Invited session abstracts through the Section’s message board. The ideal time to send out the solicitation is shortly before JSM so that organizers can meet together in-person during JSM to discuss and plan potential submissions. The Program Chair-Appointee provides a reminder solicitation one or two weeks before the submission deadline, which is usually during the second week of September. After the deadline has passed, the Program Chair-Appointee sends proposals to the Executive Committee members for review and voting to accept or reject each submission. The number of invited sessions is determined by ASA, and in recent years the Section has received two or three sessions.
3.1.3 Topic-Contributed Sessions
The Program Chair-Appointee solicits proposals for Topic-Contributed session abstracts through the Section’s message board. The ideal time to send out the solicitation is sometime during October. The Program Chair-Appointee provides a reminder solicitation one or two weeks before the submission deadline, which is usually during the second week of December. After the deadline has passed, the Program Chair-Appointee sends proposals to the Executive Committee members for review and voting to accept or reject each submission. The number of invited sessions is determined by ASA, and in recent years the Section has received two or three sessions.
3.1.4 Contributed session abstracts (Oral, Speed, and/or Poster Presentations)
The Program Chair-Appointee solicits proposals for Contributed session abstracts through the Section’s message board. The ideal time to send out the solicitation is shortly after the submission window opens, which is usually early December. The Program Chair-Appointee, who by January takes on the role of the Program Chair, provides a reminder solicitation one or two weeks before the submission deadline, which is usually during the first week of February. After the deadline has passed, the Program Chair sends proposals to the Executive Committee members for review and voting to accept or reject each submission. The number of contributed sessions is unlimited, and Section members should be encouraged to submit abstracts so that all presentations can be given in the same session.
3.1.5 Roundtable session abstracts
The individual who will become the Program Chair-Appointee in January solicits proposals for Roundtable abstracts through the Section’s message board. The ideal time to send out the solicitation is shortly after the submission window opens, which is usually in early December. The Program Chair-Appointee provides a reminder solicitation one or two weeks before the submission deadline, which is usually during the first week of February. The Program Chair-Appointee reviews the submissions with the Chair and it is also customary for the Program Chair-Appointee to share the roundtable abstracts with Executive Committee members. However, the Program Chair has authority to choose which roundtables the Section sponsors. The Section pays the registration (including lunch) of the primary author/presenter of the roundtable, which is usually $40. Experience has shown that the Section cannot support more than 6 roundtables. In other words, if more roundtables are chosen, the number of attendees is generally too low. Roundtables are usually canceled if the paid registration two weeks before JSM is lower than four. As a matter of note, when canceled, reimbursements are given to the paid registrants and the Section is not charged for the sponsor’s registration.
3.2 Other Conferences
At this time, the Section does not sponsor sessions at other statistical and data science conferences, but it is actively seeking opportunities to do so.
3.3 Awards
The Statistical Consulting Section offers awards that foster and encourage a forum for the interchange of ideas and information on statistical consulting and the education of statistical consultants. Three of these awards are focused on the Joint Statistical Meetings as the primary means of exchange and education. The fourth award recognizes those members who help other individuals in their career and activities. And the fifth recognizes those members who have made meaningful contributions to the section. Executive Committee members cannot receive any of the five awards because of the conflict of interest. Otherwise, any topic-contributed session, contributed paper in a session, or student contributed poster for which the Section on Statistical Consulting is the primary sponsor is eligible to receive a program award. Any non-EC member is eligible for the mentoring and service awards. Only the Secretary/Treasurer and Chair are permitted to access the award request form at the ASA Leader Hub, https://community.amstat.org/asaleaderhub/home.
Best Topic-Contributed Session
A Best Topic-Contributed Session Award is given to the organizer of the best topic-contributed paper or panel session at JSM based on the submitted Voting can take place as early as the Topic-Contributed sessions are chosen (usually December or January) and as late as the May. The Program Chair is responsible for distributing the topic-contributed abstracts and voting forms. To be received at JSM, the Secretary/Treasurer or Chair generally must enter the request for the award by June 1 at the ASA Leader Hub website. The organizer receives a $750 prize and an award certificate. The certificate will be given at the Section’s JSM Business Meeting. After the submission deadline for topic-contributed sessions, the winner will be chosen by the Executive Committee based on the criteria of 1) appeal to members of the Consulting Section, 2) potential for a high impact on the consulting and collaboration practices of the audience, 3) logical flow, connection between topics, and overall message conveyed to the audience, 4) captivating and well written abstract(s), and 5) inclusion of valuable techniques, methods, or skills the audience can put to use after they leave JSM. A scoring system has not consistently been used but in a recent year, each of the five criteria were rated on a 0, 1, or 2-point scale for a total of 10 points. Each criterion was judged on fully meeting (2 points), partially meeting (1 point), or not meeting (0 points) the description.
Best Contributed Paper
A Best Contributed Paper Award (in a regular contributed paper session) of $500 prize and certificate will be given to the presenting author of the best contributed paper in a session at JSM. EC members attend the section’s contributed session(s) and vote for the best paper. The JSM app will also be used to allow Section members to cast their vote for the best contributed paper. The judging will be on dimensions similar to the following: Topic/Relevance, Influence, Delivery, Visual Material, and Engagement. When possible, the winner will be announced and the award presented at the Section’s JSM business meeting, which is usually Tuesday evening. The Program Chair is responsible to distribute voting forms and to notify Executive Committee members when the contributed sessions are taking place. A template voting form is included in Appendix 3. Other voting systems can be established.
Best Student Contributed Poster
A Best Student Contributed Poster Award will be given to the winning presenting author as determined by the committee of EC judges. A $500 prize and certificate will be given to the presenting author at the JSM Business Meeting. EC members will attend the poster session(s) including the section’s contributed posters and vote for the best poster based on criteria similar to the Best Contributed Paper. The Program Chair is responsible to distribute voting forms and to notify Executive Committee members when the contributed poster sessions are taking place.
Outstanding Mentor Award
The Section annually awards an Outstanding Mentor Award for outstanding mentoring in statistical consulting and collaboration. This award comes with a $750 cash award. Note that this is not a JSM-specific award. Any non-EC member of the section can win this award. A certificate of congratulations will be given to the winner of the award. This award is chosen by the Mentoring Award committee.
Outstanding Service Award
Starting in 2019 the ASA initiated an Award for Outstanding Section Service to be given by each section once every three years. The award consists of a $750 cash award provided by the section and a certificate. Any non-EC member of the section can win this award and this is not a JSM-specific award. This award is given every three years. In years in which this award is offered (2019, 2022, and every three years afterward), the Chair will choose an Outstanding Section Service Award committee.
Appendices
Appendix 1: Timeline of responsibilities of Chair-Elect, Chair, and Past-Chair
|
Month
|
Event
|
|
March of Year n-2
|
ASA elections are held in March and results are available in June. You have been elected in March of Year n-2 to serve as chair in year n. You will be chair-elect in Year n-1.
|
|
August of Year n-2
|
Having been elected to chair the section in Year n, you are the chair-elect-elect in August of Year n-2. You should attend functions at JSM in that capacity. Although you are not formally a member of the section’s executive committee at JSM in year n-2, you are welcomed and encouraged to participate in the section’s executive committee meeting in year n-2 at the JSM and any other section activities that are appropriate.
|
|
September of Year n-2
|
Appoint the JSM program chair-elect. This person will be responsible for the program at the year n JSM and the roundtables at the year n-1 JSM.
|
|
January of Year n-1
|
You are now chair-elect of the section. You are a member of the executive committee.
|
|
July of Year n-1
|
It would be good to meet with the current chair to talk about your initiatives and other things you want to do. These can be discussed briefly in the JSM Executive and Business meetings. This discussion will allow you to prep people for the coming year.
|
|
August of Year n-1
|
You should attend the section's committee meetings at the JSM (executive committee, general business meeting, and others) as the chair-elect. It is good to get a few minutes of each meeting to talk about your upcoming initiatives and get support (volunteers) to help, if needed.
|
|
September of Year n-1
|
The ASA wants a final version of the budget by the end of October. You are in charge of this. You should work with the section Secretary/Treasurer to submit one. You may consider using the budget and expenses/revenue from the previous year as the basis for the new year. The cost and revenue for any new initiatives can be added. The ASA does not beat you up if you are "wrong" on any of the items.
The 4th Quarter Executive Committee meeting can be another time to start gearing up for your initiatives. Individual conversations should be happening with At-Large members, as well as other members, to work out details and get volunteers, if needed. The more involvement by the membership, the better.
|
|
October of Year n-1
|
Chair-Elect needs to appoint a new member to the Mentoring Award Committee to serve in year n, replacing the committee member dropping off. Beginning in 2019 this was a $750 cash award. http://community.amstat.org/Go.aspx?MicrositeGroupTypeRouteDesignKey=596852b9-62ed-44c4-9624-deb6a11155c3&NavigationKey=82de6a87-9c30-4e75-9fb9-b8f2276a44da
|
|
October of Year n-1
|
Chair-Elect needs to appoint a new member to the Fellows Committee to serve in year n, replacing the committee member dropping off. https://community.amstat.org/cnsl/aboutus/officers/fellows
|
|
October of Year n-1 (every 3 years)
|
Chair-Elect needs to appoint 3 new members to the Outstanding Section Service Award Committee to serve in year n, replacing the committee member dropping off. This is an ASA award and is only given every 3 years. The first year was n=2019. The next award will be in 2022, 2025, etc. https://community.amstat.org/cnsl/aboutus/officers/section-service-award-committee
|
|
October of Year n-1
|
Chair-Elect needs to appoint members (as needed) to any new or ad-hoc committees that will be formed in year n. It is beneficial to the Section to invite members to volunteer on committees. For example, the journal committee (formed in 2019) or the webinar committee (formed in 2020).
|
|
December of Year n-1
|
The current chair should have sent you materials pertaining to the section's business. By now there's not a lot to look at, unless you didn't have the earlier meetings.
|
|
We don't use an e-mail listserve anymore. The communication is all done via the Discussion Forum.
|
|
|
|
January of Year n
|
You are now chair of the section. Your first order of business should be an email note to the Executive Committee welcoming them to the new year for the section. Do this as soon after January 1 as possible. Specifically ask them for a response by a certain date, in order to make sure they are all connected properly. Include a list of section officers and their contact information, and ask for corrections. Telephone any non-respondents. Perhaps their email address is not correct.
|
|
Start planning your 1st Quarter meeting. Doodle is a good tool to get availability from people. The first meeting is an intro for everyone. Some people will be figuring out what they are to do and others will know because they are continuing on from last year. The other big topic of discussion is the Program for the upcoming JSM. There is a lot of time before JSM, so no need to spend time getting into details now. Use the time for your initiatives.
You can use your communications to remind people about their tasks. Most people are great about what they are to do, if they are helped out by a gentle reminder. Particularly, the Mentoring Award Committee, Fellows Committee, the new Nominations Committee and any continuing initiative committees. Discuss about webinars for the year as well. Suggest to have a webinars committee (include 1-2 Section members to serve on this committee).
|
|
It is beneficial to send out an agenda ahead of time. Gather agenda items from the EC. It is also helpful to look at the agenda items from past years to see if there is anything to add. The Sec/Treas can use this agenda as the starting point for their minutes. The more reports and summaries that you can get sent out ahead of time, the better informed EC members will be and the better the input and discussion during the meeting.
|
|
The webinars (historically) are intended to be 5 a year, i.e. every two months, except for July and August, because of JSM. The first one should be set up for February. Then April, June, September, November. --ish. You know how these things go. :-)
|
|
The Webmaster should review the Section's and EC's microsite to make sure the content is up to date (i.e. committees, past officers, awards, etc.)
|
|
Fill out annual questionnaire/report to update the three bullets that describe the Section and to report on the Section's performance for 1) engaging members, 2) delivering services, 3) attracting new members
|
|
Send out welcome letter to all section members to remind them of our new initiatives for year n
|
|
Be aware that only the Secretary/Treasurer and Chair can submit the award request form for awards: https://community.amstat.org/councilofsections/sectionawards. Keep this link handy
|
|
Ask the Chair of the Outstanding Mentoring Award to make a call to Section members for nominations for Mentoring Award (due March 31). The Nomination Form should be updated with the contact information for the chair of the Mentoring Award Committee and the Chair of the Section.
|
|
February of Year n
|
The Sec/Treas should get out the draft minutes as soon as possible after the meeting. The EC is given 2 weeks to review and correct. Then they are accepted and sent to the webmaster, who will post them to the EC's microsite.
|
|
There is a COS Governing Board Vice Chair assigned to the Section. They are a liaison to the Council of Sections. Rick Peterson (rick@amstat.org) has also been a primary go-to person for help. He is very responsive and can get information from others at ASA if he doesn't know the answer.
|
|
Nominations for ASA Fellows are due March 1. https://www.amstat.org/ASA/Your-Career/Awards/ASA-Fellows.aspx
|
|
Nominations for the Section's Mentoring Award are due March 31. Check with Chair of the Mentoring Award Committee to ensure a solicitation has been sent out.
|
|
March of Year n
|
ASA should be sending out forms for you to request time slots for the Section business meeting/mixer at JSM.
The EC meetings have been held during breakfast (6:30am-8:30am) at a hotel near the convention center. Breakfast at a hotel is a lot cheaper than breakfast at convention center and dinners. People can order breakfast off the menu, or most hotels have a buffet. You can pay for the breakfast with your personal credit card. Submit the receipt to Rick Peterson for reimbursement (they are usually pretty quick to send you a reimbursement check).
For the Section business meeting/mixer, make sure you specify if you’d like a microphone (highly recommended) or overhead projector in the JSM meeting room at the convention center (any other audiovisual aids should be requested at this time also). The combined mixer and business meeting are typically held on Tuesday evening. Our mixers are usually well attended, so be sure to order a large enough room and enough food. It will ensure that people stay at the mixer if there is enough food! You can use the last year's agenda to build your meeting agenda. Plan room size and food for 60 people (food usually runs out early). Also, request drink tickets (2 per person).
|
|
Start advertising the JSM activities on the discussion forum. The Program Chair can provide the program. The Program Chair-Appointee can provide the Roundtables. If the Section is sponsoring a Continuing Education Course, then we should advertise that a lot, as well.
|
|
Check with the Chair of the Mentoring Award Committee to see when they will vote on the award. Then, complete the ASA award form before June 1.
|
|
|
|
April of Year n
|
The Publications Officer was designated as the person who would work with an ASA committee for the ASA's electronic proceedings. Some people may have a paper that they want to publish in the proceedings, but less people are doing that.
|
|
If you’d like the section to sponsor a continuing education activity in JSM n+1, now is a good time to think about it. ASA has materials that will help someone put a proposal together. There is a deadline for these proposals in September.
|
|
The 2nd Quarter EC meeting would happen sometime in the 2nd quarter: April, May, June.
|
|
June of Year n
|
Submit online to ASA the name(s), home address(es) and social security number(s) for the person(s) who won the section’s award(s) for organizing a topic contributed paper session, and mentoring award. This is done in cooperation with the secretary/treasurer (only the Chair and S/T have this authority). ASA will prepare a certificate and the check.
|
|
ASA will announce the results of the election for section officers. Contact the newly elected officers and congratulate them. Invite them to attend the JSM executive committee meeting. Strictly speaking they are not voting members of the executive committee yet but there is a strong benefit to the continuity of the section to get them involved as soon as possible. Make sure to include them in the e-mails to the executive committee. Announce the results of the election to the executive committee. Add the new officers (and those they appoint) to your directory of officers by contacting Rick Peterson (Rick@amstat.org). Contact the members who were nominated but did not win. Thank them for agreeing to run for office, inquire about their continued interest in other opportunities, ask for their input.
|
|
Begin to identify the committee meetings at JSM to which the section should send representatives. Begin to contact section officers and other members and make sure all these meetings are covered. (e.g., Council of Sections meeting on Sunday for section chairs and council of sections reps, CoS briefing meeting for chairs and treasurers on Sunday, section executive committee meeting, section business meeting, meeting for publications officers and newsletter editors, meeting for program chairs for n+1 JSM, meeting for program chairs for n+2 JSM, and CoS debriefing meeting for council of section reps on Thursday.) There is also a collaboration meeting for Section Chairs and Chairs-elect. This is an opportunity for Chairs and Chairs-elect to learn from each other about ways that Sections can work together and ways that Sections can help our members even better.
|
|
Send request for JSM donor door prizes. Chair-Elect and At-large members are a good group to assist with this request
|
|
|
|
July of Year n
|
Prepare agendas for the executive committee and business meetings. Circulate them to the executive committee with time for feedback; circulate the final version to the executive committee before JSM. As needed, ask officers and other members for reports to be presented at these meetings and sent to the secretary/treasurer for inclusion in the minutes. Suggest to keep this meeting focused on JSM items and discussions that are better suited for face-to-face meetings.
|
|
The ASA will send out a request to submit any awards you want to hand out at the JSM business meeting/mixer (Best Topic Contributed Session, Outstanding Mentor, Outstanding Section Service). By doing this, ASA will print a certificate and check that you will need to pick up at JSM and hand out during the business meeting. Alternatively, you can have the certificate and check mailed to the winner separately and present them a "fake" certificate at JSM (this is what we did in 2019).
The other two awards (Best Contributed Paper and Best Student Contributed Poster) are voted on at JSM and, as such, cannot be distributed at JSM. They can be sent to the people afterwards.
|
|
Advertise for the Section's JSM business meeting/mixer via the section discussion board. Entice members with an exciting agenda, door prizes, and food/drinks!
|
|
You may want to schedule a meeting with the section chairs (past, present, -elect, and –elect-elect) to discuss your initiatives and long-term plans.
|
|
The Program Chair will coordinate the voting for Section Awards at JSM.
|
|
The JSM Invited Sessions are due in early September. These can be announced before JSM with people having an opportunity to network, discuss and plan papers/panels at JSM.
|
|
|
|
August of Year n: During the JSM
|
Pick up the certificate(s) and check(s) for any awards you will be handing out during the business meeting/mixer (unless you had them mailed separately).
|
|
Run the executive committee and business meetings.
|
|
Attend or send a representative to the Council of Sections business meetings. Typically these have been on Sunday and Thursday.
|
|
Attend or send representatives to attend other committee meetings during JSM where the section’s attendance is requested.
|
|
Make sure that someone will be summarizing these meetings for the section (especially items pertaining to the section).
|
|
|
|
August of Year n: After the JSM
|
Begin to follow up on action items from the committee and business meetings.
|
|
Make sure that the minutes of these meetings (executive committee and business meeting/mixer) are circulated to the executive committee. Once approved, they should be posted on the Web.
|
|
Ask people who attended committee meetings at JSM as representatives of the section to send in a summary. This should be circulated to the executive committee and retained by the secretary/treasurer.
|
|
Review the Section Chair Duties document with chair-elect and past-chair to ensure relevance and accuracy
|
|
|
|
September of Year n
|
Proposals for Continuing Education (CE) courses at the year n+1 JSM are due at the end of the month. Note the section receives half of the difference between fees and expenses; expenses include direct costs plus 48% overhead. Note that the difference can be negative, in which case the section has a loss.
|
|
November of Year n
|
Review and update the time and tasks documents (including this document) that are maintained by the section, with input from officers and others involved most recently in the processes. Be sure these are all passed on to the chair-elect. You can also post them to the EC website to ensure others can find them in the future.
|
|
|
|
December of Year n
|
Organize section materials to transfer to the chair-elect and other officers.
|
|
Contact outgoing officers and thank them for their service to the section.
|
|
Send out a year-end summary of section activities and your initiatives to the section members via the discussion board.
|
|
|
|
January of Year n+1
|
You are now past-chair. Whew! You are also now chair of the nominating committee. https://community.amstat.org/cnsl/aboutus/officers/nominatingcommittee You need to find one member to serve a three-year term on this committee. For more details about the activities of this committee, see the nominating committee time and task list.
|
|
February of Year n+1
|
The section’s annual report is due. This is a one-page document to be completed online in a Google doc form supplied by ASA.
|
|
May or June of Year n+1
|
Activate the nominating committee and begin searching for candidates. See the nominating time and task list for more details.
|
|
August of Year n+1
|
Attend the section executive committee meetings and general business meeting at the JSM in your role as past chair.
|
|
September of Year n+1
|
Nominations for section positions are due (September 15). You are the chair of the nominating committee. There are three additional members, one appointed each year by the chair of the committee. Two nominees for each position are required. Check the nominating committee time and task list for more detailed information.
|
|
December of Year n+1
|
You have finished your duties as Chair of the Section on Statistical Consulting
|