Hi everyone,
This is a follow-up on my initial call for roundtable discussion proposals for JSM 2015 in Seattle, Washington.
We have lined up a total of 5 roundtable discussions for you . Information about these discussions is listed below - please make a note of the discussions that may spark your interest and follow this e-mail list for further details on the dates and times of these discussions, once they become available.
Roundtable discussions are a great way to meet other statistical consultants, share your insights, learn new things and have an enjoyable time in a safe and friendly environment. If you haven't attended a roundtable discussion in the past, perhaps you can make a point of attending one this year.
For those of you who were hesitant to submit proposals this year, I would like to encourage you to consider submitting a proposal next year. We all have something important to communicate to our peers - personal lessons distilled into messages that apply broadly to other settings and situations.
Finally, I would like to thank everyone who submitted proposals this year - your efforts were greatly appreciated by the Executive Committee of our Statistical Consulting Section as well as myself. We hope you will consider applying again next year. Often, it takes several tries to have a submission accepted, so please persevere.
Here is the promised information on the JSM 2015 roundtable discussions. Note that ASA may truncate some of the abstracts for inclusion in the conference program, so the more detailed abstracts below will likely give you a better flavour of the scope of each roundtable discussion.
Note that there are two types of roundtable discussions: AM (morning) and PM (afternoon). Times and dates to be announced at a later date.
Abstract ID: 314867
Session Type: AM
Session Title: Teaching and Consulting - A one-to-one mapping
Speaker: Jonathan Berkowitz
E-mail: jonathan.berkowitz@ubc.ca
Keywords: Consulting persona, Teaching best practices, Consulting best practice
Many consulting statisticians have previous or concurrent experience as teachers at universities or colleges. What experiences in the classroom can also be useful in the consulting boardroom? Conversely, what is done in a consulting environment that can enhance the classroom teaching and learning experience? Consulting can be viewed as teaching a very small class, sometimes with an enrolment of one. Teaching a class can parallel making a presentation to a client. During this roundtable we will discuss: similarities between a teaching persona and a consulting persona, ways to put clients and students at ease, explanations of statistical concepts that are suitable for both the classroom and the boardroom, establishing the tone at the first meeting and the first class, setting expectations, giving feedback, and more. But, thankfully, we won't be addressing how to evaluate students' and clients' performance, nor what is on the final exam! Come with your stories and experiences and questions; leave with new tools for your consulting toolkit.
Abstract ID: # is 316912
Session Type: AM
Session Title: What makes one an excellent Statistical consultant?"
Speaker: Vaneeta Grover
E-mail: vkgrover@yahoo.com
Keywords: Consultant, Excellent, Statistical, Technical Skills, Soft skills
As statistical consultants, we all aspire to be excellent at what we do and to have our professional opinions and contributions valued by our clients, colleagues and collaborators. But what makes one an excellent consultant? There is a fine line between being a good consultant and an excellent consultant. In this session we will discuss some of the characteristics that define the difference and how you can incorporate these characteristics into your practice in order to achieve excellency. Two success factors beyond technical capabilities are leadership and communication skills. Bring your experiences and examples of working with/as excellent statistical consultants for discussion.
Abstract ID: 314752
Session Type: PM
Session Title: Creating Research Infrastructure in Developing Countries
Speaker: Eric Vance
E-mail: ervance@vt.edu
Keywords: mentoring, statistical capacity building, statistical collaboration, statistical consulting, LISA 2020
A recent editorial in the New York Times stated, "Africa needs science, not aid." For many scientists around the world, and especially in developing countries, the bottleneck in research is lack of capacity to statistically analyze data. Scientists need statistical consultants and collaborators who can help them design studies, collect and analyze data, interpret the results, and make better and more impactful decisions. Join this discussion about how statisticians can enable and accelerate research in developing countries and how you can become involved in these ongoing efforts. One statistical capacity building effort that will be discussed is the LISA 2020 program to create a network of 20 stat labs in developing countries by 2020 and how this relates to an initiative of the Section on Statistical Consulting.
Abstract ID: 314872
Session Type: PM
Session Title: Managing Analytic Projects: What works and what doesn't
Speaker: Chuck Kincaid
Speaker E-mail: chuck.kincaid@experis.com
Keywords: Big Data, Analytics, Project Management, Best Practices, Leadership
Statisticians are an essential part of making informed and valuable decisions. We can even be leaders in our group's research or business, if we do it the right way. Unfortunately, our work does not always make as big an impact as it could and it's often because of the uncertainty in purpose, requirements, direction and scope. This is especially true now with Big Data getting people even more excited, but sometimes without a clear reason. By following Project Management best practices, whether we're the PM or not, we can become more reliable, more effective and more influential in our work.
You are invited to come to this roundtable to discuss your experiences and training in managing analytic projects. What works? What doesn't? How is project management different for big data and small data? How can you bring in project management best practices even if you're not the Project Manager?
Abstract ID: 315197
Session Type: PM
Session Title: Statistical Consulting: the Personal and the Professional
Speaker: Marlene Egger
Speaker E-mail: marlene.egger@hsc.utah.edu
Keywords: statistical consulting, personal balance
A statistical consulting career provides an opportunity for flexible contributions from the perspective of statistical science to a variety of projects. What is important to you in a consulting career? Some projects allow a consultant to use analytical tools that they developed or to stay current with state of the art statistical methodology developed by others. Some allow the consultant to make consulting contributions with impact in the real world, improving outcomes for people or organizations. Certain projects increase the consultant's prestige and that of the client. Others simply involve a schedule that meets one's needs. What lights you up, gets you up in the morning, and keeps you doing statistical consulting year after year? How do you maintain your health and sanity in a career which can at times generate stress, uncertainty and conflict? How can a statistical consulting career grow along with you, even when you transition into retirement? This roundtable event will be a wide-ranging discussion of personal balance in the profession of statistical consulting. Please come to this event ready to share your career experience, aspirations, and know-how .
Kind regards,
Isabella
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Isabella Ghement
Ghement Statistical Consulting Company Ltd.
E-mail: isabella@ghement.ca
Phone: 604-767-1250
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