Creating Research Infrastructure in Developing Countries

• Activity Number: 571
• Type: Roundtables
• Date/Time: Wednesday, August 12, 2015 : 12:30 PM to 1:50 PM
• Sponsor: Section on Statistical Consulting
• Author(s): Eric A. Vance*
• Companies: LISA, Virginia Tech
• Keywords: mentoring ; statistical capacity building ; statistical collaboration ; statistical consulting ; LISA 2020

Abstract

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. The main statistical capacity-building effort to be discussed is the LISA 2020 program to create a network of 20 statistics labs in developing countries by 2020 and how this relates to an initiative of the Section on Statistical Consulting and the ASA.