2016 AAAS Annual Meeting (February 11-15, 2016)

February 10 - 15, 2016

Statisticians Building Global Science Capacity and Infrastructure

Science requires statistical collaborators to design studies, collect and analyze data, and interpret the results to advance research and support better and more impactful decisions. A lack of capacity in and around statistics can create a bottleneck for scientific progress. The Laboratory on Interdisciplinary Statistical Analysis (LISA) at Virginia Tech is building statistics capacity and research infrastructure in developing countries. Statisticians from developing countries are trained to communicate and collaborate with non-statisticians to solve real-world problems and improve decision-making through the use of evidence. The LISA 2020 program seeks to create a network of 20 such statistics labs in developing countries by 2020. As of early 2015, labs had been established in Nigeria and Tanzania, with others in development in 7 countries from Algeria to the Philippines. Another program, Statistics Without Borders (SWB), organizes its volunteer statisticians to provide free consulting to organizations and government agencies, particularly from developing nations without access to statistical services. The vision of SWB is to achieve and implement the best statistical practices in the service of others. Ongoing projects include developing a strategy for the use of statistical software in developing nations, and evaluating UNICEF health interventions in Sierra Leone.