IAOS

Announcement of Results of 2021 Young Statistician Prize

Details

Category: Latest News

Published: Thursday, 06 May 2021 10:54

Hits: 56

The International Association for Official Statistics (IAOS) is pleased to announce the results of the 2021 IAOS Young Statisticians Prize.   Once again, the standard was very high and we would like to thank all those who entered.  

The winner will present their paper at a mutually agreed international conference.  Winning papers are also eligible to be published in a future issue of the SJIAOS.

The IAOS would like to congratulate the winners and thank all entrants. We would also like to thank the International Judging panel for their efforts.

The three winning papers and their authors are:

1. Elham Sirag and Mr. Gautier Gissler (Statistics Canada): Estimating excess mortality in Canada during the COVID-19 pandemic: Statistical methods adapted for rapid response in an evolving crisis 

2. Kevin Kloos (Statistics Netherlands (CBS): A new generic method to improve machine learning applications in official statistics 

3. Mr Caio Gonçalves (João Pinheiro Foundation) and Luna Hidalgo (Brazilian Institute of Geography and Statistics (IBGE)): Model-based single-month unemployment rate estimates for the Brazilian Labour Force Survey

The special commendation for a paper from a developing nation is: 

Mr. Muhammad Fajar and Mr. Zelani Nurfalah (Badan Pusat Statistik –Statistics Indonesia): Hybrid Fourier Regression-Multilayer Perceptron Neural Network for Forecasting

John Pullinger

IAOS President 2019-2021

More information on the 2022 IAOS Conference in Krakow

Details

Category: Latest News

Published: Thursday, 01 April 2021 10:41

Hits: 353

International Association for Official Statistics Conference 2022

Krakow, Poland - April 26-28, 2022

Worthy Information for Challenging Times

Information Note

The responses of societies and economies to the short and long term consequences of the COVID 19 pandemic are taking place within the challenges of climate change and the international commitments to leave no one behind. Data, and in particular Official Statistics, are key to these responses.

Yet with multiple sources and providers, it is often difficult to differentiate the good from the bad, the trustworthy from the unreliable, the relevant from the noise.

In these times, achieving relevance and enhancing trust in information is a fundamental challenge facing Official Statistics. It requires a multi-strand approach.

The seven strands for the conference reflect this approach, recognising that Official Statistics needs to respond to:

-    the need to build shared data governance in a time of the data deluge

-    ethical challenges that go with the booming role played by data in societies and economies

-    producing valuable information for policy-making and for public debate, in ways that bring value to users

-    new and emerging statistical methodologies and technologies able to provide good statistics

The strands are:

1 - Integrating available Data Sources for Official Statistics: Challenges and Opportunities

This strand will include challenges in dealing with “not-statistically oriented” data sources, and integrating these across the different domains (economic, social and environment).

2 - Backbone of Official Statistics: Critical Sources, Infrastructure, Resources

This strand will examine challenges and responses in ensuring that the unique assets of Official Statistics can take advantage of the data deluge.

3 - Official Statistics Addressing Global Objectives (SDGs, Climate change…)

This strand will focus on interactions between Official Statistics outputs and global agendas.

4 - Official Statistics and Covid-19: key takeaways

This strand will review how the responses to the major disruptions experienced by Official Statistics due to the pandemic have been relevant and how they might have positive long-lasting benefits.

5 - Abundance of Data for Official Statistics’ Uses: Meeting the Ethical Challenges

Availability and possible use of new data sources is raising ethical challenges for Official Statistics. The pandemic has highlighted some of them. This strand focuses on understanding these challenges and responses.

6 - Statistics in a Time of Distrust and Misuse: The Communication Challenge

This strand will examine challenges in communicating Official Statistics at a time of data desire but also data rejection. It will review the respective contributions played by reputation, independence, reliability and relevance.

7 - Official Statistics Contribution for a Global Data Governance

In an ever-expanding data ecosystem, Official Statistics aims at taking a pivotal role in Data Governance. This strand will examine the implications for Official Statistics from local, national and international perspectives.

More information, including deadlines for proposals, will be available soon.

ISI AND IAOS EXPRESS CALL FOR AN END TO THE PERSECUTING OF ANDREAS GEORGIOU

Details

Category: Latest News

Published: Thursday, 01 April 2021 13:11

Hits: 201

The ISI and IAOS have followed with growing concern the continued persecution through the justice system in Greece of Andreas Georgiou, former Head of the Greek Statistical Office, ELSTAT.

Also see the previous ISI Statements and Letters Concerning Statistical Ethics.

A Greek appeals court has found Andreas Georgiou liable for slander. The slander charges relate to a public statement Georgiou made in his official role as President of ELSTAT while fulfilling his responsibility to defend the official deficit and debt statistics for Greece produced under his leadership. These statistics have been fully validated by Eurostat — the statistical office of the EU. The UN’s Fundamental Principles of Official Statistics give statistical offices the right to comment publicly on criticisms and misuse of statistics.

Greece’s legal actions and decisions against Georgiou on several closely related cases is now in its tenth year with the initial legal proceedings against him having begun in September 2011.

We restate our grave concern that these continued prosecutions have damaged the scientific integrity of highly regarded work addressing Greece’s problematic fiscal statistical reporting from the 2000s. This case has implications for the international statistical system, and the rights of government statisticians to defend their statistics, as allowed under the UN Principles.

In September 2018 Georgiou was awarded a special commendation by the ISI, the American Statistical Association, the Royal Statistical Society and other statistical societies to acknowledge his upholding of the highest professional standards in his public service in the pursuit of integrity of statistical systems.

Defending official statistics, as required by the UN Fundamental Principles of Statistics and the European Statistics Code of Practice, should not lead to legal prosecution.

We join with other statistical associations in:

1. Urging the end to the now 10-year persecution of Andreas Georgiou and his full exoneration, thereby signalling Greece’s commitment to accurate and ethical government statistics.
2. Calling on the international statistical community to express their support for Andreas Georgiou in media outlets throughout the world.

Announcing the IAOS 2022 Conference

Details

Category: Latest News

Published: Friday, 12 March 2021 13:41

Hits: 387

Dear all,  

It is our pleasure to announce that the IAOS 2022 Conference organized in collaboration with Statistics Poland, will be held from April 26-28, 2022 at the Convention Center in Krakow, Poland. The theme of the 2022 Conference is “Worthy Information for Challenging Times”. 

With hope that the situation around the COVID-19 pandemic will have improved and restrictions on travel and indoor events lifted, the Conference will be organized in a face-to-face format in the beautiful city of Krakow, most likely with an option for virtual participation. 

However, if the pandemic continues to evolve and the situation does not stabilize soon, we will revisit options.   

Members and supporters of the IAOS are encouraged to mark their calendars for the Conference. In the meantime, the organizing committee will monitor closely the situation regarding COVID-19 and communicate a final decision on the conference format well in advance to allow ample time for participants to make arrangements to attend the Conference. 

Furthermore, candidates interested to serve on the IAOS 2022 Conference Scientific Programme Committee are invited to express their interest by emailing Mr. Jan Robert Suesser, Chair of Scientific Programme Committee, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it., by Thursday, April 15, 2021. 

There will be more information about this event posted on the IAOS website in the coming months. 

For any question about the IAOS 2022 Conference, including how members can help, contact Mr. Misha Belkindas, IAOS President Elect, at This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.. 

Progress is also being made on the delayed IAOS/ISI Regional Statistics Conference in Livingstone, Zambia. I hope we will be able to make a further announcement soon. 

Best wishes 

John Pullinger

IAOS President