Improving Official Statistics
Improving Official Statistics
Improving Official Statistics
Improving Official Statistics
I am Gary Dunnet, and I welcome you to my inaugural newsletter as IAOS President 2025 – 2027.
In my ‘day job’ I am Interim Chief Methodologist at Statistics NZ with over 37 years’ experience in Official Statistics; but my ‘night job’ (quite literally ‘during the night’ as I reside in New Zealand) is very much about international engagement and connection.
I was elected to the IAOS Executive Committee in 2021 and elected as the President Elect by the Executive Committee in late 2024, following the resignation of Graciela Marquez.
During the 2025 IAOS General Assembly (GA) held during the ISI World Statistics Congress (WSC), the IAOS 2025 – 2027 Executive Committee (ExCo), were elected:
I wish to thank all those members who served on the 2023 – 2025 ExCo, especially those that finished their term and left the committee: Dominik, Graciela, Qasem, Lisa, Ronald, Elsa, Gemma and Pietro.
I was fortunate enough to attend the 65th ISI WSC in The Hague, and while we were spoilt for choice, some personal highlights included:
Strategic Direction 2025 – 2027
It is normal for the ExCo to agree a Strategy for their term, and work towards it – as with any strategy it needs to build on the past and set for the future. During the General Assembly, I outlined some suggested Focus Areas, and these need both ExCo and members endorsement. My proposed Focus Areas are:
Please keep an eye out in the New Year for your chance to input.
IAOS 2026 Conference
IAOS is very pleased to be partnering with Statistics Lithuania for the 20th IAOS Conference to be held May 12 to 14, 2026, in Vilnius, Lithuania. This will be a great opportunity to showcase groundbreaking ideas, share research, and connect with experts shaping the data-driven future.
The theme of the 20th IAOS Conference is Navigating the Data Revolution: Innovations and Impact in Modern Statistics. The theme reflects that we are living in an era where data is created faster and in greater volume than ever before — bringing unparalleled opportunities as well as new challenges for statisticians, data scientists, and policymakers. The Conference Strands can be found at: https://www.isi-next.org/conferences/iaos-2026/theme-strands/.
The Local Organising Committee is led by Jūratė Petrauskienė (Director General, State Data Agency (Statistics Lithuania)), with the Scientific Programme Committee led by Roeland Beerten, with representatives from around the globe.
A reminder that we are now calling for Invited and Contributed Papers. Details regarding deadlines, registration etc. can be found at: https://www.isi-next.org/conferences/iaos-2026/. More information on workshops and training courses will be available soon.
Young Statistician Prize
As I mentioned above, it was a personal highlight from the WSC to chair the Young Statistician’s Prize (YSP) session – we had three great talks to a ‘full house’ (with plenty of interested listeners turned away). Without a doubt the session shows that the future is in good hands.
I am pleased to announce that Beatrice Baribeau has agreed to take on the YSP coordinator role and stepped straight into coordinating the 2026 competition.
Beatrice is the Director General of the Modern Statistical Methods and Data Science Branch at Statistics Canada. With over 20 years at StatCan, she is recognized for advancing modern statistical methods, strengthening data science practices, and leading the responsible integration of AI. Equally committed to people as she is to statistical rigor, Beatrice makes talent development and retention a priority, building the next generation of methodological and data science expertise through mentorship, collaboration, and a supportive, growth-oriented culture. I know that she is excited to be taking on the role of Young Statistician’s Prize Coordinator, helping to foster and elevate emerging statistical talent on the international stage.
The 2026 IAOS Young Statisticians Prize competition is underway! All the necessary information can be found here: https://iaos-isi.org/ysp/, but note the deadline for submissions is 10th April 2026.
SJIAOS
The SJIAOS Session at WSC covered the papers on national quality strategies featured in the September 2025 SJIAOS issue (Full issue at https://journals.sagepub.com/toc/SJI/current). The photo to the right is from the SJIAOS Session at WSC, which covered the papers on national quality strategies featured in the September SJIAOS issue.
Earlier in the year, the Executive sadly accepted the retirement of Pietro Gennari as Editor-in-Chief (EiC) of the Statistical Journal of the IAOS (SJIAOS), but it was good to celebrate his work as SJIAOS EiC at the ISI Awards Ceremony with an Award of Service certificate.
While sad to see Pietro retire, I am pleased to announce that Hossein Hassani has accepted the role of SJIAOS EiC. Hossein & Pietro have begun the hand-over process, and I look forward to Hossein’s leadership.
40th Anniversary Webinar
As mentioned, at the General Assembly Jean Louis Bodin gave a short presentation to mark the 40th anniversary of the IAOS. So, to not let the moment slip past, IAOS will host a webinar to more fully recognise its 40th anniversary. Mark your calendar now. The webinar is set for Thursday 26th February @ 1.00pm CET time and will feature Jean Louis Bodin, Stephen Penneck, Denise Lievesley and Ola Awad. If you would like an invite please contact angie.simms@stats.govt.nz or use the following link: Join the meeting now, at the appropriate time.
Membership fees now due
A reminder that the new Membership year starts on 1 Jan 2026 and so it is time for all of us to renew our IAOS membership. By now you should have received an email from the ISI PO (email address: International Statistical Institute isimembership@isi-web.org ) with the details on how to renew your membership in the new system. For 2026, the IAOS ExCo decided to leave the membership fees at the same level as 2025, however the ExCo will review the situation for 2027.
One way to keep membership fees low is by lifting membership numbers, so I ask that you encourage your colleagues to join the IAOS – Association membership provides lots of opportunities to network and work with official statisticians and other colleagues interested in official statistics from around the world, provides access to the SJIAOS and reduced conference fees.
Other Association Activities
At a special side meeting during the WSC, it was agreed to refresh the Krakow Working Group on trust, misuse, and ethics – stay tuned for future updates.
The Friends of Official Statistics group held a webinar on Thursday 11th December examining the topic “United States Federal Statistical System” led by Hermann Habermann. The Friends group was set up in conjunction with UNSD and plans a series of webinars focusing on issues related to Official Statistics. To join this group – check out the LinkedIn page – https://www.linkedin.com/groups/13394076/.
SCORUS (the Standing Committee for Rural and Urban Statistics) is the international network for regional and urban statistics providing a platform to facilitate the development of urban and regional statistics and research. See https://www.scorus.org/
Concluding Remarks
I am looking forward to working with all IAOS members to help achieve the Association goals to promote the understanding and advancement of official statistics and related subjects and to foster the development of effective and efficient official statistical services through international contacts.
I intend to produce newsletters similar to this every few months. If you have feedback or suggestions for activities that the IAOS could do, please feel free to email me at ContactIAOS@gmail.com.
In the meantime, all the best for the festive season and I wish a Happy New year to you all.
Gary Dunnet
IAOS President, 2025 -2027