Statistics is an essence for data science and policy analysis

Impact summary

Statistics play a vital role in analysing and evaluating public policies in various fields, including social sciences, economics, health sciences, and population studies. It is also the core ingredient of the first growing data science, including AI, which is part of the reality in today’s data-centric, technology-based people. With society apparently expecting more and more from all three levels of government, statistics have become increasingly important, and public policy should be based on reliable and up-to-date data that covers important issues. As a result, Charles Sturt has been shaping a scientific platform on “Statistics for data science and policy analysis (ASPAC)” at the School of Computing, Mathematics and Engineering since 2014 to update knowledge in the societies and establish collaborations with many stakeholders and partners, through scientific activities and research. It is a cross-disciplinary venue for researchers and industry practitioners at local, national, and international levels to address the rich space of shaping effective policy through big data, accurate estimates, modern computing tools, and statistical modelling.

Key activities have included organising two impactful Statistics for Data Science and Policy Analysis Conferences (ASPAC2014 and ASPAC2019). These conferences have been instrumental in developing an online platform at CSU that offers national and international partnership opportunities. They have also significantly supported higher-degree research students, early and mid-career researchers, and professionals in various fields, including regional and environmental sciences, health, science and technology, education, and social, business, and behavioural sciences. These activities have attracted research students to CSU and facilitated the completion of post-graduate studies, the publication and presentation of research both locally and internationally, and the application for internal and external grant funding.

Through these activities, which engage with academics and industry professionals in many areas (e.g. STEM, ABS and Education), essential service providers such as policymakers and data centered industries and practitioners such as scientists, applied statisticians and data modellers, the contemporary knowledge, perspectives and right applications of data-driven information at the core of policy and practice decisions to enrich peoples social wellbeing and participation in decisions affecting their lives through appropriately collecting and using their data.

Research and engagement activities leading to impact

Azizur Rahman established and ran the Statistics for Data Science and Policy Analysis Conference in 2014 (ASPAC2014) and 2019 (ASPAC2019). Azizur Rahman developed the conference websites with ASPAC2014 presentation links in conjunction with ASPAC2019 and its Easy-Chair site. Given the success of ASPAC2014, which was funded and supported by the Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute (AMSI), the ASPAC2019 initiative was funded by external grants from professional organisations such as the Australian Research Council (ARC) Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMS), Statistical Society of Australia (SSA) and National Centre for Social and Economic Modelling (NATSEM) in the Institute of Governance and Policy Analysis (IGPA) at the University of Canberra and the Australian Government’s Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities. Brock University, University of Canberra, and Charles Sturt University have also supported the conference.

At ASPAC2014, more than 23 people from 4 countries attended, with five keynote presentations and nine contributory talks. At ASPAC2019, there were six keynote presentations, six invited talks, one roundtable discussion and four parallel sessions with around 36 contributory presentations. Around 60 participants, including 55 authors from 17 countries across the globe and some local researchers, took part in the ASPAC2019 conference, which created an excellent discussion in the parallel sessions and provided great stimulus for future research. Five PhD students and early career researchers received the ASPAC2019 Travel Awards for outstanding papers at the conference banquet ceremony. The authors of five other papers received partial travel support for presenting their good-quality research papers at the conference.

Conference attracted global attendees and presenters hailing from Australia, Bangladesh, Canada, China, India, Indonesia, Italy, Japan, Luxemburg, Malaysia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Pakistan, Singapore, Sri Lanka, United Kingdom, United States. The profession/disciplines represented at the conference included international academics, researchers and practitioners from STEM, the Australian Bureau of Statistics, secondary education, higher education, social science, economics, infrastructure, regional development and cities, public health, primary Industries, and agriculture fields.

Following ASPAC 2019, Azizur Rahman edited and co-authored an influential book on “Statistics for data science and policy analysis” published with Springer (Quality Publisher in CSU’s list). The conference and the book attracted much media activities. This benefited communities, as evidenced by the 44,000 people who have accessed the book. The book was also used by the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) a key professional organisations with a review issued in the RSS’s leading journal “Journal of the Royal Statistical Society Series A: Statistics in Society”, which is a testament to the influence of the book and ASPAC initiative and its significant research chapters.

Research outputs associated with the impact

ASPAC2019 produced several research outputs, most notably the book "Statistics for data science and policy analysis", edited by Azizur Rahman and published by Springer in May 2020. The book incorporates 27 peer-reviewed papers from the conference. According to the Royal Statistical Society (RSS) (a premier global professional organisation), "numerous contributions provide excellent and recent advancements of modern computing tools of statistics and data science in the book, which is useful for academic professionals and researchers in all fields where statistical and data science techniques are applied for policy analysis in different fields." The book has also recorded 658 Social Media engagements. This is a testament to the impact of ASPAC2019 and the resulting book.

A book of abstracts from the Applied Statistics and Policy Analysis Conference 2019, was also published, and has been well received by the community, including students. For example, Azizur Rahman was able to attract three research students at Charles Sturt due to the ASPAC initiatives, and they successfully graduated and won prestigious prizes, including the HDR Thesis of the Year Prize 2022. Also, 5 PhD students and early career researchers were awarded Travel Awards for their excellent papers presented at the conference and subsequently published as book chapters. Five additional authors also received partial travel funding support for contributing good-quality research papers.

Moreover, Azizur Rahman was invited by a number of organisations to give invited/keynote lectures at international conferences, including a keynote on "Data Science and Cyber Security Systems: A Statistical Perspective" at the 2021 International Conference on Intelligent Cyber-Physical Systems, an invited talk on "Developing Hybrid Modelling Tools for Policy Analysis" at the 23rd International Mathematics Conference, 2024. Moreover, Azizur Rahman published a few research articles from the ASPAC 2019 learning with applications in public health and environmental sciences. For example, a paper on "cost-effective modelling of the transmission dynamics of malaria: A case study in Bangladesh", published in Communications in Statistics: Case Studies, Data Analysis and Applications, demonstrates that a poor educational status leads to a range of impacts through (i) lack of awareness in the causes of malaria, the severity of health effect and how and where to access the treatment services, (ii) refusal of vaccination, and (iii) unfamiliarity with good health and nutritional facts contributing to nutrition status. These findings support the control strategies for malaria and then achieving the target of the UN SDG 3 (Good Health and Well-being).

I organised and chaired the ASPAC2014 and ASPAC2019. I coordinated the communications with key industry partners and shareholders, including local and international keynote speakers such as Professor Matthew Gray (Australian National University), Professor Peter Davis (University of Auckland), Professor Dennis Trewin (Former Australian Statistician from 2000-2007 at the Australian Bureau of Statistics (ABS)), Professor David Balding (Director of the Melbourne Integrative Genomics), Professor Susan Wilson (Senior Statistical Consultant in UNSW Stats Central, University of New South Wales & Emeritus Professor in the Mathematical Sciences Institute), Professor SV Subramanian (Director of a Harvard University-wide Initiative on Applied Quantitative Methods in Social Sciences and was Founding Director of Graduate Studies for the interdisciplinary PhD program in Population Health Sciences, Harvard University) and invited speakers, including Dr Karen Malam (Director of Regions Research, within the Bureau of Infrastructure, Transport and Regional Economics at the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities), Dr David Mitchell (Director of Infrastructure and Corridor Analysis, Portfolio Research & Coordination Division at the Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities), Professor Richard Duncan (Centenary Professor in Conservation Ecology at the Institute for Applied Ecology, University Canberra), Dr Siu-Ming Tam (Chief Methodologist, Australian Bureau of Statistics), and Deb Slinger (Director of Wagga Wagga Agricultural Institute and Southern Cropping within the Department of Primary Industries (DPI)-Agriculture at the NSW-DPI).

Competitive grants:
1. Australian Mathematical Sciences Institute. Applied statistics and public policy analysis. $3,000. Acquitted 2014.
2. Australian Government's Department of Infrastructure, Regional Development and Cities. Applied statistics and policy analysis. $6,000. Acquitted 2019.
3. Australian Research Council Centre of Excellence for Mathematical and Statistical Frontiers (ACEMF). Applied statistics and policy analysis. $3,000. Acquitted 2019.
4. Statistical Society of Australia. Applied statistics and policy analysis. $1,000. Acquitted 2019.
5. Institute for Governance and Policy Analysis at the University of Canberra. Applied statistics and policy analysis. $1,000. Acquitted 2019.

Researcher involvement

I lead the ASPAC research initiative and activities, am the first author on related publications, and give invited/keynote presentations at international conferences. I also lead development of promotional materials for the conference, including its website, and am the main media spokesperson.

I lead, with the collaboration and guidance of my colleagues Professor Kenneth Russell (Charles Sturt), Professor Syed Ejaz Ahmed (Brock University), and Professor Raymond Chambers (University of Wollongong), the sharing of the essence of statistics tools and techniques for data science and policy analysis with a local approach and influence in the national and international community.

I developed and submitted five successful external funding applications to support ASPAC2014 and ASPAC2019 events and activities.

I have strong relationships with international academics who acknowledge the importance of my initiative and associated work and support and appreciate my professional leadership in the discipline.

Outcomes of research leading to impact

My research is cited in and has been used as the foundation for effectively utilising statistics, modelling, and data science algorithms in advancing multidisciplinary research and industry projects to give scientific answers for demographic, social and economic issues and support the evidence-based informed policy-making processes.


My ASPAC initiative and related research showed that statistics is essential for data science and policy analysis and is required for academic professionals, researchers, practitioners, and decision-makers in all fields, including science, environment, health, business, agriculture, and climate actions. For example, the book covers six domains: applied statistics and Bayesian modelling, agricultural statistics and policy analysis, data science and image processing statistics, health statistics and social policy, small area estimation and spatial microsimulation, and business analytics and management policy analysis.

My health statistics and social policy research contained detailed information about the significant determinants and cost-effective modelling of the transmission dynamics of malaria with a case study analysis in Bangladesh. Another study reported that routine vaccination disruption in low-income countries can have an impact on child health and potentially cause an acceleration in mortality. As a result the World Health Organisation (WHO) prioritised the immunisation of children in developing countries by expanding its immunisation program to prevent childhood morbidities and mortalities. Findings from that research support the control strategies of malaria and other diseases to achieve the UN's expectations around SDG 3.

Moreover, my research on statistics-based data preprocessing methods and machine learning algorithms for big data analysis, Bayesian modelling, and its related applications are shaping the future of multidimensional project management in the retail industry, assessment of interpretation uncertainty in geospatial domains and designing eco-friendly yield-scaled global warming guidelines for potentially determining the correct rate of nitrogen in rice agriculture system.

My research has created new knowledge (e.g., methodologies, simulation algorithms, and model validations techniques) in small area estimation and spatial microsimulation, which has resulted in how reliably simulated micro population data can be constructed and used to support decision-makers, especially where adequate data is not available due to many constraints, including individuals privacy. Given the increasing use of both small area estimation and microsimulation methods (SAEMM) in different areas of society, such as social planning by government institutions and official or public statistics production by national and international statistical agencies, industry experts in government statistics and statistical computation and simulation have recommended my research to sociologists, economists, geographers, statistics, and computing professionals.

My research into the small area estimation and microsimulation methods for policy analysis has been publicly acknowledged and commented upon through professional organisations (e.g. International Society for Clinical Biostatistics and International Microsimulation Association) website by Professor Risto Lehtonen (an expert in Common Matters and Social Sciences, University of Helsinki), Professor Douglas Dover (an expert in Social Determinants of Health and Health Equity, Population Health and the Analysis of Administrative Health Data, Public Health Surveillance Methods, and Cardiovascular Health, Candian VIGOUR Centre, University of Alberta), Professor Ramalingam Shanmugam (an expert in healthcare, engineering, applied science, data envelopment, patterns of earthquake, and anthropology, Texas State University) and Professor Eveline S van Leeuwen (an expert in Urban Economics, Wageningen University).

My ASPAC activities and related research have enabled scholars, industry, community groups, and individuals to learn or upskill their knowledge and apply it robustly to obtain data-driven statistics for making policy and practice decisions to improve citizens' economic and community well-being by protecting their privacy and social resilience.

Beneficiaries of the impact

ASPAC conferences benefited over 67 presenters and 90 attendees through increased knowledge and professional scholarship about enhanced practices, service delivery, and ethical practice. A number of conference participants were from low—or middle-income (LMIC) countries, including some awardees out of the ten awards given to HDRs and ECRs. Funding-supported participation improved marginalised groups' social and educational inclusion in those LMIC countries. It enhanced CSU's reputation with individuals, their communities, and other countries.

The research driven by the ASPAC initiative has had a significant influence, being mentioned at an international level through various professional bodies and more than 658 social media activities. This research has been accessed by at least 44,000 people, potentially impacting professional practices and social policy. Feedback from industry professionals and scholars who participated in the ASPAC conferences and related projects has highlighted the benefits of these initiatives, including the opportunity to acquire new knowledge or techniques around statistics and data science through outstanding scientific programs and panel discussions.
Industry learners have expressed a sense of hope for their future due to the multidisciplinary experience provided by the ASPAC initiative. They have had the opportunity to observe a range of future career pathways, such as becoming a researcher, data scientist, or policy analyst. This exposure has sparked a greater interest in higher education or short courses for professional development. For instance, three students, including an international student from Indonesia, a First Nations student, and a refugee student, have completed research degrees, won prestigious prizes, and gradually built successful careers, including becoming CSU staff.

From the presentations at the ASPAC conferences, other researchers (including the student participants) and industry partners identified a change in their practices around research with data using contemporary statistics and data science techniques and how their findings resolve and contribute to various policy issues in society. The research outputs in applied statistics and policy analysis have also contributed to a broader public understanding of the essence of statistical standards and the significance of data science-based intervention systems for elevating citizen's services conceptions around social, economic or well-being (of ethnic groups) policies.

The functional bridge of research content from applied statistics and Bayesian modelling to health statistics and social policy to business analytics and management policy analysis has benefited communities through building capabilities around data awareness, attitudes, or understanding, data-driven evidence to make informed decisions on public issues, and policy evaluation for improved social capital and well-being.

Details of the impact achieved

Azizur Rahman's research has been recognised and recommended for use by several professional organisations, including a leading global body—the Royal Statistical Society, UK. This is a testament to professional impact at the international level.

Azizur Rahman's research has been recognised through significant activities on media, including social media and benefited communities at local, national, and global scales.

Through the ASPAC conferences, research projects, HDRs projects, publications and engagement with industries and policymakers, my interdisciplinary collective research emphasises the essence and significance of statistics for data science and policy analysis with reliable access to participation in and outcomes from equitable, quality science, education, social and economic programs and services for the citizens in addition to people's involvement in decisions impacting their lives, in particular, their privacy and freedom of conversation rights around collecting and using their data.

In addition this research work has been recognised by the research academy through a variety of research awards detailed below.
Azizur Rahman received an award—the School of Computing and Mathematics Research Excellence Award 2018 for Outstanding Achievements in Research—which is a testament to his exceptional research and professional capacity-building services. This recognition underscores the profound impact of his work on the discipline and society.

Azizur Rahman was awarded the Charles Sturt RED Achievement Award in 2019 for successfully organising the ASPAC2019 conference. The FOBJBS—Associate Dean Research (Prof. Mark Morrison) commented, "Running workshops of this kind is very important for the branding of CSU and, more significantly, is a sign of a healthy research area."

Azizur Rahman, along with his research student and co-supervisor of the doctoral project, received international recognition from the World Business Institute. Their paper was awarded the "Best Conference Paper Award" at the 5th Global Business and Finance Research Conference in 2016, a testament to the global impact of their research.

Azizur Rahman was awarded a 2023 Charles Sturt Excellence Awards: Research as part of the "Early Childhood Interdisciplinary Research Group (ECIR)." This award recognises and celebrates the outstanding contributions of individuals and teams who engage in research excellence that contributes to Charles Sturt's success and drives regional outcomes with global impact. My significant contributions to advancing statistical scholarship and application in interdisciplinary contexts have played a pivotal role in achieving all strategic objectives of CSU's ECIR.

Impact date	01 Jan 2014 → 31 Dec 2023
Category of impact	Social Impact, Public policy Impact, Quality of life Impact
Impact level	International