Radical Statistics

2015 Conference and AGM

Saturday 7 March, 2015

Conway hall, 25 REd Lion square, london WC1R 4RL

Coffee & registration 9:00 am. 9:15 start, 5:00 close. 5:15 AGM

Blog post: A storify of tweets: #Radstats40 conference

 Selected presentations (in programme order):

• David Walker – Politics and Numbers, 2010-15
• Hetan Shaw – see the RSS Data Manifesto (off-site)
• Gavin Freeguard – Good data, good policy?
• Jim Ridgway – The Constituency Kit
• Deana Leadbeter – User Engagement and Background Notes
• Alison Macfarlane – Can users improve official health statistics?
• Harvey Goldstein – A radical statistical career
• Alison Macfarlane – Whose priorities? Statistics for health and health care
• Rachel Cohen – What is radical about Radical Statistics?

Taking place in the run-up to the May 2015 general Election, the conference will focus on public policy and its relationship with the availability of ‘good data’. We aim to address questions such as: How good is the data we have, and is it used well for policy-making? What are the possibilities for the production and democratic use of good statistics, and the threats to such developments?

View the full programme of talks and break-out sessions with biographies (pdf).

Speakers from the worlds of academia, journalism, non-governmental agencies (including the Royal Statistical Society), and community activism will address the issues above. There will be breakout sessions for discussion of the main themes. Further parallel sessions will allow space for an appreciation of the issues raised in particular areas of policy, such as health, ethnicity, and welfare reform, by contributors with a wide range of experience, in using administrative or survey data to support, or to contest, policies in these areas.

Speakers include –

• Denise Lievesley (Kings College) on the current state of statistics
• Hetan Shah, (Royal Statistical Society) on the RSS data manifesto
• David Walker (journalist, author)
• Gavin Freeguard (Institute for Government)
• and many more

The final conference session will mark the 40th anniversary of Radstats – and will afford the opportunity to reflect critically on what we have done – so as to inform our future direction.

Please circulate to colleagues and friends.

Registration                                                  £50

Registration (for RS members)                   £40

Student/low income                                      £30

Student/low income (for RS members)       £20

Register now at www.eventbrite.co.uk/e/radical-statistics-2015-conference-tickets-15003969276

Registration includes lunch and refreshments throughout the day. Non-members receive a one year introductory membership and subscription to Radical Statistics journal.

For inquiries please email the administrator, Alistair Cairns.

Accommodation. Some places may be available at the Kings Cross YHA. Further suggestions will be provided soon.

This conference is part of the RadStats weekend which also includes:

Friday 6^th         6:30-10:30 pm Welcome reception at Lucas Arms, 245A Grays Inn Rd, WC1X 8QY : including a Social, beginning with a review by economists Larry Brownstein & Julian Wells (7.15 – 8.30) of the book, Capital in the 21^st Century (2013) by Thomas Piketty.

Saturday7^th       5:15 – 6:30 pm Radical Statistics AGM

Sunday 8^th         10:30 am Walking tour of Holborn area, London (Limited spaces. A charge may apply.)