The ISI is an established statistical society, with long history and many traditions. The WSC is the flagship event, but there is a need to be more innovative. What direction to follow to ensure that the ISI remains relevant in future?

In this session we will examine which strategic directions ISI can take to be a relevant and current statistical society. The current strategic directions of the ISI are:

1. Encourage statistical communication and networking;

2. Increase the public voice of statistics;

3. Develop statistical capacity;

4. Secure our financial sustainability.

ISIs main objective is reaching out to the members and connecting them by disseminating relevant information and providing platforms to interact with each other. The World Statistics Congress is the flagship event and we all agree that it is indeed an outstanding and unsurpassed event and ISI will continue to host it in the future. During the Covid lockdowns, new features were developed that were highly appreciated by members, such as the ISI and Associations webinar series and short courses. ISIs publications, the International Statistical Review and Stat, still score well and are sought after by authors. The ISI is also respected for being the voice of statistics. ISI has been valued as the voice of statistics and the opinions it publishes. Over the years the ISI has organized seminars and workshops in developing countries and conducted activities to support statisticians from developing countries. Awards and prizes complete the picture.

How will we develop the ISI from here? What innovations do we need to attract new and younger members, to remain relevant as a statistical society. What do our members expect from us, who are our strategic partners? The ISI covers broad areas of statistics, from official statistics to theoretic and more. Is it necessary to differentiate more the different blood groups or to find new ways to bring them together? How will new technological developments and artificial intelligence influence our activities and ways we work together?

Many questions and therefore we have brought together an exquisite panel of people that should have a vision in this matter. They have been asked to prepare their vision on a couple of questions:

1. What gap do you see in ISI's current strategy and activity program and how can it be filled or developed?

2. Which innovations or developments that you see have consequences for the work of ISI?

3. Plans are fun, but must be financed. Do you have an idea in this regard?

4. What tools can we offer our members to feel connected to society?

The panelists are first given 10 minutes to introduce themselves and make general comments. We will then deal with the questions one by one. After every question the panelists will answer questions from the floor.

Chair and organizer:
Ada van Krimpen, The Netherlands, former ISI Director (2009-2022). Ada provided support to the ISI Executive and ISI Community in achieving its objectives. Providing support for the organization of the ISI World Statistics Congress has been key in this job. 

Pannelists:
Conchita Kleijweg, The Netherlands, ISI Director since July 2022. Conchita is responsible for the ISI Permanent Office and implements ISI policies and programs.

Fabrizio Ruggeri, Italy. Fabrizio is the Research Director at IMATI CNR (Istituto di Matematica Applicata e Tecnologie Informatiche, Consiglio Nazionale delle Ricerche), Milano, Italy. He was previously an ISI EC member during 2017-2021, and the ISI President-elect for the years 2025-2027. 

Mara Sherlin Talento, from Philippines and the chair of the ISI YS Committee. Mara is currently working on her PhD thesis at King Abdullah University of Science and Technology in Saudi Arabia. We may expect her views from the perspective of young people.

Stephen MacFeely,  Ireland, Director of  Data and Analytics at the WHO in Geneva and currently IAOS Exco member. He is also Adjunct Professor at the Centre for Policy Studies at University College Cork in Ireland and the Director of the IASE International Statistical Literacy