AD HOC STATISTICAL CONSULTING WITHIN A LARGE RESEARCH ORGANISATION

Prior to 1987, the emphasis of the CSIR was on promoting science with most of the statistical work involving either statistical theory development or consulting to CSIR researchers. In 1987, the CSIR went through a period of transition, with the focus changing to contract research and statistical consulting to external clients. In 2005, the CSIR again went through a major reorganisation to coincide with the organisation’s 60 year anniversary, designed to bring more balance between contract research and contributing to the scientific community. Operating environment of statisticians Although there are analysts and statisticians scattered as individual researchers, usually focused on very specific application domains, throughout the organisation, the Statistical Modelling and Analysis Research Group (SMARG), consisting of nine researchers, are focussed on inter-disciplinary statistical modelling and analysis. This is a relatively small group within an organisation employing almost 2 500 people, of which roughly two thirds form part of the SET core, in other words, those who are directly involved in scientific project work. SMARG participates in various research projects, some self-initiated, others originating from various other groups within the CSIR. An important consequence of the recent reorganisation in the CSIR was that statisticians, in addition to the role they played in multidisciplinary projects, would be expected to develop and maintain a research profile evidenced by accepted scientific outputs. This is currently resulting in exciting new opportunities and personal challenges.