On 20 March 2023 Professor Gaby Umbach, Director of the 'Knowledge, Governance, Transformations' research area of the Global Governance Programme at the Schuman Centre has been awarded Elected Membership to the International Statistics Institute (ISI). Elected members are recognised for their significant contributions in one or more of the following areas: statistical research, practice, education, administration of statistical service, or the promotion of the profession.
“It is a real privilege to become an Elected Member of this community” said Professor Umbach. “The International Statistical Institute is one of the main global non-governmental organisations dedicated to promoting statistical knowledge. Gathering experts from across the statistics profession and academia, it unites the worlds of practice and science in one of the most interdisciplinary and inspiring environments I know."
In her work, Gaby Umbach investigates the interaction between statistics, data, and governance. She focusses on the analysis of measuring and the use of statistics as governance instruments, on data-based governance, and on statistical as well as data literacy. Her work combines data science and qualitative analysis on the role of quantification and statistics in policy-making. With this focus, she seeks to contribute to the understanding of data for politics and policies for data by interlinking disciplinary perspectives and by directly connecting to the world of practice.
Established in 1885, the ISI is a non-profit, non-government organisation, with individual and institutional members in over 150 countries. Since 1949 the organisation has had consultative status with the United Nations Economic and Social Council (ECOSOC), specifically with United Nations Statistical Division (UNSD).