The Future Statistician

In a decade, what will statisticians be doing? Which elements of the role will remain constant, and which will evolve? What skills and training will the future statistician need? And which factors are going to influence how the role of the statistician evolves?  

We are partnering with the Government Statistical Service (GSS) on a project to answer these questions on the future of the statistics profession.  

The project sets out to inform RSS and GSS planning and future-proofing, ensuring that we are equipped to meet the challenges of the future. 

Roundtable and report  
As the first step of this project, the RSS and the GSS held a joint roundtable to discuss the constant elements, evolving elements and influential factors that would impact the statistical profession over the next decade. We have written up these discussions: read the report. 

Next steps – we want to hear from you 
The discussions to date have generated a range of possible areas for further investigation. 

We are keen to hear from you to help inform the next steps of this project. We are interested in your thoughts on which changes will impact the future of the profession, and which areas are a priority for further work to be done. 

We would be grateful if you could complete the few short questions in our feedback form. The consultation period will close end of day Monday 28 July 2025. 

Please email policy@rss.org.uk if you have any queries.