Life involves constant decision-making. Some trivial – what should I cook for dinner? Some more profound – should I buy that house? These choices involve balancing out the benefits versus the costs and risks.
When it comes to making decisions that impact us all as a community, such as setting emissions standards, business regulations and environmental protections, we rely on our local, state and federal governments. Like individuals, they must balance costs, risks and benefits, but they must also figure in diverse stakeholders and complex economic and societal impacts, while also planning for the long term.
The partnership is win-win because I’m able to apply my expertise to help OCSE solve real-world problems and, in doing so, enliven the research agenda of my team. It really doesn’t get any better than that.
— Professor Louise Ryan, Applied Statistician from UTS Mathematical and Physical Sciences
When it comes to making these decisions, says Professor Louise Ryan, Applied Statistician from UTS Mathematical and Physical Sciences, seeking advice from the scientific community is critical.
“Most countries have national science agencies who provide independent advice to government agencies to help them choose the best course of action when it comes to making complex decisions,” she says.
“In NSW we have the Office of the Chief Scientist & Engineer (OCSE) who provides independent advice to decision-makers on difficult policy problems that involve engineering or science. For example, coal seam gas development approvals, sea-level rise or dam-building projects.”
Professor Louise Ryan (photographer: Shane Lo)
Since 2018, Ryan has been directly engaged by OCSE on a unique one-day-a-week research contract. In this role she undertakes cutting-edge applied statistical research on projects of their choosing. Her research helps them make decisions under uncertainty, sometimes around controversial issues.
For example, Ryan has been involved in several water management projects which involve her reviewing reports by external consultants; advising and running statistical methods, tools or frameworks; deep analysis; and helping create visualisation and risk communication tools.
“Many laypeople think science is black-and-white, when it’s not at all. Often there are no definitive right or wrong answers, which can sometimes result in a kneejerk reaction in a community, where people say, ‘If there is uncertainty, we can’t make a decision!’” she says.
“The aim of my work is to weigh up all the uncertainties then, importantly, clearly articulate our findings to decision-makers, so they can make choices; and communities, so they can understand the choices being made,” she continues.
Ryan says she loves working with OCSE because they are willing to invest both time and funding in order to do the best research possible. In turn, they place a high value on her work, as evidenced by renewing her contract after the first year and recommending her to the NSW Department of Planning and Industry, who have subcontracted her research services on one of their own projects.
“OCSE and other project partners have also benefitted from my links to the ARC Centre of Excellence for Mathematical & Statistical Frontiers. As a Chief Investigator at the Centre I have access to a huge network of researchers and can recruit additional expertise and resources as required,” she says.
“The partnership is win-win because I’m able to apply my expertise to help OCSE solve real-world problems and, in doing so, enliven the research agenda of my team. It really doesn’t get any better than that.”
Research team
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Professor, School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Research centre
- School of Mathematical and Physical Sciences
Funded by
- NSW Office of the Chief Scientist & Engineer
