Catalysing virtual collaboration: The experience of the remote TIES working groups

During the COVID-19 pandemic, the idea of collaboration and scientific exchange between members of the scientific community was enhanced by technology. Virtual meetings and work platforms have become common resources to continue generating research, partially replacing instances of joint in-person work before, during or after a conference. The idea of teleworking played a fundamental role in remote collaboration groups within The International Statistical Society (TIES), a community of interdisciplinary scientists such as statisticians, mathematicians, meteorologists, and biologists, among others working on quantitative methods to enhance solutions to environmental problems. In 2021 the Society launched three working groups with the aim of improving networking across the Society's members and develop creative collaboration, while advancing statistical and computational methods motivated by real-world driven applications in environmental research. Here, we provide insights from this virtual collaborative initiative.