The Influencing Discovery Exploration & Action Forum: An Initiative of the American Statistical Association

Abstract The vision of the ASA is to empower a world that relies on data and statistical thinking to drive discovery and inform decisions. The ASA Leadership Institute and the IDEA Forum are strategic initiatives to help the association realize this vision. The IDEA Forum focuses our attention on important global problems and builds strategic partnerships with leaders from all sectors to drive innovation and highlight the critical role played by statisticians in finding solutions to these global problems. This article provides the background on the development of the inaugural IDEA Forum and describes the event.