Ecological forecasting course at The Fields Institute

ApexRMS was invited to speak this past July at the 5-day course “Forecasting for Decision-Making: An Epidemiological & Ecological Perspective”, organized by the Canadian Ecological Forecasting Initiative (CEFI), with the support of the U.S. Ecological Forecasting Initiative (EFI), Canadian Network for Modelling Infectious Diseases (CANMOD), The Fields Institute, the University of Toronto Data Sciences Institute, and ApexRMS.

The purpose of this course was to build skills for producing more reliable and decision-relevant forecasts, a key mission of ours at ApexRMS. Specific course topics included Bayesian model-fitting, forecasting with static vs. dynamic models, increasing model reproducibility, propagating uncertainties, incorporating decision-making priorities into forecasts, engaging with a lens of data sovereignty, and increasing effective communication. All course materials and recorded lectures are available online.

For ApexRMS, it was a privilege to be a part of this event, where we were able to share our extensive experience delivering ecological forecasting models to decision-makers. Carina Rauen Firkowski was a member of the course organizing committee, while Alessandro Filazzola led a session on strategies, challenges, and approaches to delivering forecasting models to decision makers in a manner that is accessible and leads to action. Trust, scientific expertise, vulnerability, and reliability were all common themes discussed. Catch the recording here.

We’re grateful for the opportunity to support and present at the course, and encourage folks to sign up to receive the EFI newsletter and join the EFI and CEFI communities!