About the award

Frances Elizabeth (Betty) Allan (1905 to 1952) was CSIRO’s first statistician and provided statistical support across the organisation. She also lectured in mathematics and statistics at Canberra University College and Australian Forestry School. When she married in 1940 she was forced to retire, which was the law for female public servants.

This is national award honours Betty’s contribution to Australian statistics. The award is jointly funded by the Statistical Society and CSIRO’s Data61. The inaugural Betty Allan Award was awarded to two joint winners in 2019. Due to disruptions caused by the COVID-19 pandemic and associated restrictions, further rounds of this award were put on hold until 2023. Going forward, one Betty Allan Award will be awarded per year.

Eligibility criteria for this award are as follows: the Betty Allan Award It is open to any early career woman or non-binary member of the Statistical Society of Australia and/or CSIRO staff member currently working or studying in the field of statistics in Australia. Early Career is here defined as someone who has been active in the field for ten years or less. For those with a PhD, this criterion will be interpreted as having graduated with their PhD within the past ten years. Extensions will be considered for valid career interruptions.

Previous winners of the award are not eligible for further awards.

The award money ($3000) can be used to support travel to support your career as a professional visitor to a suitable location and/or conference anywhere in the world.

What are we looking for in a travel proposal?

The two-page form is available here. Here are some points to consider when completing the form:

·         (If applicable) Any recent career disruptions (e.g., caring for children or relatives). Any information will be treated in strict confidence; please note that details are not necessary.

·         Your career so far, including contributions to the field and publications/presentations.

·         How you think your proposed travel would benefit your career in statistics, including where you are going to and who you will visit. What will the outcomes be?

·         For conferences, the relevance of the conference to your current work/research and who you hope to meet.

·         For work/research visits, who your host will be and why this is the ideal person to visit. Have you previously worked with the host? What work plans have you developed?

·         Are you combining your travel with other meetings/events?

·         The budget should be briefly justified. We do not expect exact quotes, but costs should be reasonable and any high costs should be justified (e.g., need to travel during peak season).

Completed forms and supporting documents (if applicable) should be emailed to eo@statsoc.org.au. Please:

• Concatenate all documents as a single pdf, with the file name “Surname_BettyAllan2023.pdf”
•  Include the subject line: “Betty Allan travel award 2023 application”

The deadline is 29 May 2023 at 4pm (AEST). Planned travel can occur any time in the next 12 months. Late applications will not be considered.

Previous winners

·         2020 Sharmala Thuraisingam and Karen Lamb