Open Source Forecasting
In the field of forecasting, the use of open-source software has become increasingly prevalent throughout the entire workflow. These tools have played a pivotal role in making forecasting more accessible to wider audience. While forecasters often switch between different tools as needed, the development of these tools typically occurs in relative isolation. To improve collaboration between different open source forecasting software developers, we are delighted to propose an IIF co-sponsored workshop that unites them to share and discuss the latest ideas in the area. The workshop is scheduled to be held on June 26-27, 2025 (immediately prior to ISF 2025) in Beijing, China. Visit the workshop website for more information.
Organizing committee includes:
- General chair: Mitchell O’Hara-Wild (PhD student at Monash University and consultant at Nectric, Australia)
- Program chair: Ivan Svetunkov (Senior Lecturer at Lancaster University, UK)
- Event coordination: Bahman Rostami-Tabar (Professor at Cardiff University, UK)
- Local logistics: Xiaoqian Wang (Research Fellow at Monash University, Australia)
- Invitations and general support: Azul Garza Ramirez (CTO & Co-Founder at Nixtla, Mexico); Resul Akay (Head of Data Science at Quantics.io, Austria); Shanika Wickramasuriya (Assistant Professor at Monash University, Australia)
Hosted by: Deutsche Bundesbank’s Research Centre and the International Institute of Forecasters
The conference brings together leading researchers in real-time economic analysis, and encompasses nowcasting, high-frequency data, surveys, macro-econometrics, data revisions, and macroeconomic policy. The deadline for paper submissions was May 11, 2025. For details, please find the Call for Papers here.
Join by meeting number:
Meeting number (access code): 2787 944 5086
Meeting password: Eltville2025! (or 35884553 when dialing in from a video system)
Democratising Forecasting
This is a series of in-person workshops on forecasting using R in developing countries. The aim of the project is to ‘train the trainers’ in the form of university students, academics and professionals on the principles of forecasting using R software to support decision making. The ultimate goal of this project is to train 400 individuals, over 5 years in 20 developing countries in the world.
We have also developed an online training delivered once a year in October for participants across Sub-Saharan Africa: see details in AFRICAST (https://workshop.f4sg.org/africast/).
Since 2018, across both in-person and the online program, 471 participants across 21 countries have benefited from our workshops.
The workshops are given by IIF members led by Prof. Bahman Rostami-Tabar, at Cardiff Business School. To organise a workshop in your country, contact rostami-tabarb@cardiff.ac.uk