Publicizing the results of research projects is an important part of the job of the research committees and working parties.
Once research is completed, it is of little use to actuaries until it is adopted in their daily jobs. As a result, CAS research committees also work to make research accessible to the membership. Some of the techniques that have been employed include:
- Professional Education Limited Attendance Programs
Working with Professional Education committees, Research and Development committees put together curricula for limited attendance seminars. An example is the limited attendance seminar on reserve uncertainty. Another example is a “scripted” presentation intended to be given by CAS regional affiliates. The intent is to give local faculty a complete outline for a 2-3 hour course geared to increasing the use of rigorous statistical methods by casualty actuaries. - Presentations and Sessions at CAS Meeting and Seminars
Research committees and working parties should be striving to put on sessions at CAS meetings and seminars to present the results of their work. Sessions could consist of:- Call paper presentations,
- Results of funded research projects,
- Results of internal committee research projects,
- Working Party presentations (final reports or updates on progress).
- The meeting/seminar planning committees are receptive to providing space on their programs for research-related sessions. Research committees need to be aware of the dates by which research committees should contact planning committees to request a spot on the program.
- In addition, the CAS Regional Affiliates are open to ideas for sessions. The Committee on Reserves, for example, annually sends an e-mail to the Regional Affiliate Presidents offering to host call paper presentations at regional affiliate meetings.
Publication of the Report and Newsletter Articles
In addition to presenting at meetings/seminars, research committees and working parties should be aiming to publish the results of the research they sponsor. Reports should be published on the CAS Web Site, at a minimum.Committees should also help in filling the quarterly “Latest Research” column in the Actuarial Review, which gives Committees a chance to describe their latest work products.
- The schedule for CAS publications appears in the Deadlines for Research Articles and Presentations.
- “Translating” Papers
One idea that has been floated, but not yet (as of June 2007) been accomplished is to commission, either by committee members or by professionals retained for a fee, a work to make more theoretical papers accessible and useable by practicing casualty actuaries. - Discussion Groups
Committees are encouraged to start and oversee e-mail discussion groups to foster discussion and research in topics within their area of interest. The Committee on Theory of Risk (COTOR) oversees a discussion group on the valuation of contingent liabilities (VALCON). This is a vibrant and active discussion group that often has interesting discussion threads on topics related to risk and volatility, including capital allocation, risk margins for reserves, and cost of capital.For certain insightful and thorough discussions, committees should summarize the discussions so that they can be shared beyond the e-mail group. For example, committees can publish the discussion summaries on the CAS Web Site or in the Actuarial Review.
