This year represented one of change and expansion for Econometrica. Our Regulatory & Economic Analysis Group, formerly called the Transportation Group, continues to work on exciting projects such as one for the U.S. Census Bureau’s Center for Disclosure Avoidance. This software development project focuses on developing and implementing sophisticated disclosure avoidance algorithms that will allow policymakers to understand and disclose the tradeoff between data accuracy and privacy protection. This is the first implementation of the advanced algorithms globally.

The Housing & Community Development Group continues its work on various projects, both on the ground and remotely, to support public housing agencies, cities, and other entities, including our inaugural work for NeighborWorks® America. The group is conducting work initiated in 2010 with the receipt of our first-ever U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development Community Planning and Development Cooperative Agreement, and we have earned several successful awards under this Cooperative Agreement in the years since.

Our Health Group’s current project work crosses the following four main sectors: (1) Qualitative & Survey Research, (2) Learning & Diffusion, (3) Measurement & Improvement, and (4) Data Analytics. The Health Group ended the year on a positive note with a Certificate of Appreciation from the Office of the National Coordinator for Health Information Technology for our grants management work.

Not everything was positive at Econometrica. In August, we lost a dear colleague and friend, Steve McGonegal. Steve was employed as a senior economist at Econometrica for 8 years and passed away after prolonged illness. We miss his outgoing personality and ability to engage anyone and everyone in conversation. Our thoughts are with his family, and we are deeply saddened by the loss.

We were also saddened by the devastating effects of Hurricane Harvey, and we banded together to raise funds in response to this natural disaster. We proudly raised more than $2,600 from employee and corporate contributions to aid the Central Texas Food Bank in their efforts to bring relief to Hurricane Harvey victims.

Looking toward the future, we predict that 2018 will be a banner year! 2018 marks Econometrica’s 20th anniversary, and we will celebrate the occasion each month with a special event. Stay tuned to see what we have planned!

Thank you to all our employees, partners, and clients for all of your hard work and support. We wish you all happy holidays and a most prosperous and joyous Happy New Year!