Statistical computing provides the link between statistical theory and applied statistics. As at previous COMPSTATs, the scientific programme will cover all aspects of this link, from the development and implementation of new statistical ideas through to user experiences and software evaluation. The programme should appeal to anyone working in statistics and using computers, whether in universities, industrial companies, government agencies, research institutes or as software developers.

The Scientific Programme Committee (SPC) seeks papers touching on all aspects of computational statistics. This includes theory, applications, and implementations. The SPC also welcomes papers in the field of official statistics, i.e. papers in the field of data collection, data editing, data analysis, statistical data mining and data publications.

Prague is one of the most charming European capitals. We hope that the high quality of the scientific programme and the rich history and culture of Prague will persuade you to participate in the COMPSTAT 2004. On behalf of the BoD ERS IASC, SPC and LOC we take pleasure in inviting you to Prague. Your participation will ensure that COMPSTAT 2004 will become an unforgettable scientific and cultural event.

Following extensive discussions over the last year, ERS IASC have introduced a number of changes to the format of the Scientific Programme for COMPSTAT 2004 in Prague. The motivation for these changes was to try to revitalise the programme by giving more focus to the individual sessions, involve more people in the planning of sessions, and make links with other societies involved in statistical computing. This is not to say that we have completely overturned previous practice, but rather tried to build on what we saw as the most successful elements and change, or drop, those that were felt not to be working. The following is a summary of the structure of the scientific programme for COMPSTAT 2004.

• Keynote Lectures: These will remain as before. Papers for these talks will appear in the published Proceedings Volume.
• Invited Organised Sessions: These will be the main planned part of the scientific programme. Each session will be on a particular theme and have an invited organiser who will be responsible for the planning and running the session. The organiser will invite several speakers in the area and also solicit contributed papers in the same general area. There should also be planned discussants for the invited talks, one of whom may be the organiser, if he is not a speaker. The invited speakers will be expected to submit a paper for publication in the Proceedings Volume and this will be refereed by the SPC and the session organiser. The contributed papers for these sessions will be reviewed by the SPC in conjunction with the session organiser in the standard way for contributed papers, see below. These sessions are organised in conjunction with other IASC sections, or indeed, other interested groups, and will replace the former concept of invited speakers. It is envisaged that there will be more "invited" presenters than in the past and so invited authors will no longer get full-funding for their attendance.
• Contributed Sessions: These will be made up of oral presentations of standard submissions. In the Call for Papers, authors will be asked to submit the full paper (up to 8 pages) not just an abstract. The SPC will make a selection of the best of these for inclusion in the published Proceedings Volume. These will be reviewed and subject to revision before publication. The other papers that are deemed to be acceptable will be, after reviewing, included on a CD that will form the integral part of the Proceedings Volume. The time given for the presentation may reflect the status of the paper as assessed by the SPC - the allocation will depend on the time pressures in putting together the final programme. In the case that it will not be possible to schedule all oral contributions, SPC has the right to only offer a poster presentation to some of them.
• Poster Sessions: These will be made up of contributed papers where the author has indicated that he/she wishes to present the material as a poster. The submission, evaluation and publication procedure will be the same as for contributed oral presentations. Poster contributions will be included on a CD that will form the integral part of the Proceedings Volume.
• Tutorials: These will be as before. Extensive notes for the tutorial will be included on the CD and the handouts distributed to the participants.


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