Impact of INFORMS’ Strategic Plan: Where the Rubber Meets the Road

2021 INFORMS President Steve Graves introduced the new INFORMS Strategic Plan in his April OR/MS Today President’s Desk column [1]. The vision highlights the core aspect of “decision-making:” a unifying theme distinguishing our profession. The scope contains an inclusive list of disciplines that increasingly play a critical role in decision-making: disciplines being developed and deployed by our members. The mission, values and goals provide a framework to guide INFORMS over the next several years. We believe this new plan provides significant opportunities for practitioners within INFORMS.

It is now time to move from planning to implementation. To help spur a discussion among the INFORMS practice community, this article provides some thoughts on what the strategic plan can do for the practice-based members of INFORMS, and what those members can do with this plan. These thoughts are focused around the five goals established in the strategic plan. 

Five Strategic Goals

As practitioners, in our everyday work we are at the point where the “rubber meets the road.” We augment the R&D efforts both by providing real-world problems, as well as adding to the innovation necessary to put the science and technology in practice. This is reflected in the first strategic goal to “Advance the Science and Technology of Decision Making and Elevate its Impact.” So often, practitioners are responsible for the system-wide deployment of solutions enabled by the algorithmic and methodological innovations of the research community, whether these breakthroughs come from academia or practice. By calling out impact as a goal, INFORMS will continue to recognize and promote innovative uses of operations research (O.R.) and advanced analytics that make substantial impacts by saving lives, saving money and solving problems. INFORMS will further continue to be an incubator, combining the best minds in academia, industry and government to put the latest advances into practice and develop the next generation of industry leaders equipped to tackle greater challenges. The practice community can help advance this goal by continuing to promote the impact of their work within their organization and sharing best practices within INFORMS.

The second goal, “Advance diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in all we do,” extends to all INFORMS members and can positively impact potential future members. INFORMS as an organization will be more valuable with a diverse body and the ability to attract members across all demographics, as well as at all layers of the ever-expanding range of disciplines encompassed by the scope defined in the plan. Every organization is challenged to meet DEI goals, from hiring activities to serving customers to ensuring their practices and solutions avoid any biases. INFORMS’ current and future activities in support of this goal can help practitioners in their own goals of diversity and inclusion. One specific example is in the area of talent acquisition: In order to have an innovative team, industry strives to be more diverse in the hiring process – not just in terms of demographics, but also in the breadth of disciplines covered. We have an opportunity to work closely with academia to ensure that the pool of future employees have the correct skills and represent diverse views.

As members of INFORMS, the third goal, “Enhance member value and experience” can have a two-way implication: “How can INFORMS provide greater value to practice members?” and “How can practice members add to the overall value of all INFORMS members?” A strong connection between academia and practice has always been recognized as an important factor in advancing research. With a strong connection to real-world challenges, practitioners can provide valuable input to the research directions and initiatives that are needed to identify and solve complex problems. Input related to the ever-changing breadth and depth of skills in the products of university programs (students!) is always critical to the growth of academic programs. INFORMS can help foster this exchange of input. Likewise, there is opportunity for INFORMS to expand continuing education programs as well as certification opportunities for the members of our analytical groups. More informally, when practitioners engage through INFORMS in panel discussions, practice talks, etc., they often educate analytics consumers and champions who are also vital to the success of analytics projects, in addition to the analytics experts. 

Practice members can play a role in expanding membership to include those who do not currently see INFORMS as a professional home: graduates entering the job market, early career practitioners, students in data science and analytics programs, new members from the AI/ML community and more. Continually adding fresh ideas and new methodologies to the mix enriches the experience and opportunities for all members.

Goal 4, “Champion our profession and our brand,” refers to both the INFORMS organization and the OR/MS/analytics profession. We are excited to see ways in which INFORMS’ activities advocate for our profession by impacting the growth and recognition of our own O.R. and analytics activities within our organizations. As an ambassador for the many ways in which our profession impacts the world (through the press, social media, news channels, etc.), INFORMS can directly impact the number of jobs with competitive salaries that require O.R./data science expertise and the value placed on the analytics teams’ contributions. In return, as practitioners we can highlight the innovative methods used by our teams in solving critical societal problems to increase brand recognition for our profession. We can see firsthand the emerging technology trends and critical issues that require new innovations from our profession.

INFORMS has already substantially invested in advocacy efforts promoting the value of our profession to the federal government and others involved in public policy. Practitioners have the symbiotic opportunity to take advantage of these efforts to benefit their own groups and provide additional examples to champion our brand and profession. Additionally, INFORMS is promoting some of the innovations and impacts from our own projects to a broader audience through awards, social media, public relations and other venues. Publicizing the value of these projects can benefit practitioners’ abilities to grow and garner recognition within their company.

Finally, the fifth goal to “Ensure our operational excellence and long-term financial health” may at first be dismissed as less relevant to the practice community, but we believe there is opportunity for participation in this goal. Operational excellence extends beyond the INFORMS staff, to every subdivision, committee and volunteer at INFORMS. Practitioners bring a business mindset when they volunteer, advancing the notion of operational excellence. The practice community can also support INFORMS by developing and generating products and services that create new revenue stream opportunities. INFORMS’ revenue comes from the big three – publications, meetings and membership – all of which are facing significant short- and long-term headwinds [2]. Diversifying the portfolio of INFORMS’ services and offerings into other revenue-producing initiatives driven by the practice community would not only contribute to the financial health of INFORMS but would also generate services and programs that add value to all members.

We are excited by the opportunities the new strategic plan can bring to practice members. However, it is ultimately up to the practice community to leverage the plan to bring more value to all members.

References

1. Steve Graves, 2021, “A New Strategic Plan,” OR/MS Today, Vol. 48, No. 2, pp. 8-10, https://doi.org/10.1287/orms.2021.02.07.
2. Steve Graves, 2021, “Financial Impact of COVID-19,” OR/MS Today, Vol. 48, No. 3., pp. 8-9, https://doi.org/do/10.1287/orms.2021.03.11.