INFORMS’ Actions for a Shifting Global Landscape

I’m writing this column while in Singapore attending the 2025 INFORMS International Meeting and having just completed a trip to Beijing at the invitation of Professor Su Shuai to visit with faculty and students at Beijing Jiaotong University (BJTU). At BJTU, I had the opportunity to talk with Professor Su (a past chair of the INFORMS Railway Applications Section), Professor Lixing Yang (president of the Operations Research Society of China) and several other faculty and students to exchange ideas and discuss collaboration with INFORMS. The International Meeting in Singapore has over 1,100 participants from more than 30 countries who have come together to network and hear the terrific program assembled by general co-chairs Jie Xu and Szu Hui Ng and the many other volunteers.

Both of these trips have given me an even greater appreciation of the role INFORMS plays in the global operations research community and the respect carried by the INFORMS brand. Of course, I am also hearing concerns about the U.S. and other countries’ governmental policies, especially around obtaining visas to participle in INFORMS events in the U.S., and the rising cost of travel.

Within the INFORMS membership, 30% resides outside the U.S., across more than 80 countries, which means that 70% of our members live in the U.S. Within the U.S., I am also hearing concerns about threats to research funding, academic careers and student pipelines. Erosion of scientific legitimacy, global collaboration and external trust. Risks to global engagement and INFORMS’ perceived neutrality.

These topics were considered at the INFORMS Board of Directors meeting held in April 2025 during the INFORMS Analytics+ Conference. Board meetings often identify a “mega issue” for discussion to identify a strategic plan of action. The mega issue at the spring meeting was “Emerging Risks in a Shifting Policy Landscape: Impacts on INFORMS and Our Members.”

What came out of that board discussion was a set of concrete actions that INFORMS has now implemented to support members who may have lost funding or their job or may have difficulty or concerns about traveling to the U.S. On June 11, INFORMS Executive Director Elena Gerstmann sent an email to members with a link to a new website listing the ways INFORMS is assisting our community in these challenging times (visit https://www.informs.org/About-INFORMS/Supporting-Our-Community). On June 20, the INFORMS Executive Committee held its second open member town hall of the year to discuss the actions INFORMS is taking on behalf of the membership. These actions, along with others that members and staff have been advancing, include the following.

Help with Membership Dues

• INFORMS is reducing or waiving fees for those facing financial hardship. This is similar to the program INFORMS offered during the height of the COVID-19 pandemic.
• INFORMS also offers discounted memberships for individuals in developing countries.

Supporting Communities and Other Groups

• INFORMS created an Executive Rapid Response Fund to provide just-in-time support for urgent community needs. We will provide up to $20,000 to an INFORMS community if, for example, an event they were planning to host lost funding because of the unique challenges of 2025.
• Vinod Cheriyan, VP Chapters & Forums, and Theresa Roeder, VP Sections & Societies, are working on ways to better support INFORMS communities navigating today’s challenges.

Meetings Access

• INFORMS will be offering a “light” virtual option at the 2025 Annual Meeting in Atlanta to provide access to plenaries, keynotes and TutORials for members who can’t make it in person (although we still hope to see you in person this October in Atlanta!).

Global Support

For members who reside outside the U.S., we are offering services designed to support this important segment of the INFORMS community.

• As I write this, INFORMS is hosting the 2025 International Meeting in Singapore to better serve our members living in the Asia-Pacific region. Talking with people at the conference, and given the overall success of this meeting, we will be exploring additional non-U.S. meeting options.
• INFORMS modified policies to help navigate possible visa and entry challenges for U.S.-based
• We are enhancing the promotion of community members from around the world, the global impact of INFORMS and improved publication visibility for non-U.S. research.
• We are transitioning the INFORMS Section on Public and Societal O.R.-led one-day event, “2025 Contemporary Operations Management in Developing Economies,” into a full INFORMS-level virtual event that connects researchers who may not be able to attend the 2025 INFORMS Annual Meeting.

Student Support and Career Growth

• INFORMS Career Center serves as your hub for job opportunities and other career resources in operations research, analytics and data science – and a revitalized Career Services Committee is exploring how we can provide better job support. We have also initiated discussions with employers about how INFORMS career services can better support their needs.
• “Speak Up” is a new preconference event funded by the Bonder Foundation and will be hosted in conjunction with the 2025 Annual Meeting to help students build communication and presentation skills.

Advocacy and Impact

• We launched the INFORMS Advocacy Toolkit, which provides members with a step-by-step guide to engage with policymakers and the media.
• The INFORMS Advocacy team continues to monitor current events to identify ways to support the community. Most recently, INFORMS joined dozens of scientific associations in signing a joint letter to congressional leaders in support of the National Science Foundation’s vital role in research.
• INFORMS is tagging published articles aligned with the UN Sustainable Development Goals to spotlight research driving real-world impact.

We continue to follow the news and its impact on all our members and will continue to take appropriate steps to support the INFORMS community and advocate for the importance of our members’ work, both in research and in practice.

This column describes some of the specific steps we have taken to build on my earlier President’s Desk column titled “The Power of Collaboration” [1]. By fostering a strong community and encouraging collaboration across countries and cultures, disciplines, generations, and perspectives, INFORMS strengthens not only our profession but the communities we serve. To truly achieve the INFORMS vision – better decision-making for a just, prosperous and sustainable world – requires facilitating a vibrant global community of operations researchers collaborating and sharing the best ideas.

Reference

1. Dave Hunt, 2025, “The Power of Collaboration,” OR/MS Today, June 16, https://doi.org/10.1287/orms.2025.02.05.