2026 Best PSOR Paper Award INFORMS Public and Societal Operations Research
Call for Submissions
The INFORMS Public and Societal Operations Research (PSOR) Best Paper Award, sponsored by the PSOR Section, recognizes research judged to be of the best quality in all of the disciplines and application areas represented within PSOR. Through this competition, PSOR seeks to build a tradition of scholarly exchange of knowledge of public policy, programs, safety, service, and needs within the entire INFORMS community.
Subject to receiving qualified submissions, the Best Paper Award winner will receive a plaque and a $200 honorarium. One or two Honorable Mentions may also be awarded depending on the number of qualified submissions. All finalists will be notified prior to the 2026 INFORMS Annual Meeting and they will be invited to present their papers in a special PSOR Paper finalists session at the conference. The award recipient(s) will be announced at the PSOR Business Meeting during the INFORMS Annual Meeting.
Eligibility
To be eligible for the award, a complete entry must be submitted by July 6th, 2026 (11:59 PM EST) to:
A complete entry consists of:
-
A brief cover letter (at most 1 page) explaining the paper's relevance and significance to public sector operations and confirming the submitting author is a PSOR member. The letter should include the names, titles, affiliations, and email addresses of all the coauthors. If practical impact is claimed for the research, then it is advised to also submit another letter from a practitioner (please attach this letter to the cover letter and submit one pdf), preferably not a coauthor of the work, attesting to its practical value.
-
A full paper (at most 32 pages, excluding the appendix), laid out using the formatting standards of a major INFORMS journal (e.g., Management Science, Manufacturing & Service Operations Management, and Operations Research). Nowhere in the paper should it contain the names or affiliations of its coauthor(s).
-
The submission can be a working paper or a paper under review but cannot be published (or accepted for publication) at the time of submission. In addition, the corresponding author must be a member of the INFORMS PSOR Section at the time of submission.
For more information and details on past winners, visit the PSOR website:
Any inquiries can be made to the co-chairs of the 2026 competition:
------------------------------
Iva Rashkova
President, PSOR Section
Operations and Supply Chain Management
University of St Thomas
------------------------------