VISION
That the INFORMS Section on Practice be the INFORMS Society that comprehensively supports and advances practice in analytics, operations research and the management sciences (analytics/OR/MS).
MISSION
The purposes of the Section shall be consistent with those of INFORMS but focused on advancing general professional
practice. The Section’s scope encompasses the actual application of operations research, management science, and
analytics to real-world problems to help improve performance and decision making within any organizational sector,
including business, government, the military, healthcare, education, and non-profits. More specifically, the purposes of the
Section are:
A. to focus attention on the great value delivered by successful practice and on the fact that our profession exists to
achieve success in practice
B. to focus attention on the need within our profession to study practice along with the study of analytical-and-computer
related methods
C. to help INFORMS initiate and administer competitions that are intended to advance successful practice in general, and
thus typically are open without restrictions on application types, analytical methods, or geographical locations of
candidates
D. to facilitate, for individuals both inside and outside our profession, the exchange of pertinent practice-related
information, ideas, experiences, techniques, and opportunities through meetings, correspondence, exchange of papers,
and other appropriate means
E. to facilitate cross-fertilization between INFORMS and other organizations that are interested in the practice of
operations research, management science, and analytics
F. to help identify, codify, synthesize, and interpret methods and other knowledge useful in the practice of operations
research, management science, and analytics
CLARIFYING NOTES
Just as INFORMS serves all facets of the umbrella profession of analytics/OR/MS, the Practice Section serves the entire community of full-time practitioners, part-time practitioners, and researchers with strong practice interests. Thus, while it concentrates on practical applications, Practice Section has wide interests that range over the full scope of OR/MS methods and fields of application.
Once this purpose has been fulfilled, the range of activities and size of membership will be consistent with those of a Society.
In pursuing its vision, the Practice Section will continue to partner with the INFORMS Vice President Practice, the INFORMS Roundtable and other subdivisions and committees in connection with advancing practice.