The OR Society is the world's oldest-established learned society catering to the Operational Research (OR) profession with approximately 3000 members in 53 different countries. The societies objectives are to advance knowledge and interest in OR as well as education in OR.
The OR Society has various different committees that help the society achieve their aims - two of these are Pro Bono and OR in Schools. Both offer different volunteering opportunities to those working in or having an interest in O.R.
1 - PRO-BONO
UK based organisations in the Third Sector can now benefit from O.R. consultancy at no cost. The Operational Research society is offering third sector organisations the opportunity for free consultancy to help reduce costs and improve utilisation of limited resources.
The OR Society launched its O.R. Pro Bono initiative for UK based third sector organisations in September 2013. The purpose of O.R. is to enable managers to make more effective decisions.
The society wants more organisations to benefit from operational research and recognises that third sector organisations have an even greater need to be more efficient. Organisations may seek a wide range of operational improvements:
Whatever the aim, O.R. can offer the flexibility and adaptability to provide objective help.
Pro Bono O.R. works with any Third Sector organisation in the UK from small local organisations right up to large national organisations. For examples of who we've worked with please visit the webpage.
O.R./analytical professional have a wealth of skills they can offer third sector organisations and their input on short term projects can make a massive long term impact.
2 - OR IN SCHOOLS (ORiS)
ORiS connects with schools, colleges, 6th Form Colleges, and universities across the UK.
Maths is fundamental. We all know this. And (hopefully) we all use it day to day in our O.R. roles up and down the country! The question is – did you know the importance of maths and O.R. when you were younger?
O.R. in Schools (ORiS) promotes O.R. to young people and their teachers. After a review by the society on the future highlighted a lack of awareness of O.R. in education and schools, ORiS was created with the aim to promote O.R. to young people and their teachers in a bid to fulfil the Society’s vision that “every school child knows what O.R. is”.
OR in Schools partners various establishments and a visit to one of these institutions may involve delivering a short presentation to students about what O.R. is and how it can be used, or attending Careers Talks and Fairs to speak to students about your career, how you got there, and what maths you use. Other popular requests involve volunteers delivering a fun, engaging and interactive workshop with teacher support. This allows young people to actively participate in maths and O.R. techniques and to better understand where and why they might be used.
The OR Society employs a part time project manager to run the Pro Bono O.R. scheme. The project manager recruits skilled volunteers and promotes the service to third sector organisations. A process is followed by which a project scope is developed for each project and then sent out to all of the volunteers.
The OR Society employs a full time project manager to run the Education scheme.
