What's new this month?

Thought it was about time for another post.  April has been a bit quite due to being on a course and then spending a lovely fortnight in bonnie Scotland.

The course I went on was 'Introduction to O.R.' that was run by The O.R. Society.  Having come into this role from a non O.R. background this course was really useful for getting a good understanding of O.R., examples of how it can be applied and getting practical experience of using various techniques.  I would thoroughly recommend it!

Tomorrow I'm heading down to London for the Analytics event: Developments in advanced analytics and big data.  Promises to be a great day.  I will be at The OR Society desk with info about Pro Bono O.R. so if you are attending please do come and say hello.

The Pro Bono projects are going along well and we have now started projects with Morecambe Bay CU and are in the process of selecting volunteers for Depaul UK, Medway Youth Trust and Workers Educational Association.

If you know of any third sector organisations that could benefit from Pro Bono O.R. then please direct them to the webpage http://www.theorsociety.com/Pages/Probono/Probono.aspx

Additionally if you or someone you know would like to become an Pro Bono O.R. volunteer please do get in touch felicity.mcleister@theorsociety.com

Sharing Experiences of Health and 3rd Sector Operational Research (free event on 2nd June 2014)

Sharing Experiences of Health and 3rd Sector Operational Research

A joint Health/Third Sector Special Interest Group OR Society meeting

Date/Time:         Monday, 2 June 2014 from 13:30 to 18:00

Venue:                 The Pavilion, University of Westminster, 115 New Cavendish St, London, London, W1W 6UW.

Charities and social enterprises are involved in a wide range of health service provision, and their role, in the UK at least, is arguably growing to fill gaps left by statutory cutbacks. Operational Research (OR) has been successfully used in many ways to design and improve health service provision. But OR has historically been less visible in the third sector than in the state and private sectors.

This event brings together speakers with experience of health, the third sector and OR to shed light on what is happening in these areas and how the different groups can build on this for the future.

Confirmed keynote speakers include:

Nigel Edwards, Chief Executive, Nuffield Trust: Current issues in Healthcare policy and management - Opportunities for OR and the 3rd sector.

Jeremie Gallien, Associate Professor of Management Science and Operations, London Business School: Using OR to improve health delivery systems in sub-Saharan Africa.

Other speakers include:

Linda Henry, Unique Improvements Ltd: View from the bridge: third sector consultancy for public sector change.

Admission is free and spaces are reserved on a first booked basis. Bookings can be made on Eventbrite using this link: http://goo.gl/gkILrR

For additional information, please contact John Holt: jholt@danielholt1992.com or Thierry Chaussalet: chausst@westminster.ac.uk

Pro Bono O.R. new look webpage and how to become a #probonOR volunteer

This week I've been keeping our IT guy busy doing lots of updates to the new look webpage.  To find out about O.R., to find out how to get involved in pro bono O.R. whether as a volunteer or an organisation or just want to know who we've been working with and read the latest news... check out Pro Bono O.R. webpage

As you can see from my last post the project is really taking off and as a result we are always on the look out for more volunteers.  Being a O.R. volunteer enables you to make a difference to third sector organisations, learn new skills, meet new people and create a lasting impact.  Please visit the webpage and use the 'Information for volunteers' tab to find out what the role and requirements are of a volunteer.

Thanks!