Join our third sector committee today!

Third Sector SIG

Special Interest Groups' activities are directed towards the practical and theoretical development of O.R. and the promotion of wider knowledge and appreciation of O.R.

The third sector SIG is looking for a new Chair as well as committee members. Role descriptions are below.

Chair

You must be a member to take on the position of Chair. The Chair shall ensure committee meetings are called and held in accordance with the Special Interest Group constitution and consult with committee members to establish and confirm an agenda for each committee meeting. The Chair shall officiate and conduct committee meetings, provide leadership and ensure committee members are aware of their obligations and that the committee complies with its responsibilities. The Chair shall ensure there is sufficient time during the committee meeting to fully discuss agenda items, and ensure that discussion on agenda items is on topic, productive and professional. The Chair shall ensure minutes are complete and accurate, retained, included and reviewed at the next committee meeting. The Chair shall develop and maintain the vision and strategy for the SIG.

The Chair shall officiate and conduct SIG meetings, ensuring speakers keep to time and working with committee members to facilitate networking among attendees. Following a SIG meeting, the Chair shall write (email) to the speaker(s) to formally thank them for their time and contribution.

Committee Members

Committee members shall provide support for organising SIG meetings by suggesting suitable topics, identifying speakers, sourcing suitable venues and helping to promote the event. It may be appropriate for a member of the committee to be the meeting organiser for a SIG meeting. It will be their responsibility, with the support of the rest of the committee, to book the venue and refreshments, invite and brief the speaker(s), organise publicity, manage attendance registration and provide a brief for the Chair to officiate the meeting. A member of the committee shall volunteer, or be nominated, to provide a full write up of the SIG meeting which will be used for publication in Inside O.R. A summary of the SIG meeting should also be posted on the blog on the Special Interest Group’s page of the OR Society website no later than one week following the SIG meeting.

The committee typically meet three/four times a year (mostly virtually) and the SIG would plan to put on three/four events per year. For further information about Special Interest Groups and the Third Sector SIG, please visit: http://www.theorsociety.com/Pages/SpecialInterest/SpecialInterestList.aspx

The third sector SIG has been running successfully for many years hosting a number of well attended events. If you have an interest in Operational Research and the third sector please get in touch with Hope.Meadows@theorsociety.com to find out more. 

A call for volunteers: 'Be a volunteer language editor - be an OR hero'

Here's a little ditty written by Dr James Bleach

Dr James Bleach is a Senior Analyst who applies analytical and modelling techniques to generate high quality, objective and robust evidence that informs UK Government policy makers and enables them to make better decisions. In addition to being the Founder and Managing Editor of the ōbex project, James, whose academic background is in Astrophysics, has also been a member of the Editorial Board for the science journal Open Physics since 2003, and a Language Editor for Paladyn. Journal of Behavioral Robotics since 2013.

Abstract:

Opportunity to support the ōbex project – a free language editing service for operational researchers from non-English speaking regions seeking publication in an English language journal.

Full article:

Be a volunteer language editor - be an OR hero

On the 8th September 2016 I was called a hero by a relative stranger who also requested that he have his photograph taken with me - it has to be said, this has not been a very common occurrence in my over 13 year career in Operational Research. 

It was the final day of the Operational Research Society Annual Conference (OR58), and the reason for my temporary celebrity was the language editing support I had arranged for the author of one of the papers published in the conference Keynote Papers Handbook, for which I was the Managing Editor.

I was struck by how appreciative the author was of the support he had been given. In fact a number of contributors to the handbook had expressed their thanks for the language editing support my editorial team had provided, and over the course of the conference I discussed with them the issues they sometimes faced getting published in English language journals.

Following the conference, I decided it was time to apply my editorial experience more extensively within the field of Operational Research – and so in October 2016, with the support of a high calibre editorial team, the ōbex project was officially launched (www.theobexproject.co.uk).

the ōbex project is a free language editing service for operational researchers from non-English speaking regions seeking publication in an English language journal. The word ōbex is Latin for barrier (obstacle, hurdle, etc.) – and so is used to represent the barrier to publication that the English language can be for some operational researchers.

I am now seeking to expand the editorial team by recruiting a number of additional volunteer language editors to support the project.

The Skills volunteer language editors require are:

    -Excellent attention to detail – such as being able to correct mistakes in grammar, spelling, punctuation, and ensuring consistency of terminology.

     -Delivering to deadlines.

Volunteer language editors are not required to be highly experienced operational researchers as these are language editing rather than technical editing roles.

Time commitment:

An initial estimate is between 1 and 4 manuscripts per year (each typically between 5 and 15 pages). Initially the number of manuscripts may be towards the lower end –  and may even remain so depending on the long term level of engagement from the international community and the size of the expanded editorial team.  

Volunteer language editors are expected to complete the review of a manuscript within 5-10 days of accepting the task, depending on the author's requirements. 

If you are interested in being considered for one of these volunteer roles please send an email with a short statement containing your background and any relevant experience (just a paragraph or two will a suffice) to Dr James Bleach, the managing editor of the ōbex project, at the following address:

managingeditor@theobexproject.co.uk

And also please Cc the project Gmail address:

theobexproject@gmail.com

Updated free software/analytical tools available to O.R professionals

As Pro Bono O.R continues to help third sector organisations, our volunteers endlessly solve diverse problems using a range of software and analytical tools. We have compiled an evolving list of software tools which help to solve different types of problem. These tools are useful, not only for those working on our third sector projects, but also for O.R professionals looking to enhance their O.R. toolkit.

These software tools cover a variety of analytical modelling techniques, including: statistical analysis, data mining, system dynamics and forecasting. The list so far includes over 65 tools across a range of areas including:

·         Statistical analysis (e.g. PSPP, R)

·         Data visualisation (e.g. D3, Gephi, Vizable)

·         Geospatial and mapping (e.g. QGIS, GDAL, MapsData)

·         Programming languages (e.g. Python, Ruby)

·         Databases (e.g. PostGres, SQLlilte, ArangoDB)

·         Optimisation (e.g. Pyomo, OpenSolver)

·         Simulation (e.g. SimPy, Insight Maker)

·         Supply Chain (e.g. OpenBoxes, Odoo)

The list can be accessed at: https://www.dropbox.com/home/Dropbox%20links?preview=Useful+Software+List.xlsx

The list is ever-evolving and we would welcome further contributions or to hear about any tools or software you have successfully used in the past. Ideally the software should be free to use. Please email any suggestions to hope.meadows@theorsociety.com.

If you want to find out more about volunteering for a project, please visit http://www.theorsociety.com/Pages/Probono/Probono.aspx for more info.

Pro Bono OR volunteers required for new project with Hestia Housing

Hestia Housing

Project summary:

Project: The Hestia Approach Performance & Impact Framework - To create a database which can record, capture and analyse customer insights or feedback from up to 90 services encompassing up to 8 client groups and five service models. The data will be qualitative and quantitative.

Time commitment: approx. 10 days, though this will need to be checked by the volunteer in the light of information gathered at their first meeting.

Location: London

Please read project scope and if you feel you are able to offer your assistance please complete the application form and return along with your CV to hope.meadows@theorsociety.com by Friday 23^rd June.

Information about the organisation:

Charitable objectives:

Our mission is to deliver high quality and empowering housing, support, protection and care services in partnership with service users and local communities.

Main activities of the organisation: 

We support people fleeing domestic abuse, people who have been trafficked, people with mental health, older people, young people, ex-offenders, people with learning difficulties and physical disabilities. Delivering support via accommodation based, outreach, community engagement and advocacy services.

If you would like to volunteer on a project but are not able to commit to the full time requirement please let me know as it may be possible to pair you up with another analyst.  Lastly if you would like to work on a project as part of a pair or with the support of a mentor please indicate on your application and we try to facilitate this. 

I look forward to hearing from you and once again thank you for your help and support.

For further information about the scheme please visit: http://www.theorsociety.com/Probono  

A Dashboard for Managing Resources

Two volunteers have found success whilst working with The National Autistic Society.

NAS wanted to know what issues are most important or causing the greatest difficulties for autistic people. NAS run online surveys as well as other sources of intelligence, including Facebook, Twitter, helpline calls, NAS website hits, publication requests, media coverage and so on. 

NAS sought help to find methods of sifting and analyzing this information systematically for trends and hot topics- helping with efficiency and demand. 

After identifying the problem through focus group our volunteers designed an Excel based dashboard to view how resources were used across support channels. The dashboard is easy to input and can be used on a weekly basis.

Details of the project can be seen in the case study slide below. For more information about Pro Bono O.R. please visit www.theorsociety.com/probono

Processing Donations More Quickly

In March of this year, two Pro Bono OR volunteers spent seven days supporting The Stroke Association to confirm an efficient and effective handling of donations in order to help achieve their targets.

The Stroke Association is very necessary. The organisation provides services and education to local communities, as well as campaigning and research on a national scale. 'There are more than 100,000 strokes in the UK each year; that is around one stroke every five minutes.'

Whilst validating the current process, volunteers were able to identify operational 'bottlenecks' that could be refocused to improve and speed up the operational layout. At the completion of the project one volunteer said 'I liked working on something different and on something which could benefit my career.'

Details of the project can be seen in the case study slide below. For more information about Pro Bono O.R. please visit www.theorsociety.com/probono

There's a new Sheriff in town and she's taking over Pro Bono OR

Hi all,

Just to let you know, I will be the new face of Pro Bono OR, taking over from Felicity McLeister. I’m aware that I have some big shoes to fill, following in the footsteps of Fliss, but as she moves onto another role within the organisation I will do my best to sustain the progress that Pro Bono continues to make.   

I am joining the team with a new head to OR. My experience includes events and project management within the third sector, here in the UK and internationally. Following the completion of my Masters in International Relations Global Security and Development, I moved to Australia to work for a charity which concentrated on building sustainable communities in Uganda. Upon my return to the UK I worked for a national charity for 2 years, setting up and delivering a government youth programme. I can see that OR can be used in any sector, but OR is both a want and a need within the third sector to those with charitable aims. I am looking forward to seeing Pro Bono OR help make improvements which are both transparent and sustainable.

As business continues as usual, don't forget to get your ticket to the Analytics Summit on 15th June, 9am-5pm, IET, London. Speakers include Charles Kennelly, Claire Thompson and Peter Wells. Go to the website to purchase your ticket and find out more information  http://www.analytics-events.co.uk/ #GetInvolved