THE
OPERATIONAL
RESEARCH
SOCIETY
Annual Report
and
Accounts
for the year ended 31 December 2020
The Operational Research Society
12 Edward Street, Birmingham, 81 2RX, UK
Tel +44101121 233 9300. Fax +44101121233 0321
email@theorsociety.com www theorsociety.com
A registered eharity No 312713. A company limited by guarantee No 00662819

Foreword from the President
It is a great pleasure to introduce this report. which desL'iibes Tl)è Op¥i'alioiial Research Society's
achievements during 2020 and sets out our plans for the future.
2020 has been a year like no other for the Society, nor indeed for the whole country and the rest of the world.
The coronavirus crisis had its origins al the end of 2019 and swiftly progress to a global pandemic early in the
2020. From mid-march. the UK, like much ol the rest of the world, has faced 3 series of restrictive measures
aimed at combating the spiead of the virus. At the time of writing, these measures are still in place and likely
lo continue to impact the Society's activities through much of 2021. Since these measures were first
introduced, the Society's staff have been working from home and all of ils usual fac+to-face activities have
been unable to take place. The Society s Iransition to offering Viftual alternatives has been swifi and very
successful.
The crisis has been a challenge for the entire operational research community, but OR thrives in times of
change, albeit enforced 11) Iliis case. I remain hugely Proud of the contribution our community has made to
the world-wide response, despite much of this effort being behind the scenes and not visible to the general
public.
This emphasises a point that I made at this point In the 2019 annual repart, that there's huge potential lor a
step change in the visibility and influence of Operational Research. and for growth in our practice and
research communities. Despite the pandemic, the programme of engaging more with government and policy-
makers has progressed, with the most visible result to-date being the Blackett Memorial Lecture in
November. The Sociely will continue its key co-ordinating role and hopes to build on the momentum
generated by the lecture.
This report describes some of The OR society's key achievements during 2020 in respoi)diiig lu Ilie
opportunities and challenges presenled by the'new normal,. These have included." fast Iransitlon to virtual
delivery of many of our services. the approval of the level 7 apprenticeship for an Operational Research
Specialist,. and involvemer)t in a Royal Society inspired alliance to look at the professionalisation of data
science.
Edmund Burke
OR Society President 2020-2022
May 2021

Introduction
The Opeiaiional Research Society is a charity set up to advance knowledge. interest and education in
operational reseaich IORI. Our vision is of a world improved by rigorous analysis and better, evidence-based
decision-making. OR providing world class analysis for world class decisions. In this world OR would be
seen as indispensable - not just a 'nice to have, bul a 'must have, and be used and acknowledged widely in
all areas of industry, business, government and the third sector.
As a charity, we must work for the public benefit, but we also aim to work for the good of our members,
because without active, able and well-supporled researchers and practitioners, students and supporters, OR
would not exist. We disseminate learning", promote awareness of OR,. support OR professionals and
standards," and aim to ensure that UK OR has a 'voice at the table,, both in the international OR world and in
wider UK arenas. This represenls a broad programme of activities and seivices, that has been growing year
on year and that we continue to maintain and develop.
Wilh the continuing dramatic changes in the world around us - the global coronavirus pandemic - our
activities and services have had to adapt accordingly. These changes present great challenges for the whole
world, but offer great opportunities for ihe OR discipline, OR professionals and The OR Society.
Review of the Year 2020
2020 was the final year of our 3 to 5-year strategic planning period, during which we adapted our main priorities
on lop of the '8usiness as Usual, services and activities. These are.. raising awareness of the Importance of OR.,
supporting OR knowledge development,. supporting OR education., growing membership and wider reach.,
ensuring financial sustainability ol Ihe Society,. and embeddirbg good diversity practice in OR and the ORS
Whilst we aim to put EDI considerations at the heart of everything we do, we felt its importance deserves
highlighting as a separate strategic strand.
Highlights olthe Year
This has been another year of highlights which, 31ong with our full range of activities, support our charitable
aims lo advance knowledge, interest and education in OR.
Advancing knowledge
The Society's portfolio of academic journals was able to make a substantial contribution to both advancing
and sharing knowledge specifically related to COVI D-19. All of our relevant content was made free to access
and a significant volume of new research material was published in much condensed time-frames.
The Society continues to work with Council for Mathematical Sciences on the next steps of the Big Maths
Initialive, a possible outcome of which could be the establishment of a national Mathematical Sciences
academy This could play a key role in the future advancement of knowledge in OR Other activities to
advance knowledge are covered below in the Events, Publications and Research sections.
Advancing interest
The Society's strategic goal of advancing interest in OR was both hindered and helped by the global
pandemic. Its Ljsual programme of factrto-face activities completely ground to a halt. but was soon up and
running in a virtU81 format. While this did mean some limitation to networking opportunities, the glob31 reach
achievable through the revised online events was impressive. This year's annual conference reached its
biggest ever audience, and one that covered all corners of the globe.

The Society continued to implement Ilie recommendations of its Artificial Intelligence IAI) task and finish
group. One such activity was the delivery of 3n extens1ve workshop at the BCS conference, highlighting
how OR can conlribule lo Al piujeLls. Otl"ièi' aotivilieb lo advaiice iiiterest are covered below in the Events, OR
in EdLJcation and Pro Bono OR sections.
Advancing educalion
A major highlight of the year was the Institute for Apprenticeships approval of the standard and assessment
plan ol the level 7 (Masters) apprenticeship for Operational Research specialist. The Society is now pursuing
approval as an End Point Assessment Qrganisation. It Is hoped that the first cohort of apprentices will
commence in late 2021. Other activities to adv8nce education are covered below in the Education, Training
and OR in Education sections.
Other highlights
Some Df our 2020 highlights made contributions lo all OLJr charitable aims. These included the expansion of
our Women in OR and Analylics Network (WORANI with a number of virtual events held during the year This
network provides a key focus for addressing Issues facing women in our profession.
Finally, the Society is actively invo5ved in an alliance of learned societies (BCS, IMA, and RSS) to implement
recommendations in the Royal Society repori Dynamics of d3t& science skills. including shaping professional
standards for data science. This has the potential to be pivotal in improving trust in data analysis across all
sectors of the economy.
Achievements during theyear @It., .
Equality, Equity. Diversity & Inclusion
Part of the OR Society's vision is to have a vibrant and active membership drawn from diverse areas.
support of this, the Society has been active over Ihe past year in the Equality, Equity. Diversity & Inclusion
(EEDI) area. In line with its commitment to the Science Council declaration, the Society has a Board level
Diversity Champion and a member of the Society's permanent staff working together to drive the realisation
of our EEDI ambitions. Key achievements over the past year include the launch of our first Diversity and
Inclusion survey where 65,￿ of respondenls felt we were an ine1usive Society. A key focus area moving
forward, amongsl oihers, will be supporting social mobility within the OR profession. In support of this, the
Society is working with In2Science, which is a charity focused on social mobility in STEfv1 and we are
exploring how to broaderi the reach of our OR in education work. On our ambitions in the BAME area, the
Society attended a Parliamentary & Science meeting on Racial Inequality in UK Science, and we are explorino
some of the Issues raised from an OR perspective. We are also engaging with BB STEM to promote their
University Alliance work and to identify ways to work together on education outreach. Finally, in the gender
equality area, our Women in OR and Analytics Network had a very active programme of, well attended. on-line
events. Moving into the next year, our EEDI work is focLJsed on delivering our strategy and supporting
programme to cohere all the wonderful work, spread across ihe Society, related to EEDI, ensuring we live up
to our inclusive value.. a vibrant communiiy united by a common passion and purpose.
Conferences and Events
Events and Conferences remain a key focus for both our membership and our target market for future
members, this is clear from the feedback from our member surveys and post event communications.
Upfront we must recognise that 2020 however, proved to be a year where the global pandemic tipped our
planned schedule of events on its head, where many events were unfortunately but understandably cancelled
and where we went Virtual with the rest, Zwm became our new Conference venue. Our prior experience of

running online events and seminars was not exlensive, but we were able lo draw on the knowledge we had
and from some new team menibers who joined during the year. The Events Committee, all the staff at ORHQ,
our generous volunteers, all rallied to the cause and with their energy and unclaunled commitment 'ihe show
went on" Our thanks to everyone who assisted, spoke and attended our events during Ihe year.
Despite the extraordin8ry circumstances, with a degree of creativity and stubbornness, we have delivered an
extensive and varied programme of high-quality events again in 2020. In some respects, the inability to travel
to specific meeting venues, meant that our events became more accessible to all our members and to an
increased audience of non-members too. With people locked down, sometimes shielding at home, the
opportunity to join an online meeting or event was no longer an inconvenience, but a greal outlet to listen,
learn, share and meet up wilh kindred spirits.
Annual Conference, on with the show...
Our Annual Conference was once again the f18gship event. The planning started before the Covid-19
restrictions came into force and the Conference Committee were planning for a physical event at Warwick
University. Anyone who has ever been involved in this evenl previously, will understand the hard work
required to make it a success. Well, this year was extraordinary. Our thanks musl be given to Co-chairs
Frances O'Brien and Juergen Branke for all the hard work they and their commitlee put in to making It such a
success. Initial disappointment of not having an opportunity to meet physically were short lived and It was all
h8nds to the pumps lo completely rebuild the conference to an online model. Three excellent keynote
plenaries from Internationally acclaimed Professor Dimitris Bertsimas from MIT, professic>nal consultant Dr
Ellen Lewis and Cornell University Professor Patrick Reed headlined each day perfectly The numbers
registering, 1375 and attending the event 704, were indeed a record in the history of the confeience. Whilst
our decision to follow similar conferences in making the event free of charge, would have no doubt
contributed to this increased attendance, the content was at our usual high quality with some sessions
attended by over 150 people and a peak of 357 for the first plenary We were able to accommodate the
different lime zones of OLJr speakers and attendees, with the online model also allowing for recording of
sessions so that these could be watched at the convenience of attendees. Despite the constraints, the
attendees were able to enjoy a rich programtne of parallel streams, across a broad range of topic areas. As
part of the pre-conference activity, we held a very successful Early Careers Research Network launch event.
Speakers drawn from Universities (Edinburgh, Loughborough, Bath, Southampton), UKRI EPSRC and ESRC
were joined by 70 live attendees and many watching the recording of the event. We further explored online
networking and workshop sessions thru The Making an Impact programme, to offer a varied content-rich
opportunily for everyone to share in best practices, successful implementation ol projecls and research. The
normally wonderful social calendar, conference dinner, etc however, proved to be more difficult to deliver. We
did manage an evening social Pub Quiz, which was well attended and as fiercely competitive as usual.
Thanks to all the speakers and contributors for making this most unusual Annual Conference such a
rewarding experience for all attendees. We look forward to a similarly great online event, OR63 in September
2021, organised by the team at CORMSIS in Southampton. We plan to resume our physical model at the
University of Warwick in September 2022.
Before things went virtual.
Our last physical event was in late February, with the Annual Half Day, Beale Lecture. Held at the Royal
Society in London, our speaker, Professor Russell Cheng presented 'The Enigma of Choice- When is a good
decision possiblev Russell's work in the development of Simulation and the theoretical contributions lo the
use of statistics therein were recognised by President Edmund Burke. The event was particularly special this
year as we welcomed M8rtin Beale's children Rachel, Marcus and Nicholas, to the audience.

Sadly. many of our regularly planned events wefe cancelled in the wake of Covid-19 restrictions namely,
Simulation Workshop 20, Analytics Summit 2020, ISMOR 37 8nd a number of Regional and Special Inleresl
Group {SIGI events.
The launch of Webinar Wednesdays...
In an effort to continue our commitment lo our members and enhance their professional development, the
launch of a regLJlar webinar programme pioved lu be i4 glgdl iiiitialive. Oiie wliic5i was both popular with
members and non-members alike. An opportunity lo explore new subject areas across both academic
research and practical examples in multiple industry sectors. Registrations of between 250 - 350 people,
were beyond expectalions. Meghan Crawford's talk on using Behavioural Science to improve our response to
pandemics was the most popular to date, with just short of 300 people joining live. The lessons learned from
these events Was extremely useful in the planning and execution of the earlier mentioned Annual Conference.
Other online events have included..
Our Women in OR and Analytics Network (WORAN) continues to grow and develop and have frequently met
online during the course of the year. Sophie Carrfs Webinar on the subjecl of Trust.. Teams, numbers and
data was especially pertinent, given the remote working we all found ourselves doing during the lockdown
periods. The Pre-confcrence Panel discussion chaired by Sally Brailsford, comprised Julia Bennett from
Leeds University Business School, Hiroko Plant from the Land Registry, Leila Seith Hassan, Hd of Data
Science and Analytics at Digitas and Noel-Ann Bradshaw from London Metropolitan University. These
occasions represent great opportunities to meet such inspirational women, lo share and discuss
experiences. The final event was in November hosled by Dr N8di8 Papamichail, University of Manchester and
Dr Nunzia Esposito-Amideo, University College Dublin. With a plenary, entitled 'Never a dull moment.. My life
in Academia, from Professor Julia Buckingham CBE, Vice Chancellor and President of Brunel University and
Chair of the Athena SWAN Sleeiiiig Giuup. Tlie ¥v¥iit welconied Laura Reid, CEO of SIMUL8 to share her
'how lo Iielwui k yuide.. A pei.fect Kibkstarter to ihe concluding group rielworking sessions. This series of
meetings continues our celebration of the achievements and impacts of female colleagues, the events are
recorded and remain open to all members.
Our Special Interest Groups (SIG) and Regions Continue to provide specialist / expert subject matter and local
support and networking opportunities to our members. Groups have enjoyed the online zoom platform to
meet up during the year. The SIGS in partiCLJlar actively engaged with the main Conference organising
ommittee in helping coordinate stream activities.
Our AGM, preceded by a thought-provoking talk, was held online on 30 July It has been noticeable at many
events, just how much the OR community have contributed to the understanding and decision making to
reduce the impact of the COVID-I g pandemic. This was no exception. Christine Currie, Director of CORfvlSIS,
University of Southampton presented a recent article from Ihe Journal of Simulation. The paper covered the
use of OR methods to tackle operational problems, such as distribution of resources and societal issues.
Despite the circumstances and the impact on the economy our Annual Careers Open Day was held in
November. We would usually welcome over 300 students and 20 exhibitors to this evenl presenting a
challenge to the organising team, seeking to transform into an online model. The support from employers
was superb and the feedback from the students likewise. The one-to-one appointmenls sel up after the
event going above and beyond the expectations of all involved.
And finally, virtually...

Our Blackell Memorial Lecture was a rousing session from Rl Hon Chris Skidmore, f4AP for Kingswood and
forrrier U. K. Science, Research and Innovation Minister. Under ihe umbrella of'superforecasters and Moo
Shots, Chris spoke about the lutuie of R&D and the ambition for the U.K. to be a 'global science superpower..
On the question of how to prioritise resources lo meet this goal, he'believed. Ihal Operations1 Research was
needed more than ever, to play a central role in planning this vision. The gaunilel has been thrown down, do
we have the appetite to step forward to fulfil this role. A very animated Q&A and networking discussion
followed.
Nothing from this programme of events WOLJld be possible without the dedication and efforts of the ORHQ
team, committee members and volunteers. We greatly appreciate the time they give and their ongoing
support.
Publications
The OR Society has six academic journals. These are the Journ31 Gf 117e Ope18tion3/Research Society
(JORS), European JoUi"n31of/nlor￿8t10n Systems (EJ/S), Knowledge A4anageinent BesearG17 & Practi
(KMRPJ, Journ3/of S/inu/8tion (JOS), Health Systems (HS) 3ndthe Journa/ofBus/ness Analytics (JBA). All of
the academic journals experienced an increase in submissions during 2020 compared with 2019. It is
encouraging to see this evidence of the popularity of our journals among contributing authors. In 2020,
Health Systems grew from three to four issues and in 2021, JORS will have an increased page budget, while
maintaining twelve issues per year.
2020 was also an excellent year for our Society's journals in terms of the number of papers downloaded. In
2020 there were 332k more down102ds than in 2019. In total, there were 71 g,730 downloads from our
academic journals. In addition lo our academic jOLJrnals, the Society publishes Impact magazine aimed at
practitioners and potential users of OR. It saw a doubling in downloads in 2020 compared to 2019 with the
2020 total reaching over 18k.
JORS and EJIS are now live on the Taylor & Francis EPUB pilot. This means that as well as being able to
download articles in HTML and PDF formats, the EPUB format allows papers to be read more easily on a
mobile device Dr e-reader.
Authors are now being encouraged to publicise their research papers using social media. Comparing 2020 to
2019, there is a marked increase in the number of downloads cr)ming directly from Twitter increasing from
603 to 2,554 and the number of downloads coming directly from Linkedln increasing from 472 to 4,200.
Driven by the restrictions on physical meetings due to the Covid-l g pandemic, 2020 saw a shift from physical
to virtual editorial board meelings for the first time and it generally proved very successful. The virtual format
allowed for much greater attendance than usual from board members, some of whom may be located
thousands of miles apart.
The Society monitors our journals, seriices to authors, particularly in terms of turnaround times for dealing
with papers. The mean time to 2 first decision has been reduced by 15,6 overall for journals when comparing
2020 10 2019. with most journals showing some reduction.
2020 was a year in which the whole world has been impacted by the effects of the Covid-I g pandemic and
the efforts to contain it. Papers have been published in ourjournals and promoted elsewhere that aim to
contribute lo dealing with the crisis.
We are continuing to monitor developments in Open Access {OA). The Society responded to the consultalion
launched in 2020 by UKRI, but are still awaiting to hear details of their OA policy.

The Society's newsleller for members, Inside OR, is normally published at the beginning of each month.
However, the Board decided to make the publication bi-monthly for the last six months of 2020, in response
to budget pressures Its publication has been reinstated to a monthly basis from the beginning of 2D21.
During 2020, John Crocker, who has been ably editing /i?siJe OR for the last ten years, expressed his wish to
stand down and the Society is looking to recruit a replacement for him.
Our thanks go to all the editorial teams, Ihe staff in the OR SuLiely uIIILe aiid Tayloi. & Fraiicis foi. tlieir work
over the past year in supporting and promoting ihe OR Society publications.
Education
The meetings of the Education Committ& IECI transitioned to an onlirle format during 2020, in line with the
rest of the Society. The change has not been detrimental to performance of EC which has achieved a lot
We would like to start by thanking Eve Hardy, our Education Qfficer, who has taken forward Ihe continuing
work of our OFI in Education (ORIEI programme during a very challenging year Our appreciative thanks go to
Matthew Robinson, the ORIE Taskforce chair, and to all volunteers who have participated in online events.
The major achievement in 2020 was the final development and approval of the Level 7 postgraduate
Apprenticeship Standard in Ihc occupation of 'OR Specialisl.. Apprenticeships at all levels, not just Level 7,
enable employers to leverage their Apprenticeship Levy payments to provide employees with education and
training. For the OR Society, an OR Apprenticeship at the postgraduate level is 3 strategic project to
compensate for the drop in the number of UK-based graduates from UK Msc courses. many of which are
composed mainly of international students. The NASC route iiito the OR profession used to account for over
75% of new UK entrants into the UK OR workforce, but nowadays 8ccounts for under l 0%.
EC worked closely with the Trailblaier Giuup uf OR ¥ii"Iployei"s tliat was foi'med in 201 g to develop an
'ocLupdtlUll¢il sldiidai"d' foi" a postgi"aduaie Level f Apprenticeship for ali 'OR Specialist. The standard vvas
approved in 2020 and the roll out of the apprenticeship is being led by GORS, the Government OR Service,
building on the interest shown by several UK universities in becoming providers of teaching for apprent￿CeS in
partnership with the employers. In addition, the OR Board approved an EC proposal that the Society should
become an EPAQ, an "End Point Assessment Organisation. to provide assessment services to all
apprenticeship employers. A concern in 2020 was that no Russell group universities seemed interested in
being a provider, maybe because such universities see no financial or political need to participate. This was
fortunately counler-balanced to some extent by some highly respected OR-oriented white-tile / beigtrbrick /
post-92 universities who showed active interest in being providers.
The committee also welcomed Nicola Morrill, the OR Society's diversity champion, to its September meeting.
A diversity survey indicated most ORS members have parents with degree-level or equivalent education and
suggests people from lower-income backgrounds are under-represented in both the OR Society and wider OR
community. Nicola proposed focusing on soci85 mobility to address this. Ensuring that people are aware that
there are a variety of roL)tes into OR is critical. This will require reaching students at a pre-university level and
working with Alliance universities as well as Russell Group universities. The new Apprenticeship is also a
vehicle for social mobility in that it provided postgraduate level education for OR employees who might not be
able to afford Msc fees.
The Training Working Gioup (TWG) is now under the remit of EC David Halsall, the new TWG chair.
participated in the March EC meeting where it was agreed that a closer working relationship between EC and
TWG would be beneficial. TWG has successfully run online courses and all the feedback has all been positive.

There is a lot ol interest in the 2021 online course calendar. TWG Is working with the Marketing department
to increase bookings for 2021.
Finally, we would like lo thank Alistair Clark lor all his work during his spell as the chair of EC and his
outstanding contribution to the Society.
Research
The Research committee has continued to drive the Society's engagement with research issues. Its work has
been enhanced by recruiting four additional senior academics who have excellent networks with research
councils, the Council for Mathematical Sciences. and businesses. The committee has also been strengthened
by a representative from the early researcher community.
We have made significant progress in understanding our early career researchers, geographical spread and
demographics through a survey undertaken for the 2019120 academic year. The survey has highlighted areas
that we need io investigate further, such as fewer women in OR than men at the ECR stage, and fewer UK
nationals in OR than people born Dverseas at the sarne stage. These differences become greater at later
stages of an ECR career, so there is work to be done.
One of the outputs of the survey was ihat the committee launched an Early Career Researcher network. This
launch took place at our ECR bi-annual event held before the annual corlference, OR62. The network is now a
lively community of over 80 ECRS.
We also started a new initiative to encourage members to join the EPSRC Peer Review College. It is essential
that OR is represented and engages with the Council, particularly given the government's additional £300m
funds made available to mathematics. These new funds will be available for research that delivers real
impact, and OR is well placed to deliver on this. Some of the new funds were made available at the end of the
year via Small and Programme grants opportunities, and we were able to give mernbers advance notice.
Committee members have played an active role in developing the new EPSRC Fellowship scheme and
participated in the EPSRC Strategic Advisory Council, REF, and the Big Mathematics Initiative. This means
we have been able to update the community on critical developments.
Training
During 2020, the Society delivered 1 g courses covering a range of OR topics, attracting a total of 150
delegates. Take up of courses was Strong in the first quarter of the year before the onset of the coronavirus
pandemic. All face-to-f8ce courses were cancelled for the remainder of the year, but the Society was able to
rapidly transition to online versions, running second courses late in the year. These courses were extremely
well-received by participants with the average score being over 8.98 out of l O. It IS 8ntlClP8ted that all
courses will be run virtually during 2021. We thank our pool of excellent tutors for the rapid switch to the
virtual delivery.
Publicity and Membership
The Society website and other communications have been updated throughout the Covid pandemic. As well
as informing members of the status of events and training, we have made sure that we have shared wider
resources and opportunities lo a broad audience. This has helped get OR people involved in responding to the
crisis and demonstrating purpose in action.
We also developed 'With OR Without, campaign material to help encourage people to see the value in OR for
decision-making and the opportunities to come together as community. With changes to website navigation
and enhanced membership landing pages, we're trying to make it as easy as possible for people to join the
Society and further their engagement with QR as a profession.

Despite the pandemic, our membership levels have stayed fairly flat as we continue lo offer valued services
and create a sense of community. We have also been sensitive to increased workload for many of Our
members, combined with the fin3r)cial difficulties others may have faced. We put on hold our plans to push
I"iieiiibei'sliip and a revised approach will be developed and implemented in 2021. This will include a focus on
making sure we 8re inclusive and tackle potential barriers to diverse membership and participation.
OR in Education
In the academic year 2019-20 there was a total of 29 individual visits and events nationally.
There were seven individual visits to schools, five extracurricular visits (such as New Scientist Live) and 17
university events. Other headline results include running two volunteer training segsions, five teacher CPD
events and attending one Enterprise Network meeting. Enteiprise Networks consist of businesses that deliver
careers services and advice in their community.
Outreach efforls from March - August 2020 were severely impacted by COVID-I g as many events were
cancelled or postponed.
Prior to the impact of COVID, volunteer availability remained the main barrier to attending more events.
Teachers and volunteers gave lots of positive feedback from ORIE events.
Volunteer feedback..
Ihe sf8nd w8s verybusy. Raisedaw3rei?ess olthe OR Societyas a lot ofstudents didn'tknow what
you do. Students were keen to take thegr3duate opportunities booklet 8ndt17e nekv trifold. The new
tiilold was goodbecause itg3ve scei?arios Gfhow OR helps in the re31 world which students fouipd
Interesting.
The st3nd waspopul3r considering it Was competing with more high-tech stands, I Ihink that
demonstrates there is an interest in OA.
Teacher feedback (from Teacher CPD webinars)
I thought that thepresentation and the support OR Education have to offer were well thotsght out
and of a high standard. Illbe investig3fing further into how ourmaths department coulduse rhe
resources 3nd/orrun a workshop.
You havejusl made teaching Discrete maths nexfyearmuch less d3unting- thankyoul
Student feedback has been limited this year due to the change from in person to online events.
This period saw ORIE volunteers 8ttend Online events for the first time, which bought a unique set of
challenges and opportunities. This provided an opportunity to review the materials made available lo
volunteers, with an updated handb(￿k and a new guide lo virtual volunteering.
The first ORIE video resources were also created and have been used at several online science fairs. At one
science f8ir, the ORIE video was the most popular video of the whole event.
Pro Bono OR
Pro Bono OR'S fantastic volunteers worked on 24 proieets throughout the year, using 8 variety of OR methods
to help organisations tackle food poverty, reduce and solve crimes, safeguaid children in Ghana and promote
social justice and human rights.
Despite the difficulties caLJsed by coronavirus, Pro Bono OR volunteers completed 12 projects in 2020,
helping organisations to create business plans, develop simulation computer models, improve data analysis
io

and collection, understand their slrengihs, and implement measurement tools (to name but s few). Feedback
from third sector organisations and volunteer analysts has remained positive.
During 2020. COVID forced the majority of the Third Sector to focus less on seeking exleinal aid to improve
their processes and to Instead focus on simply keeping their doors open and SLJpporling their ever-increasing
number of service users. For the PBOR scheme, this manifested in a reduced number of expressions of
Interest from Third Sector organisations and consequently 8 reduced number of PBOR projects. The Pro
Bono steering group understands that these difficulties are likely to continue well into 2021, and as such are
focused Dn creating new initiatives to both help the struggling Third Sector and engage the scheme's under-
utilised volunteer base.
The Pro Bono OR scheme has been managed by Amy Hughes since summer 2018 and the Steering Group is
chaired by Ruth Kaufman. In 2020 five new members were invited to join the group, in order to bolster its
capacity and improve succession planning. At the end of 2020 the group consisted of". Jane Parkin, Shamim
Rahman, Graham Rand, lan Sealh, Mike Boyles, Owen Bowden, Kate Hammond, John Lincoln, Ashleigh
Monks and Felicity McLeister.
The steering group began work on a series of while papers for struggling Third Sector organisations, who
rN8y not have the internal capacity to commit to a PBOR project but could still use OFI techniques to their
advantage. These white papers aim to introduce a Third Sector audience to the different ways in whieh OR
can help them. We have so far produced three examples and will now be developing those with the ORS
marketing team and some third sector employees, to test their value and adapt before launching if these
steps are successful. These white papers will be finalised and published in 2021 and will also be used by the
PBOR volunteer base as examples as a reference when creating their own white papers, drawing on their OR
experience expertise. The steering group hopes to engage a few volunleers to create these white papers,
which will be reviewed, and ultimately published on the PBOR website.
In addition lo the white papers, the steering group also began planning a series of webinars to start in March
2021. These webinars will be aimed 81 those who work in the Third Sector with the aim of helping them to
improve their operations, efficiency, and decision making. The first series of webinars will initially be devised
and run by members of the steering group and volunteers. It is hoped that the volLJnleer base will be
encouraged to contribute further webinars following this first series, either by showcasing their PBOFI project
case studies or outlining how their particular OR expertise could be used to aid the Third Seclor. PBOR hopes
to capilalise on the success The OR Society has had in running and publicising the Webinar Wednesday
programme 8nd the Society's current expertise with online events.
As always, PBOR took part in UK Volunteers week, this lime working closely with The OR Society's inhouse
graphic designer lo refine the quality and quantity of posts shared with the social media campaign. The
scheme's involvement resulted in two organisations citing the Twitter campaign as the way they heard about
the scheme's offering
Throughout 2020 Pro Bono OR continued to make new contacts and worked well with both new and familiar
organisations. Pro Bono OR was once again a part of the OR annual conference, this time collaborating with
the University of Warwick's Data Science for Social Good IDSSGI initiative to host a successful workshop
focused on providing third sector organisations with knowledge of the scheme itself as well as an opportunity
to talk with OR consultants to search for an answer lo their organisation's issues. As the event was held
online for the first time, attendance was the highest ever recorded for a PBOR involvement with the annual
conference and the event was well received by those who attended. On the day, the workshop was joined by
12 charities vvith eight Pro Bono OR expressions of interest generated following the event. It is hoped that
these will turn into projects in 2021.
li

Thp aim of raising awareness in the third sector has also been facilitated through 8ttendance at external
events. In November, PBOR hosted an online event 'Data. Decisions and Impact, alongside The Royal
Sldlibliial Suiiely. Tlie eveiit wab ainied at helping the third sector appreciate the need for a better
understanding of data, ils collection 8nd analysis. Other organisations irivolved in the event included The
National Lottery Fund, Red Cross and Social Investment business group. The session had over 90 attendees
from a variety of Third sector organisations and resulted in three expressions of interest.
Organisations registering for the PBOR scheme have also identified discovering Pro Bono OR through
publicity in similar organisations, and voluntary services, newsletters, referrals through Small Charities
Coalition, via a Google and website search, via Twitter due to our involvement in UK volunteers, week, via
recommendations from previous project contacts and through our online presence as an official partner of
UK charity week.
Members. Affiliates andFellows.,,,, ,,, ,,,.,,. ... .,,,-.,., ,-,. ,-. .
At the end of the year, The OR Society had 3,121 members. The Analytics Network boasted 2,105 members,
Ihe Society's Linkedln group had 5,189 members and we had 5,118 Twitter lollowers. In additioii, Ihei"e were
ten corporate partners CORDA (part of BAe Systems), Natwesl Group, Ministry of Justice, Home Office,
Dept for Work & Pensions, AWE, Office for National Statistics, Ministry of Defence, NHS Wales and The Smith
Institute - representing 567 affiliates.
There were 344 accreditees, comprising 160 Fellows. 74 Associ8te Fellows, 49 Associates and 61 Candidate
Agsociales. There were 22 members accredited as Chartered Scientists and one as a Registered Scientist.
12

-A wards
Goodeve Medal (awarded for best paper published in JORS in 2019): Awarded lo Esra Adiyke, Semra
Agrali and Elhem Canakoglu "Risk Averse Investment Strategies for a Private Electricity Generating
Conipany in a Carbon Constrained Environment." Jouin31 of The Operationa/Research Society(2019)
70, 2056-2068.
Stafford Beer Medal (awarded for best paper published in SJISin 2019). Awarded to Bjorn Ross, Laura
Pilz, Benjamin Cabrera, Florian Brachten, German Neubaum and Slefan Stieglitz 'Are social bots a real
threat? An agent-based model of the spiral of silence lo analyse the impact of manipulative actors in
social.. 5urope3n Journ31of /nfori??3tion Systems, 28 394-412,
Cook Medal (awarded for best paper published in KMRPin 2018/2019).. Awarded to Eleni-maria
Kalegeraki, Dimitrios Apostolou, Nineta Polemi and Spyridon Papastergiou 'Knowledge management
methodology for identifying threats in maritime/logistics supply chains.. Ki?ow/edqe Management
Research & Practice, 16 508-524.
Ranyard Medal (awarded for best paper PLJblished in Journalof gusiness Analytics in 201812019)..
Awarded to Amir Hassan Zadeh and Anand Jeyaraj 'Alignment of business and social media
strategies." insights from a text mining analysis.. Journ3lofBusiness An3/yfics, l 117-134.
Doctoral Award (awarded for the most distirlguished body of research leading to the award of a
doctorate in the field of OR in 2019).. Awarded jointly to Marton Benedek, University of Southamplon,
Computing the nucleolus of cooperative games. and Lucy Morgan, Lancaster University, 'Quantifying
and Fleducing Input Modelling Error in Simulation..
President's Medal (awarded for the best practical application of ORI.. Awarded to Harminder Mann,
Jordan Low, Kim Brett, Lizzie Baggot, Mary McKee, Sara Smith and Sam Rose (Department for
Transport) for"Creating new population movement insight lo shape the UK Government's response to
the Coronavirus pandemic..
Beale Medal (awarded for a sustained contribution to the theory, practice, or philosophy of ORI..
Awarded to Val Belton.
Companionship of OR (awarded for sustained support and encouragement for the development of
operational research or for those in influential positions who are in broad sympathy with the subject
area). Awarded to Alec Waterhouse.
13

Finance
Structure of the Funds
The Society's funds are unrestricted but are organised into..
the General Fund, through which the ongoing operations of the Society are conducted,"
the Fleserve Fund. comprising the Seymniir Hoiisp propprty trjqp.thpr with invpstments and cash on
deposit to cover potential risks of a general nature, the most significant of which would arise if the
Society were forced to move quickly to a financial regime in which Its publications income wss
significantly reduced,, and
the Designated Award Fund which represents a bequest received from Mrs May Hieks In 2002 and
which is used for purposes consistent with her wishes, by providing awards for the best student OR
projects undertaken for a client organisation.
Review of Operations
The Society's income and expenditure oiccounl showed a sui plus Of £15k during the year, on a turnover of
£1.2m. This comp8res with 8 deficit of £234k in 2019. Whilsl much of that deficit was planned. financial
management processes were reviewed and tightened to preveiil <3 iepeJl ul Ilie disdppointiiig peiformaiice
c>f 2019, and the 2020 outcome is very pleasing,
The performance is particularly gratifying considering the impact the coronavirus pandemic had on much of
the Society's normal operations. Income for the year was down over £300k compared to 2019, with
conferences and everils taking the biggesl hit1£270kl Training income also suffered, but a good start to the
year (prior to the first lockdown) and a switch to online delivery later In Ihe year, minimised the impact. The
Society implemented a package of cost-saving measures to ensure its financial health.
Nearly all bookings for fac&to-face events were pith.er cancelled or resc.hediilF5d for 20?l. Whil8t wp wprp Rhlp.
to replace many of these events in a virtual format, Board decided to waive delegate fees to enable the
community to continue to benefit from the opportunities despite the difficulties of the pandemic. We
anticipate much of our conferencing activity will remain online in 2021 but delegate fees will be re-introduced.
The publications income was almost £30k above the 2019 level, with our publishing partners, Taylor &
Francis. continuing to realise the full potential of Dur journal portfolio. It is anticipated that in 2021
publications income will improve further under the partnership. The existing contract with Taylor & Francis
comes to an end in 2022 and discussions on a contract extension are underway.
In 2019, Board approved a significant budget1£30kl for a membership recruilment and retention project for
2020. A proportion of this funding was used lo cre8te the supporting assets, but the balance for paid
promotion was not deployed. It was agreed that the coronavirus pandemic would impact it adversely. The
campaign will go ahead in 2021. Income from membership subscriptions was almost £1 I k down on 2019.
Almost £6k of this was as a result of a timing issue on payment from one of our larger corporate partners., the
rest is due primarily to a loss of 'full' members.
Most operations to support the charitable aims of the Society such as conferences, special events, regional
societies, special interest groups, education. publicity and outreach initiatives, the monthly Inside OR
magazine and special charitable projects
result in deficits to the Society. To support them the Society relies
primarily on subscriptions and income from its academic journals - particularly the latter which in 2020
contributed over £81 Ok net of all associated costs. This serves as a reminder of the Society's current
financial dependence on the academic publication system,. see the section on 'Risk' below.
14

The Society employed 16.8 members of staff during 2020 (averaged over the year, 16.5 lull-timfreqLsivalenlsl,
compared lo 17 8116.6 FTE) during 2019.
Assets, Reserves and Investments
The tolal net assets of the Society decreased slightly to £2.395m over the year, with the small SLJrplus on
income and expenditure being counter-ba13nced by a decrease in investment values arTrd a nel £46k capital
loss (realised and LJnrealised) on our investment funds. This relatively small decrease masks an extremely
turbulent year for the markets as a result of the coronavirus pandemic. The value of the Society's
investments fell by almost £200k in the first quarter of the year, but staged a remarkable recovery over the
year to finish just below the 2019 level. Prudent financial management meant the Society did not need to
draw down any of ils investment funds during the year, allowing ihe recovery to take place.
It is important that the Society maintains an appropriate level of reserves in relation to perceived financial
risks. During the year the Board reviewed the Sociely's reserves policy. In setling its reserve policy, the Board
distinguished between Lhe funds held in the General Fund, which arise from the normal operating activities of
the Society, and the Reserve Fund held to ensure that the Society can continue long-term operations in the
evenl of financial risks materialising. The policy review considered the minimum and maximum levels for the
amount required in the Reserve Fund.11 was agreed that this steadier approach to reserves, based on the
costs of the Society rather than the (publications) income, remained valid.
Based on the usual annual costs of running the Society, one yearfs costs of £900k should be a minimum
value for the reserves and the maximum value would then be two years, costs giving a value of £1.8 million.
This would cover any growth of the Society over the next few years and release funds to further the Society's
aims. Fixed costs in 2020 were £821 k, slightly lower than normal as a result of costcutting measures in
place during the pandemio.
At 31 December 2020, the Society's reserves - its investments and cash held within the Reserve Fund -
amounted to £l.74m. The reserves are therefore within their prescribed limits. The Board will bear this in
mind when considering opportunities for spending on worthwhile one-off projects that further the Society's
objectives, and may be more inclined to do so on securing an extension to its publications contract.
The Society's investments and their performance are kept under review by the Investment Committee in
accordance with policies decided by the Board. The Commitlee is chaired by the Treasurer and, in addition to
other members of the Society, includes representatives from the Society's investment managers.
Risk
The Scoiety's dependency on journal income is the most significant material risk. Our contract with Taylor &
Francis to a large extent mitigates this risk for the Society, for the five years of ihe contract (finishing in
December 20221, by Ir3nsferring much of it to the publisher. The risk has not disappeared though, and we
could never be wholly insulated from any impact that might result from this risk on our publisher. In addition,
beyond the contract period our exposure to the risk is unchanged and the risk may in fact have Increased
following moves to ensure that Eu-funded research is, in future, made available via the open-access business
model.
A key strategic risk is that OR could be seen as less relevant in the rapidly changing environment, as big data
and increasing computing power drive technical developments and as new discipline descriptions compete
for attention and funding. We have been mitigating this through a number of initiatives led by our Analytics
Development Group and are also actively promoting the relevance of OR to data science, robotics and
artificial intelligence as well as other overlapping fields. More generally, we 3im to raise the visibility of OR and
support outward-looking practice and membership through outreach to other professional societies and to
15

organisalions and businesses vvho may benefil from what OR has to bring and through the variety of topics
and speakers at our events.
A lui Iliei key i isk is Ilidt Tl"ie OR SucieLy could be seen as less relevant lo OR professionals. We have been
mitigating ihis through the whole range of activities 8ddressing our strategic goals and described elsewhere
in this report.
I he Esoard regularly reviews the risk register covering a wide range of operational risks, including IT risks, and,
where feasible, puts mitigating action in place.
Brexit Position
The impact of the exit from the EU by the UK remains under consideration. Whilst the trustees expect the
likely direct impact on the Society to be low, the greatest threat would be that of a UK recession brought on
trading difficulties. This could impact all sources of income as might happen during any period of economic
downturn. The terms of its current publications contract give it considerable proteclion from such risks. It
faces no threat in terms of the origin of ils employees.
The threats to the community could be more widespread, from the number of EU citizens working in the field
through to access to funding and collaboration on EU research projects.
COVID-I g Position
The COVID-19 pandemic has had an imp8Ct on businesses across the world, and in this respect ihe Society is
no different. During, the Society has had to cancel ils fac*tD-face meetings, networking events. training
courses and conferences. Online alternatives continue to fill the void and are expected to be in place through
the whole of 2021. The Society updated its IT Infrastructure during 2019 and this has enabled ils staff lo all
switch to homeworking withoul disruption. Budgets and cashflow forecasts for 2021 have been revised to
account for the loss of income from events. 8nd surplLJS budget is still planned. The over311 cashllow situation
remains healthy. In this case, the Society's publishiiig LonliaL'I provides yioieLliuii li uiii buLli dibl Uptioii. Tl-ie
Society does noi foresee the need to lay off or furlough any of its staff during 2021.
Our investment portfolio value has all-but recovered from its initial loses as a result of the crisis, and
fortunately the Society is able to take a long-term position during which the investments Can fully recover
their value.
In the longer term. the biggest threat will be the impact of the subsequent worldwide economic difficulties.
In summary, the Society's accounting status as a 'going concern, is not changed.
Key Management Personnel
The Key Management Personnel for the Society comprise the trustees (its Board of Directors) and the
Executive Director. No remuneration is pay8ble to trustees for service on the Board.
Basis for Remuneration
The President, Treasurer and President Elect or Immediate Past President review the Executive Directof s
salary and, when agreed by Finance Committee, a written recommendation is made to Board. The Executive
Director leads the process for other staff which is again initially discussed by Finance Committee before the
recommendations go to Board for final approval.
16

Voluntary Contributions
The Society's work in 2020 benefited from voluntai'y contributions of time, from members and others,
through these principal lines ol work.. refereeing of journal papers,. editing of journals,. conference
organisation," 3Uthorship and delivery of talks to regional societies and special interest groups,. organisation of
regional societies and special interest groups," the work of the Society's officers,. contributions to the
administration of the Society, its Awards and its accreditations through service on Board and the Society's
committees.
The coronavirus pandemic has meant that some of the usual volunteering opportunities have been unable to
take place. The Society is delighted in the w8y Its pool of volunteers has responded to the switch to online
activities where this has been possible, especially with our two main outreach projects, OR in Schools and Pro
Bono OR. Their work benefits the OR communily, the future development of the profession and the wider
society and is a fine contribution lo The OFI Society's charitable objectives.
It ig estimated that a total of 4,000 person-days were contributed in 2020. If this time is valued at £500 per
day, its value is £2M. The Society is most grateful lo all who contributed volur)tary effort, without which the
Society could not accomplish its goals.
17

Objectives for 2021
At the slarl of 20, Board produced a revised version of its 3-5 year goals and priorities. These build on those in
place lor the previous slr8tegic planning phase and represent exciting opportunities tor the Society and the
wider OR community. The revised strategic pillars are to. raise awareness of the importance of OR," support
OR knowledge development,. support OR education,. grow membership and wider reach. ensure financial
sustainability of the Society. and address diversity and inclusion challenges in OR and the OR Society
Work has already started on many of the initiatives that we hope will come to fruition in the next year or so..
working with Taylor & Francis to capitalise on its strategy to maximise the value of our current
publications contract, develop robust publishing models to deal with opportunities and challenges
presented by open access publishing and Plan S.,
ensuring that OR is fLJlly involved In the Big Mathematics Initiative (following up the recommendations
of the Bond review of knowledge exchange in the mathematical sciences),.
building policy influence with key Government contacts and connect with other key decision makers,.
implemenliiig an engagement p131i for the analyLics l artificial Intelligence /data science community.
and specifically implementing the recommendations of the artificial intelligence lask-and-finish group,.
supportiiig the full esldblisliriieiil <)iid yiuwili ul Ilie WuiTieii iii OR (Iiid Edl ly Cdl eel s i)elwoi ks-,
maximising benefit from thp. npw wpbsilp.,-8c)cial medir1 campaign8 and other marketing activity to
raise the brand profile of OR itself,.
once coronavirus restrictions are lifted, launching its museum-based travelling exhibition to raise
public awareness of OR.,
progress its bid to come an End point Assessment Organisation and further support the launch of the
level 7 OR 8pprenticeship scheme for OR Specialist.,
strengthening relationship with key bodies such UKRI, Rc>yal Society, Science Council and other
learned societies,.
investigating diversification of income, including exploring new streams (accrediting University
courses, fundraising / donations, sponsorship).
implementing our diversity plan based on recommendations from the diversity champion,.
creating and disseminating thought leadership pieces (with the initial focus on ethics).,
demonstrating the relevance of OR lo complex problems and big issues.
These developments will be on top of our existing broad sweep of services. conferences, events, lectures and
training,. publications,. Pro Bono OR and OR in Schools," representing The OR Society on bodies including The
Council for Mathematical Sciences, the Science Council, EURO and l FORS., and our more inward-looking
activities to improve sustainability, efficiency and effectiveness.
For a relatively small professional body in an uncertain world, there are many challenges to overcome. By
undertaking these activities, we aim not just to meet the challenges. but lo grow the profession and The OR
Society's contribution and make the most of the Dpporlunities awaiting us.
18

Information about the Society
(I l The Operational Research Society is a company limited by guarantee (no. 6638191 It is also a charity
registered in accordance with the provisions of the Charities Act 2011 Iregislralion no. 313713)
12) The objects of the Society are given in its Memorandum and Articles and can be summarised as..
lal the advancement of knowledge by fostering, promoting and furihering interest in operational research.,
and
(bl the advancement of education by providing facilities for and, by subsidising it, endowing, organising or
supporting scholarships or educational or training schemes,. and conducting examinations or advising
on their content.
131 The Society is empowered to do all proper things in pursuit of these objectives.
(4) The affairs of the Society were managed during 2020 by the elected officers and members of the Board
listed below. Together they constitLJte the Board of Directors of the limited company and Trustees of the
charity and the members of its management committee. Specific matters are delegated to particular
committees of the Society by resolution of the Board and in accordance with the Society's Articles.
The following served as members of the Board in 2020
E K BURKE President
J BATSON
J R HOPES Immediate Past President
A R CLARF(
S HOWICK Vice President
R W EGLESE
A P ROBINSON Vice President
J MEDHUFIST
J E WILLIAMS Hon. Treasurei
N MORRILL
R A SCOT[
Unless otherwise stated, changes in the membership of the Board occur at the end of a calendar year.
The Board is supported by a General Council with a maximum membership of thirty-six. These two bodies
assist the Society in its ongoing commitment to involve as many members as possible in its affairs The
Board of Directors is responsible for governance and strategy and the General Council, with its wide
representation, provides advice, feedback and challenge and monitors the Board's activity. Members of
General Council have also, in all cases, been assigned to one of the Society's four main committees.
Public3tions,' Publicity, Membership and Website,. Education and Research,. and Events and the Chairs of
those committees are currently Board members.
The structure is set out in the diagram below.
19

THE
(PERATIONAL
RESEARCH
SOCIETY
General Council
Board
atfe tspolgll memkis ol Board and
Ihe four main commilteeB.electedas.
36 NaI￿n31 AeprèsÈniaii¥es
. g RtyiDnaS Represeniaiives
Sp￿lat Inle(es1 Grolsp Bepre$eniaiwS
50fficers
Up lo 6thledfr￿ GC
Publicity,
Membership
& Website
Committee
Education
Committee
Publications
Research
Committee
TraKHng
Wor*wKJ
nu&1
Conferer
Committce
Editors of
joumals
Awards
Pan
F*e¥identthti
Pas1 PFesidwTts
Committee
Nor￿￿&￿
mmit*e
Group
Committee
lkimmittee
siwng
Group
. DR Socletystaff ....
(5) The committees are established to implement policies of E3Dard & tseneral Louncil with respect to meeting
the Society's objectives and to conirolling expenditure. The names OT the eommiiiees are sei out as follows,
together with the object l(a) or (b) as above) towards the achievement of which they contribute.
Accreditation Panel
{al
Analytics Development Group
(al
Awards Panel
lal
Education
Ib)
Events
(a), (b)
Finance
Investment
Nominations
Past President'slPresident Elect's
Pro Bono Steering Group
Publications
Publicity, Membership & Website
Research
Training Working Group
Management of financial aspects
Management of investments
Volunteer recruitment to governance roles
Elections, planning & administrative reviews
(a)
(a)
(al
(al
(b)
161 Other Committees are set up from time to time for specific purposes, but they are given no delegated
powers. In addition, the Society has a large number of active Special Interest Groups which are listed in the
Journal of the Society They contribute particularly to object (al,
20

(7) The registered address of the Society is.
Seymour House
12 Edward Street
BIRMINGHAM
BI 2RX
Its Executive Director is",
l G Blackett
The OFI Society
12 Edward Street
BIRMINGHAM
BI 2RX
Its Bankers are..
The Co-operative Bank
Delf House
Southway
SKELMERSDALE
WN8 6WT
Its Solicitors are..
Sydney Mitchell and Co
Cavendish House
Waterloo Street
BIRMINGHAM
82 SPU
Its Auditors are..
Mazars LLP
45 Church Street
BIRMINGHAM
B3 2RT
Its Investment Adviser is..
Tom Quicke
Investec
30 Gresham Streel
LONDON
EC2V 7QN
Its Slockbrokers are..
Investec
30 Gresham Streel
LONDON
EC2V 7QN
(8) The Society's investment policy is governed by the legislative provisions relating to charity investments, but
the Society is not otherwise restricted in the way in which it can invest. However, it is the Society's policy
not to invesl in tobacco shares,
(9) These particulars are published in compliance with Accounting and Reporting by Charities.. Statement of
Recommended Practice applicable to charities preparing their accounts in accordance with the Financial
Reporting Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland IFRS 102) (effective l January 2019)
21

Public Benefit
The OR Society is a charity and meets the public benefit test as set out in the Charities Act 2011 in various
ways..
Advancement of education..
Through the OR in Schools inilialive. its marly networking, training and conferencing activities in schools,
universities and workplaces and extensive on-line resources, The OR Society promotes the understanding of
OR and how il can be applied for the wider benefit. The OR Society is a participating society (with voting rights)
on the Joint Mathematical Council of the UK.
Advancement of science:
Through its publications, conferences and nelworking activities,. representation on the Council for
Mathematical Sciences, Science Council, funding bodies and international federations,. and on-line rllaterials
arid facilities, The OR Society supports, promotes and PLJblicises research", raises standards of research and
pra¢tice,' and promotes the effeclive application of OR for wider social benefit. Through its accreditation and
awards schemes. The OR Society recognises and promotes engagement, effectiveness and development in its
members, further raising stand3rds.
Advancement of community development:
The OR Society encourages volunteering and involvement through its Pro Bono OR initiative, involvement of
members in outreach to schools and universities and networks of Regional and Special Interest Groups.
The OR Society funds educational, development and research projects that are in line with its charitable aims
of advancing knowledge and education through fostering OR
AII OR Society events and training are open to all who may be interested. In additior), it minimises barriers to
access by
(l) ensuring that many of ils on-line resources are publicly and freely 3vailable,'
(2) keeping membership fees low and offering reduced fees for unw8ged groups., and
(31 supporting Regional and Special Interest Group networks which offer free meetings.
In governing The OFI Society, the Trustees have had regard to the Charity Commission's public benefit
guidance.
Statements as to disclosure of information to
auditors
In accordance with Company Law, as the charity's trustees, we certify that..
so far as we are aware, there is no relevant audit information of which the Charity's Auditor is
unaware., and
we have taken all the steps that we ought to have taken in order 10 make ourselves aware of any
relevant audit information and lo establish that the Charity's Auditor is aware of that information.
22

Statement of responsibilities of the elected
officers and members of the Board
Company law requires the elected officers and members of the Board to prepare financial statements for each
year which give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of the Society and of the surplus or deficit of the
Society for that period. In preparing those financial statements, the elected officers and members of the Board
are required to..
select suitable accounting policies and then apply them consistently.,
make judgements and estimates that are reasonable and prudent.,
sl8te whether applicable accounting standards have been followed, subject to any material departures
disclosed and explained in the financial statements,.
prepare ihe financial statements on the going concern basis unless it is inappropriate to assume that
the Society will continue in business.
The elected officers and members of the Board are responsible for keeping proper accounting records which
disclose with reasonable accuracy at any time the financial position of the Society and to enable them to ensure
that the financial statements comply with the Companies Act 2006. They are also responsible for safeguarding
the assets of the Sociely and hence for laking reasonable steps for the prevention and deteclion of fraud and
other irregularities.
Appointment of trustees
The officers and other members of the Board are elected by secret ballot of Ihe Sociely's membership and the
members of General Council respectively, to serve for a thre*year term (except for the President, who serves
one year as President-Elect, two years as President and a further year as Immediate Past-President). A member
of the Board, other than the President. whose first term of office has expired may stand for election for one
further term. At the end of 2020. two members of the Board completed theii terms of office.. J BATSON and A
R CLARK.
Induction of new trustees
New trustees receive a comprehensive information pack, setting out details of iheir role and responsibilities as
both trustees and company directors, the nature of a charity, the Society's constitution, its policies on members,
interests and expense claims and including the Charity Commission's 'welcome' leaflet.
Members, interests
In accordance with Article 46 of its constitution, the Society requires that members of Board or committees
having an interest in a malter to be debated should declare that interest and leave the room whilst the matter
is discussed and decided. Members of the Training Working Group 8re drawn from organisations which have
no Interest In bidding for courses and wherever appropriate, recommendations on major charitable projects
are made by a special expert committee comprised entirely of disinterested parties.
23

Approval of report
We approve ihis report and the audited accounts for the year l January to 31 December 2020 and
recommend their adoption by the Society al its Annual General Meeting.
E K BURKE President
J E WILLIAhAS Hon Treasurer
R BYDE
N MORRILL
R W EGLESE
A P ROBINSON
J R HOPES
FI A SCOTT
S HOWICK
V SENA
J MEDHURST
Being the elected officers and members of tlie Board of The Operational Research Society as at 18 May 2021.
l G Blackett
Executive Director
IB May 2021
24

Accounts
for the year ended 31 December 2020
INDEPENDENT AUDITOR'S REPORTTO THE MEMBERS OF OPERATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIErY
Opinion
We have audited the financial statements of Operational Research Society (Ihe'charily'l for the year ended 31
December 2020 which comprise the Statement of Financial Activities, the Balance Sheet, the Statement of
Cash Flows and notes to ihe financial statements, including a summary of significant accounting policies.
The financial reporting framework that has been applied in their preparation is applicable law and United
Kingdom Accounting Standards, including FRS 102 The Financial Reporting Standard applicable In the UK
and Republic of Ireland. (United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounting Praclice).
In our opinion, the financial statements..
give a true and fair view of the state of the charity's affairs 8$ at 31 December 2020 and of its income
and expenditure for the year then ended.,
have been properly prepared in accordance with United Kingdom Generally Accepted Accounling
Practice,. and
have been prepared in accordance with the requirements of the Companies Act 2006.
Basis for opinion
We conducted our audit in accordance with Internalional Standards on Auditing (UK) (ISAS {UK)) and
applicable law. Our responsibilities under those standards are further described in the Auditor's
responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements section of our report. We are independent of the
charity In accordance with the ethical requirements that are relevant to our audit of the firlancial statements
in the UK, including the FRC'S Ethical Standard and we have fulfilled our other ethical responsibilities in
accordance with these requirements. We believe that the audit evidence we have obtained is sufficient and
appropriate to provide a basis for our opinion.
Conclusions ielating to going concem
I n auditing the financial stalements. we have concluded that the trustees, use of the going concern basis of
accounting in the preparation of the financial statements is appropriate.
Based on the work we have performed, we have not identified any material uncertainties relating to events or
conditions that, individually or collectively, may cast significant doubt on the charity's ability to continue as a
going concern for a period of at least twelve months from when the financial statements are authorised for
issue.
Our responsibilities and the responsibilities of the trustees with respect to going concern ale described in the
relevant sections of this report.
Other information
The other information comprises the information included in the annual report, other than the financial
statements and OLJr auditor's report thereon. The trustees are responsible for the other information. Our
opinion on the financial statements does not cover the other information and, except to the extent otherwise
explicitly stated in our report, we do not express any form of assurance conclusion thereon.
In connection with our audit of the financial statements, our responsibility is to read the other information
and. in doing so, consider whether the other information is materially inconsistent with the financial
25

statements or oui kiiowledge obtained in the course of the audit, or otherwise appears lo be materially
mi%slaled. If we identify such material inconsistencies or apparent material misstatements, we are required
to determine whether there is a material misstatement in thp financial s13tements or a material misslalement
c>[ Lli¥ ulliei iiifui'iiidlii>ii. If, babèd uii tlie woi-k we have performed, we Conclude that Ihere is a material
misstatement of this other information, we are required lo report that fact.
We have nothing to report in this regard.
Opinions on other matters prescribed by the Companies Act 2006
In our opinion, based on the work undertaken in the course of the audit.
the information given in the TrLJStees' Report which includes the Directors, Report prepared for the
purposes of company law, for the financial year for which the financial statements are prepared is
consistent with the financial statements. and
Ihe Directors, Report included within the Truslees, Report has been prepared in accordance with
applicable legal requirements.
Matters OD which we are required to report by exception
In light of the knowledge and understanding of the charity and its environment obtained in the course of the
audit, we have not identified material misstatements in the Directors, Report included within the Trustees,
Report
We h8ve nothing to report in respect of the following matters in relation to which the Companies Act 2006
requires us to report to you if, in our opinion
adequate and proper accounting records have not been kept, or returns adequate for our audit have
not been received from branches not visited by us., or
the financial statemenls are not in agreement with the accounting records and returns., or
certain disclosures of trustees, remuneraLion specified by law are not made. or
we have not received all the information and explaiialions we ietjuire foi uui ciudil, (Jr
the trustees were not entitled to prepaie the financial statemenls in accordance with the small
companies regime and take advantage of the small companies, exemption in preparing the Trustees,
Report and from the requirement to prepare a Strategic Report.
Responsibilities of Trustees
As explained more fully in the Irustees, responsibilities statement set out on page IXI, the trustees (who are
81so the directors of the charitable company lor the purposes of company lawl are responsible for the
preparation ol the financial statements and for being satisfied that they give a true and fair view, and for such
internal control as the trustees determine is necessary to enable the preparation of financial statements that
are free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error.
In preparing the financial statements, the trustees are responsible for assessing the charitrfs ability to
continue as a going concern, disclosing, 8s applicable, matters related to going concern and using the going
concern basis of accounting unless the trustees either intend to liquidate the charity or to cease operations,
or have no realistic alternative but to do so.
Auditor's responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements
Our objectives are to obtain reasonable assurance about whether the financial statements as a whole are
free from material misstatement, whether due to fraud or error, and to issue an auditor's report that includes
our opinion. Reasonable assurance is 3 high level of assurance but is not a guarantee thal an audit
conducted in accordance with ISAS IUKI will always detect a material misstatement when it exists.
Misstatements can arise from fraud or error and are considered material If, individually or in the aggregate,
26

they could reasonably be expected to Iiifluenee the economic decisions of users taken on the basis of the
financial statements.
Irregularities, including fraud, are instances of non-compliance with laws and regulations. We design
procedures in line with our responsibilities, outlined above, lo detect material misstatements in respect ol
irregu13rilies, including fraud. Based on our understanding of the charity and its activities, we Identified that
the principal risks of non-compliance with laws and regulations related to Ihe Charities Act 2011, the Charities
Statement of Recommended Practice. employment regulation and fraud, and we considered the extent to
which non-compliance might have a material effect on the financi81 statements. We 81so considered those
laws and regulations that have 8 direct impact on the preparation of the financial statements, such as the
Companies Act 2006.
We evaluated the trustees, and management's incentives and opportunities for fraLJdLJlent manipulation of
the financial statements (including the risk of override of controls) and determined that the principal risks
were related to posting manual journal entries to manipulate financial performance, management bias
through judgements and assumptions in significant accounting estimates, In particular in relation to use of
restricted funds, and income cut off at year end.
Our audit procedures were designed to respond to those identified risks, including non-compliance with laws
and regulations (irregularities) and fraud that are material lo the financial statements. OLJr audit procedures
included but were noi limited to..
Discussing with the Iruslees and management their policies and procedures regarding compliance
with laws and regulations.,
Communicating identified laws and regulations throughout our engagement team and remaining 31ert
to any indications of non-compliance throughout our audit,. and
Considering the risk of acts by the charity which were contrary to applicable laws and regulations.
including fraud.
Our audit procedures in relation to fraud included but were not limited to..
Making enquiries of the trustees and management on whether they had knowledge of any actual,
suspected or alleged fraud,.
Gaining an understanding of the internal controls established to mitigate risks related to fraud.
Discussing amongst the engagement team the risks of fraud", and
Addressing the risks of fraud through management override of controls by performing journal entry
testing.
There are inherent limitations in the audit procedures described above and the primary responsibility for the
prevention and detection of irregularities including fraud rests with management. As with any audit, there
remained a risk of non-deteclion of irregularities, as these may involve eollusion, forgery, intentional
omissions, misrepresentations or the override of internal controls.
A further description of our responsibilities for the audit of the financial statements is located on the Financial
Reporting Council's website at www.frc.or
auditorsr
ibilities. This description forms part of our
auditorfs report.
Use of the audit report
This report is made solely to the charity's members as a body in accordance with Chapter 3 of Parl 16 of the
Companies Act 2006. Our audil work has been undertaken so that we might slate to the charity's members
those matters we are required to state to them in an auditor's report and for no other purpose. To the fullest
extent permitted by law, we do not accept or assume responsibility to anyone other than the charity and the
27

## Ian Holder 

Ian Holder (Jul 13, 2021 16:11 GMT+1) 

Jul 13, 2021 



OPERATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
2019
Unrestricted Funds-
Designated
Award
Fund
General
Fund
Reserve
Fund
Total
Funds
Total
INCOME FROM:
Ch•fllabl¢ a¢tlvlti¢$
Subscriptions
Events and Conferences
Training
Publi¢81ions
Accreditation
Websites l Digital SeNices
136,390
11,641
73,084
9,653
8.315
1,9(X)
136.390
11.641
73,084
969.653
8.315
146,995
283,219
115,140
939.057
8.710
1,580
1.200,983
1,2CKJ,983
1,494,701
Investment Incom
39.888
2,249
42,140
54,903
Total Incomg
1.2￿,986
39,888
2,249
1.243,123
1,549.604
EXPENDITURE ON .
Raising Funds
Investment Management Costs
11,672
11.672
12.192
Direct charitsble expenditure '.
Subscriptions
Events and Conferen￿$
Training
Pu￿1¢atIonS
AcGredilation
Websites l Digital SerVT￿5
Other Charitable Expenditure
Governance and Support Costs
120,430
162,037
83.144
247,533
7.523
162,653
297,289
105.002
691
673
220
121,121
182,710
83.364
248,437
7,551
163.860
300,e69
108.030
149,728
382,179
102.(￿8
346,689
7,774
195.762
422.462
131,986
28
1,207
1,880
3.028
1,500
1,185,611
8,631
1,500
1.195,742
1,738,648
Total Expendlture
1,185,611
20,303
1,500
1,207,414
1,750,840
Net 9alnslllossesl on
Investments
18
146,4261
2,078
144,3481
192,098
NET INCOMEIIEXPENDITUREI
and NET MOVEMENT IN FUNDS
FOR THE YL4R
15,375
126.8411
2,827
18,6391
19,1381
Reconciliation of funds
Totsl funds brought forwafd
435,729
1,909,397
58,895
2.404,021
2,413,159
Total funds carried forward
451,104
The notes on pages 32 to 41 form part of the58 ￿￿unts.
1,882,556
61,722
2,395,382
2,404,021
The statement ol financ181 activities includes all gains and kjsses recognised in the year. All income and expenditure
derive from continuing activities.
29

OPERATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
l A company limited by guarantee. No. 6838191
BALANCE SHEET- 31 DECEMBER 2020
2020
2019
FIXED ASSETS
Fixed Assets
Tangible
Intangible
262.922
87,608
21T,181
138,405
Investments
Listed al Markei Value
Cash Deposited with Invgslment Brokers
Charities Aid Foundation
1,721,276
20,008
,927
1,732,828
29,047
73,600
10
2 169741
2.191 061
CURRENT ASSETS
Debtors
Cash al Bank and In Hand
221,479
390,237
261,440
149,178
611,716
410,618
CREDITORS (amounts falling due within on• y•arl
12
386,075
197,658
NET CURRENT ASSETS
225,641
212,960
TOTAL ASSETS LESS CURRENT LIABILITIES
2.395,382
2,404,021
FUNDS
General Fund
451,104
435,729
Reserve Fund
1,882.556
1,909,397
Designated Award Fund
15121
61.722
58,895
TOTAL FUNDS
2,395,382
2,404.021
*****************************************************************************************************aa****************
These financial statements have been prepared in accordan￿ wrth the special provisions relating lo
ompanies subject to the small companies regime within Part 15 of the Companies Act 2006.
*******************************************************A********•****+****•*********•**********************************
J. E. WILLIAMS
Honorary Treasurer
E. K. BURKE
President
18 May 2021
The notes on page5 32 to 41 form part of these accounts.
30

OPERATIQNAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
STATEMENT OF CASH FLOWS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
2020
2019
Reconciliation of net Incomlng resources to net
cashflow from operating aclivltles .
Net Movement in Funds
Depreciation Charge - Tangible Assets
Depreciation Charge - Intangible Assets
Loss on Disposal of Fixed Assets
Decreaselllncreasel in Debtors
Increasel(Decreasel in Creditors
IGainsllLosses on Investments
Investment Income
18,639)
26,969
50,797
(9,1381
24,366
51,717
39,961
188,417
44,348
(42,140)
856.826
{910,223)
(192,098)
{54.903}
Cash Flows from Operating Actlvlues
299,713
1233,453}
Investment Income
Purchase of Tangible Assets
Purchase of Inlangible Assets
Puchase of Investments
Proceeds on Disposal of Investments
39,891
{72,7101
52.941
(20,718)
{17,536)
(172,771)
108.588
1462,7121
427,838
Cash Flows from Investing Activities
167,693)
{49,496>
Increasel{Decreasel in Cash and Cash Equival8nts
in the Year
232,020
1282,9491
Cash and Cash Equivalents at the Beginning of the
Year
178,225
461,174
Cash and Cash Equivalents at the End of the
Year
410,245
178,225
Balance includes £178,382 of VAT deferred from March 2020 to be paid by March 2021.
31

OPERATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
ACCOUNTING POLICIES
111 Basis of preparation
The accounts have been prepared in accordance with the Companies Act 2006, the Charities
Act 2011, the Charitie8 ,Slatement of Recommended Practice IFRS 1021, the Financial Reporting
Standard applicable in the UK and Republic of Ireland IFRS 1021 and under the historical cost
convention in accordance with applicable Accounting Standards as modified by the accounting
policy for investments quoted on a recognised stock exchange, whi¢h are staled at market
value (see 1181 below)
The Operational Research Society meets the definition of a public benefit society under FRS 102.
121 Preparation of th¢ accounts on a going concern basi8
The Operational Research Society operates as a going concern and the trustees are of the view
that it will continue to do so for the foreseeable future.
131 Key estimates and judggments
Vvhen preparing the financial stalements, management makes a number of judgements, estimates
and assumptions about the recognition and measurement of assets, liabilities, income and
expenses. The estimate that has the most significant effect relates to intangible fixed assets.
The company amortises fixed assetg over their estimated useful lives. The eslimalion of the useful
lives of assets is based on historic performance as well as expectations about future use and
therefore requires estimates and assumptions lo be applied by management. The actual lives of
these assets can vary depending on a number of factors, including the maintenance and level of
upkeep of the software Systems.
141 Designation of funds
Income and expenditure arising from the normal charitable activitie9 of the Society is included
within the General Fund.
The Reserve Fund consists of resources of the Society which are represented by land and
buildings,fixed asset investments and cash deposiled wth the Society's investment brokers.
The Designated Award Fund repre$ent$ a legacy received in 2002 which will be used to fund an
annual award.
The Society operates a reserves policy that reflects its critical dependence on journal income.
The policy sets the minimum level of reserves at one year's fixed running cost5 of £831 k lo keep
the charity viable whilst altemative funding is found.
The maximum level is lo be sel al 2 years running costs or £1.7 million
151 Dividends and investment in¢ome
Dividends and investment income are recognised when receivable.
161 Other Income and expenditure
Income and expenditure other than dividends a￿ a¢¢ounted for on an accruals basis.
(Tl Value added tax
The Society has part121 exemption status for Value Added Tax and Value Added Tax on
apportionable costs which cannot be reclaimed is disclosed $eparately within administration
costs. This item was £Nil in 2020 (2019 - £Nill.
181 Investments
Inveslrnents quoted on a recognised stock exchange are included in the accounts at their
market value.
32

OPERATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020
ACCOUNTING POLICIES Icontinued)
191 Tangible and Intangible fixed assets
Tangible and intangible fixed assets costing more than £1,000 and with a useful economic life
in excess of 3 years are ¢apitalised and included al cost including any incidental expenses of
acquisition.
Depre¢ialion of tangible fixed assets is charged on a straight line basi5 at the following rates
Long leasehold building
Office machines and computer equipment
Fixtures and fittings
250
100
Amortisalion of Intangible fixed assets is charged on a straight line basis at the following rate
SofbNare systems
25,/0
Th8 amortisalion rate charged is based on management's best estimate of the useful life
of the software systems.
1101 Debtors
Trade and other debtors are recognised at the selllement amount due after any trade dis¢ount
offered. Prepayment5 are valued at the amount prepaid net of any trade discounts due.
1711 Cash at bank and in hand
Cash at bank and cash in hand includes cash and short lem highty liquid investments.
1121 Creditors and provisions
Creditors and provisions are recognised where the charity has a present obligation resulting
from a past event that will result in the transfer of funds to a third party and the amount due to
settle the obligation Can be measured or estimated reliably. Creditors and provisions are
normally recognised at their settlement amount after allowing for any trade discounts due.
1131 Pensiong
The Society contributes to individual pension schemes established for each eligible employee.
1141 Allocation of costs
Salaries, depreciation, websites I digital services expenditure and other central and
establishment overheads a¥e allocated lo appropriate cost categories using consistently applied
ratios based on estimates of actual lime and costs expended in each area.
1151 Financial instruments
The Society only has financial assets and financial liabilities of a kind that qualify as basic
financial instrum8nts. Basic financial instruments are initially recognised al transaction value
and subsequently measured at their settlement value.
LEGAL STATUS OF THE SOCIETY
The Society is a company limited by guarantee, has no share ¢apital and is a registered charity.
The objectives of the Society are the advancement of knowledge and edueation in operational
research.
The liability of each member in the event of a winding-up is limited to £1.
33

OPERATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020 Icontinuedl
PUBLICATIONS
2020
2019
Incoming resources .
Journal l KMRP I JOS
Inside OR
EJIS l Health Systems l JBA
Other Publications
661,494
1.728
301,944
4,487
969,653
707,487
2,822
225,688
939,057
Resources used .
Journal l KMRP I JOS
Inside OR
EJIS l Health Systems IJBA
Impact Magazine
Other Publications
103,420
87,396
48,159
5,392
4,070
248 437
146,495
110,802
72,722
11.680
4,990
346,689
OTHER DIRECT CHARITABLE EXPENDITURE
Non-revenue eaming activltles In pursult of charitable aims
IAOR Online - Members access
Library
Foreign Affairs Expenses
Regional Societies
Special Interest Groups
Public Information about OR
Science of Better
Leam about OR
General Publicity
Third Sector Pro Bono
Sponsorship of OR Conferences
Medals, Awards and S¢holarships
Strategic Initiatives
Research Supwrt
Other Costs
Total
7,871
975
17,992
14,293
16,821
10,115
11.841
10,370
16,661
16,824
76,383
63,931
31,530
52,056
58,044
31,839
20,883
55,173
19.073
5,649
300.669
28,601
148,015
8,191
422,462
GOVERNANCE AND SUPPORT COSTS
Board and Committees
86,623
108,683
Auditors, Fees '.
for audit
for other services
8,000
1,449
7,450
850
Other Legal and Professional Fees
11,958
15.003
108,030
131.986

OPERATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020 Icontlnued
TOTAL RESOURCES EXPENDED
Expèndlturo analysed by typ• of cost:
cialion
Total
2020
Total
2019
Staff Costs Other Costs &Amo
Investment Management Costs
Subscriptions
Events and Conferences
Training
Publications
Accrèditation
Websites
Other Charitable Expenditure
Governance and Support Costs
11.672
27,616
33,944
49,725
163,024
420
29.769
91,010
29,554
11.672
121,121
162,710
83,364
248,437
7,551
163,860
300,669
108,030
12.192
149.728
382,179
102,068
346,689
7,774
195.762
422.462
131.986
90,767
123,075
32,988
82,327
5,838
78,846
202,532
76,541
2.738
5,691
651
3,086
1,293
55,245
7,127
1,935
692,914
436,734
77,766
1,207,414 1,750,840
Staff costs .
Wages and Salaries
Social Security Cost5
Pension Costs
574,088
56,051
62,775
609,069
58.189
63,623
692,914
730 881
The average number of employees of the Society, calculated on a full time equivalent basis, during
the year was .'
2020
Headcount
2019
Headcount
FTE
FTE
Charitable activities
Management and administration
132
128
13.3
13.7
16.5
16.7
16.6
17.8
During this and the previous year one employee of the Society eamed between £80,000 and £90,000,
excluding pension ctsnlributiony. Contributions of £9,217 were paid to their pension scheme12019- £9,063).
The key management personnel of the Society ¢omp¥ise the trustees and the Executs"ve Direelor
The total employee benefits of the key management personnel of the Society were £94,686
{2019 - £93.1021
No remuneration was paid or is payable lo Trustees for senrice on the Board for the year12019- £NIl}
During the year 11 Truslees12019 - 10 Trusl*sl received a total of £2.204 (2019- £6,965) in
reimbursement of expenses incurred on Society business
2020
Other external costs include
Other Operats'ng Leases
8,771
3,655
35

OPERATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020 (continued)
INTEREST RECEIVABLE AND SIMILAR INCOME
2020
2019
Income from Listed Investments
Interest on Bank Deposits
Distributions - CAF
39,888
52,941
2,249
1.962
54,903
FIXED ASSETS
-Tangible
Intsngible
Long
Leasehold
Land and
Buildin
Office
Fixtures
Software
Cost
Cost
Al 31 December 2019
Additions
Disposals
314,306 145.194
1,160
90,192 549.692
71,550
72.710
206,672
At 31 December 2020
314306 146354 161742 622,402
206 672
Depreciation
Amortisation
At 31 December 2019
Charge for the Year
Disposals
Write offs
Al 31 December 2020
163,436 124,687
6,286
7,966
44,388 332,511
12,717
26,969
68.267
50.797
169,722 132,653
57,105 359,480
Net Book Value
Net Book Value
At 31 December 2020
144,584
13 701 104 637 262,922
87,608
At 31 December 2019
150,870
20,507 45 804 217,181
138,405
Capital expenditure authorised but not contracted for at 31 December 2020 and not provided
for in the accounts amounted lo £012019 - £70,050).
The Trustees ConS￿erIhe market value ofthe Long Leasehold Land and Buildings to be
materially in exces5 of the book written down value shown above.
The Trustees do not consider that the difference can be accurately defined without the benefit
of a professional valuation.
Amortisalion is allocated across the various expenditure categories within the St8tement of
Financial Activities. Please see Nole 6 for further information.
36

OPERATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020 Icontinuedl
LISTED INVESTMENTS AT MARKET VALUE
2020
2019
Market Value at 1st January
1.732,828
1,480,746
Additions al Cost
462.712
172,771
PrcKeeds on Disposal
1427,838}
1108,5881
Net Investment Gain IILossl
{46,4261
187,899
Maiket Value al 31 sl December
1721276
1732 828
Cost
1323,634
1324 699
Al the above investments are either listed on a recognised stock exchange in Great Britain or are
represented by unil trusts which are traded on a daily basis in the UK, and fall within the wider range
of investments as defined by the Trustees Act 1961.
The Societvg narr¢)wer range of inve$lmenl$ as defined by the Trustees Act 1961 is eovered by
deposits held at Investec.
10 CHARITIES AID FOUNDATION
Al 31 December 2019 this investment is represented by 56.05812018 - 56,0581 shares in the FP CAF
Fixed Interest B Aceumulation Fund. having a mathet value of £73,80012018 - £67,437).
202
2019
Market Value at 151 January
73,600
67,439
Net Investment Gain IILoss}
Dislribulions not remitted
2,078
2,249
4,327
6,161
Mart(el Value at 31st December
Cost
56,IKO
37

OPERATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020 {¢ontinuodl
11
DEBTORS
2020
2019
Trade Debtors
Taxatton Recoverable
Prepayments
Accrued Income
39,741
72,316
32,534
59,741
96,849
42.853
138,885
221.479
12
CREDITORS
2020
2019
Trade Creditors
Other Creditors
Taxation and S¢xial Security
Accruals
Deferred Income
22,724
24,985
177,634
93,434
67,298
51,185
16.718
94,207
35,548
386,075
197658
Def$￿ed income brought fonverd
Released lo incoming resources during the year
Deferred income ansing in the year
Defe￿d income Garrted forward
35,548
(35, 548)
67.298
67 298
Defefred income consists of 2020 subscription income paid in advance and income relating lo 2021.
13
FINANCIAL COMMITMENTS
Al 31 st De￿rnber 2020 the Society had commitments under other non-cancellable operating leases
as follows '.
2020
2019
Expiry date '.
Under one year
Two lo five years
Over five years
7,783
13,436
8,527
20,656
563
29,746
The Society has a COTnmilment lo a setvice charge on the car park of the leasehold propety over the
next 90 years eslimaled at £263,610 (Under one year £3,030,. Two-five years £t2,120', Over five years
£248.4801 These items are not shown in the above table.
38

OPERATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020 Icontlnu&dl
14
RELATED PARTY TRANSACTIONS
A member of Key Management Personnèl Is a Director of Edward Street Management Limited. the
company that manages the Soeiells buildings car parf(. During the year the Society paid ￿nt to the
company of £3,03012019- £3,030). As at 31 December 2020 there was a creditor balance owing
lo Edward Street Management Limited of £Nil12019 - Nil).
The wife Of a member of key management personnel is employed by the Society. This empbyee
reeeived remuneration of £27,21412019- £25,981) (including employers pension
conlributionsl during the financial year.
15
DESIGNATED FUNDS
The funds of the charity include the following designated fLtnds whi¢h have been sel aside out of
unreslrided funds by the trustees for specific purposes .'
111 Reserrfe Fund
The reserve fund consists of resources of the Society which are represented by land and buildings,
fixed asset investments and a cash deposf( with the Society's investment brokers.
The Society operates a reseryes policy that reffecls ils critical dependen￿ on journal income.
121 Deslgnated Award Fund
The Designated Award Fund represents a legacy receNed in 2002. The Legalor, Mrs May Hicks,
expressed a non-binding wish that the Society uses ils bequest lo fund an annyal award lo be
detemiined by the Council of the Society. The legacy is currentty invested in the Charities Aid
Foundation Fixed Interest B Accumulation Fund.
16
STATEMENT OF FINANCIAL ACTIVITIES ..
COMPARATIVE FIGURES BY INDIVIDUAL FUND
Designated Award
Reserve Fund
2020
2019
020
2019
2020
2019
INCOME FROM .'
Charitable activth'es
1,200,983 1,494,701
Investment income
39,888
52,941
2,249
1,962
Total
1,200.986 1,494.701
39,888
52.941
2,249
1.962
EXPENDITURE ON ..
R818ing funds
11,672
12,192
Direct chantable èxpenditu
1,185,611 1.728,512
8,631
8.636
1.500
1,500
Total
1,185,611 1.728,512
20.303
20.828
1,500
1,500
Inve8tsnent G8lnsllLossè$l
146,4261
187.899
2,078
4,199
Net IncomellExpendlturel
15.375
233.811
26,8411
220.012
2.827
4,661
39

OPERATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020 Icontinuedl
17
ANALYSIS OF NET ASSETS BETWEEN FUNDS
Designated
Award
Fund
General
Fund
Reserve
Fund
Tangible Fixed Assets
Intangible Fixed Assets
Investments
Cash Deposited with Investment
Brokers
Net Current AssetslLiabililies
118.338
87.608
144.584
262,922
87,608
1,799,203
1,721,276
77,927
20,008
{3,3121
20,008
225,641
245,158
116,2051
Total Net Assets
451,104 1882 556
61 722
2.395 382
18
RECONCILIATION OF MOVEMENTS IN
UNREALISED IGAINSIILOSSES ON
INVESTMENT ASSETS
Designated
Award
Fund
Reserve
Fund
Total
Unrealised gains at 31 Dec 2019
Realised investment {gainsl I
losses during the year
Nel unrealised investment gainsl
Ilossesl arising during the year
408.129
1,454
409.583
76,526
76,526
187,0131
2,078
184,935}
Unrealised Ilossesllgains included
in net assets at 31 Dec 2020
397 642
401,174
DISPOSAL OF INVESTMENTS
Book
GainllLossl
Di5
05al
Rgalised
R8valuation
Gainl
loss
Cost
Proc9trds
Resgrve Fund
463,777
427,838
40,587
76.526
Net unrealised investment gainsl
Ilossesl arising during the year
as above
187,0131
PeT Statement of Financial Activrties
46,426
40

OPERATIONAL RESEARCH SOCIETY
NOTES TO THE ACCOUNTS FOR THE YEAR ENDED 31 DECEMBER 2020 Icontlnuedl
19
PENSION FUND
The Society conlribulgs lo individual pension schemes established for e8¢h individual
employee. The assets of these schemes are held separately from those ol the Society
in independently administered funds. The pension charge represents contributions payable
by the Society lo the schemes and amounted lo £62,75512019 - £63,623).
Pension payments oulslanding at the end of the year were £7,57712019- £1421.
41

History
In ihe autumn of i g47, at a dinner discussion convened at Ihp. Athpnae.Iim P,IiJb in London, il was decided to
form ihe Oper2tional Research Club The club was inaugurated in April 1948 with an Initial membership of 50,
under the chairmanship of Sir Charles Goodeve and with Mr J A Jukes as the first secretary. The exclusivity
associated with the word 'club' was deliberately chosen for the initial period, to ensure clarification of what
was meant by operational research and to allempl to develop a wholeness in what was otherwise a somewhat
vague field The club met regularly in the rooms at the Royal Society for technical discussions. By 1953 the
initial objectives had been achieved and the pressure to form a normal "learned and professional. society had
become strong. Therefore, the club was transformed into The Operational Research Society and its first
president W3s Sir Owen W8nsbrough-Jones and the hon secretary Mr B H P Rivett.
Presidents of the Society
Sir Owen Wansbrough-Jones
Sir William K Slatcr
Professor M G Kendall
The Earl of Halsbury
Protessor 8 H P Rivett
Professor G A Barnard
Piofessor R T Eddison
Mr E C Williams
Mr S Beer
Professor K D Tocher
Mr R C Tomlinson
MrAMLee
Professor M G Simpson
M," G H Pliltchell
Professor K B Haley
Dr Fl S Stainton
Professor J V Rosenhead
Dr J C Ranyard
Mr P N Thornton
Professor C B Chapman
Professor L C Thomas
Mr l J Disley
Professor R G Dyson
Professor M Pidd
MrJ Gibb
Professor V Belton
Professor J D Griffiths
Mrs S M Merchant
Professor R W Eglese
Dr G H Royston
Professor S L Robinson
Ms R A Kaufman 08E
MrJ R Hopes
Professor E K Burke
1954155
1956157
1958159
1960161
I gb21b3
1964165
1966167
1968169
I g70/71
1972173
1974175
1976n7
1978tt9
1980181
1982183
1984185
1986187
1988189
I ggD191
I gg2193
1994195
1996197
I g981g9
2000101
2002103
2004105
2006107
2008109
2010111
2012113
2014115
2016117
2018119
2020122
42

OR Society Awards
Companion of Operational Research
Sir Hermann Bondi
Mr D Hicks
Piofessor R V Jones
Professor B H P Rivett
Mr H R Wwatkins
Professor Sir David Cox
Lord Ezra
Mr P Hughes
Lord Zuckerman
Sir John Kingman
Sir Dennis Rooke
Sir Charles Carter
MrT P Frost
Professor H.MLJller-Merbach
Mr D A Quarmby
Professor R C Tomlinson
Mr R A Showell
Mr G H Mitchell
Professor P Whittle
Mr J Plymen
Professor S Vajda
Professor K B 4aley
Professor M F Shutler
Professor D J White
Professor K C Bowen
Dr R A Forder
Professor F Kelly
MrGKRand
DrJ C Ranyard
Professor J V Rosenhead
DrJ F Miles
1983
1983
1983
1983
Ig84
1985
1985
Ig85
1985
1986
1986
1987
1987
1988
1989
1990
Ig91
1992
1994
1994
Igg5
1996
1996
2001
2001
2005
2005
2005
2005
2005
2006
Professor R G Dyson
MrEKGJames
Professor J Friend
Dr G Royston
Professor R J Paul
Professor A Mercer
Mr T O'connor
Professor V Belton
Ms R A Kaufman
Professor M Pidd
Professor P H Millard
Professor O M Ryan
Professor R M Davies
Mrc R Humby
Mrs S M Merchant
Professor S C Brailsford
Professor J D Griffiths
Professor E K Burke
Professor P R Harper
Professor R W Eglese
Mr A Waterhouse
2007
2007
2008
2008
2009
2010
2010
2011
2011
2011
2012
2013
2014
2014
2015
2016
2016
2017
2018
2019
2020
Beale Medal
J V Rosenhead
D J White
A A Christer
G H Mitchell
H Pwilliams
R C Tomlinson
P Checkland
C Eden
L C Thomas
1992
1993
1995
1998
1g9g
2005
2006
2007
2008
J D Griffiths
K H Haley
F Kelly
M D Elder
K D Glazebrook
R Fildes
J Friend
R Ormerod
M Jaekson
2009
2010
2011
2012
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
R Cheng
A Land
V Belton
2018
2019
2020
43

Silver Medal
C F Goodeve
P M lth(il'be
K D Tocher
8 H P Rivett
R T Eddison
1964
1965
1967
1968
1969
AMLee
R L ALkoll
C G Vickers
E.K.G.James
EMLBeale
1970
1971
1975
1979
1980
S Eilon
G Ddiil£iy
L V Kantorovich
1982
1986
1986
Bronze Medal
R M Adelson
J Stringei
T A Burgin
1965
1967
1967
AR Wild
D J Chambers
M F Cantley
1967
1968
1969
F K Lyness
AM Duguid
CGMoss
1970
1972
1972
Goodeve Medal
B H Mahor)
1976
R J M Bailey
1976
N R Tobin
1977
I Sanderson
1979
AJ Williams
1980
J G Shepherd
1981
F K Lyness
1982
L P Fatti
1984
A H Christer
1985
W M Waller
1985
G Best
1987
G Parston
1987
J V Rosenhead
1987
D Rowland
1988
l R Turner
1989
R Bandyopadhay 1990
S Datla
Iggo
D Schrady
1992
D Wadsworih
1992
A Bouzaher
Ig93
S Offutt
1993
DW8unn
1994
E R Larsen
1994
K Vlahos
1994
G M Campbell
1995
C F Davis
1995
M Carey
1996
D Lockwood
1996
C M Yeats
1997
T Rehman
1997
D-W Tcha
1998
T-J Choi
1998
Y-S Myung
Ig98
F Duckworth
1999
A J Lewis
1999
J 8dlldsik
J N Crook
L C Thomas
R Korporaal
A Ridder
P Kloprogge
R Dekker
S Howick
C Eden
J E Beasley
H Howells
J Sonander
R HdrLley
G Lanot
S C Brailsford
V Lattimer
P Tarnaras
J Turrlbull
K Taylor
B Dangerfield
S C Brailsford
D Evenden
V Narinda
P Harper
A Medina-Borja
K S Pasupathy
K Trianlis
D Ronen
C A Goodhart
S Kumar
D A Nottestad
E E Murphy
L C Thomas
F R Johnston
E A Shale
2000
2000
2000
2001
2001
2001
2001
2002
2002
2003
2003
2003
2004
2004
2005
2005
2005
2005
2006
2006
2007
2007
2007
2007
2008
2008
2008
2009
200g
2010
2010
2010
2011
2012
2012
S Kapoor
A Sheth
R True
P Kemmer
2012
2012
2012
2013
2013
2013
2014
2014
2014
2014
2015
2015
2015
2015
2016
2016
2017
2017
2017
2018
2018
2019
2019
2019
2019
2020
2020
2020
T Winter
J Bengtsson
D Bredstrom
P Flisberg
M Ronnqvist
S Crowe
P Bennett
Fvl DarakLLhiev
M Utley
S C Brailsford
D De Silva
A Backie
B Baesens
G Claeskens
A l Ali
G Ince
A Brice
RBye
J Oppen
J Royset
E Adiyeke
S Agrali
E Canakoglu

Stafford Beer Medal
JJ Jahng
H Jain
K Ramamurthy
R Lindgren
D Stenmark
J Ljungberg
S Sarker
S Sahay
S Madon
C Middleton
W Cukier
SKSia
Csoh
C Ashurst
N Doherty
J Peppard
F Thiesse
J Al-Kassab
E Fleisch
2003
2003
2003
2004
2004
2004
2005
2005
2006
2007
2007
2008
2008
2009
2009
2009
2010
2010
2010
P O'Reilly
P Flanegan
R Lederman
R Johnston
Koch
E Gonzalez
D Leidner
D Denyer
M Hall
E Kutsch
E Lee-Kelley
P Tallon
J Gerow
J Thatcher
V Grover
A Ulesheva
J Simpson
D Cece2-
Kecmanovic
2011
2011
2012
2012
2013
2013
2013
2014
2014
2014
2014
2015
2016
2016
2016
2017
2017
2017
Fl Pai'ks
Hxu
C-H Chu
P Lowry
N Hikmet
A Connolly
C Davis
A Bhattacherjee
F Brachten
B Cabrera
G Neubaum
L Pilz
B Ross
S Stieglitz
2018
2D18
2018
2018
2019
2019
2019
2019
2020
2020
2020
2020
2020
2020
Tocher Medal
K Kotiadis
T Pitana
E Kobayashii
C Boer
Y Saanen
K-H Chang
A-L Chang
2009
2011
2011
2013
2013
2015
2015
C-Y Kuo
Jxu
E Huang
L Hsieh
LHLee
QJia
C Chen
2015
2017
2017
2017
2017
2017
2017
M Cabrera-Rios
D E Arias
Gonzalez
E Nino-Perez
Y M Mendez-
Vazquez
2019
2019
2019
2019
Cook Medal
P Jackson
J Klobas
D Pentland
K Forsyth
D Maclver
2014
2014
2016
2016
2016
M Walsh
R Murray
L Irvine
F Oi Vincenzo
D Mascia
2016
2016
2016
2018
2018
D Apostolou
E Kalogeraki
S Papastergiou
N Polemi
2020
2020
2020
2020
Griffiths Medal
N Witteman
J Stahl
M Mihaylow
P Smet
W Van Den
Noortgate
2015
2015
2017
2017
2017
G Vanden Berghe 2017
V Mabin
2019
Jyee
2019
S Babington
2019
R Moore
2019
V Caldwell
2019
45

Ranyard Medal
A Jeyaraj
A Zadeli
2020
2020
Lyn Thomas Impact Medal
Scrowe
C Pagel
M Ulley
2019
201g
201g
Doctoral Award
K Kaparis
A Strauss
F Liberatore
R Wood
K Rustogi
t Joint winners
2008
2009
2010
2011
2012
T Lidbetter
M Takac
CKOC
l Megiddo
JFSze
2013
2014
2015
2016
2017
G Palmer
M Bedenek
L Morgan
2018
2019t
2019t
46

President's Medal
D R Corkindale
M L Chambers
R G Dyson
M Slornan
J V Rosenhead
P Doyle
J Fenwick
G P Savage
D B Gilding
C Lock
B Fokkens
M Puylaert
R S Hamblelon
A W Nimmo
C B Chapman
D F Cooper
A B Carnmaert
P Doyle
J Saunders
M Pidd
S R Clarke
A H Christer
K A H Kobbacy
B C Dangerfield
C A Roberts
M B Wright
C P Thunhurst
C J Ritchie
A Khakee
K Stromberg
JJGlen
H Tsoukas
D B Papoulias
J H Powell
G Laporte
F Semet
V V Dadeshidze
L J Olsson
Fvasko
H Gilles
D Bright
V Kocatulum
E Wolf
J Moffat
JJRace
D Burnell
M Neighbour
t￿1 Acutt
1976
1977
1977
1978
1979
7980
1980
1980
1981
1981
1982
1982
1983
1984
1985
1985
1985
1987
1987
1988
1989
1990
1990
1991
1991
1992
1993
1993
Ig94
1994
1996
1997
1997
1998
1999
Ig99
1999
1999
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
2000
2001
2001
2002
2003
P Loader
M Bryant
P Bates
C Mccuckin
D Kelly
P Loucopoulos
F(G Zagrafos
Y Pyrgiotis
D Bels
A Swain
A Floss
A Lewins
M Sykes
A Moon
M Allwright
J Ball
D Pankhurst
I Wright
P Frangos
S Hughes
S Hammond
K Slater
C Marston
P Rose
S Mardle
L Fildes
A Lewins
E Husemann
D Lane
E Munro
G Owusu
S Shakya
R Dorne
A Mohamed
A Mccormick
A Liret
O Buhlinger
C Henzel
M Clocherty
M Knapton
H Pap3christou
C Legge
R Leese
J Blaavand
C Centazzo
A Bejan
P Munday
A Booker
2004
2004
2004
2004
2004
2005
2005
2005
2005
2006
2006
2007
2007
2007
2008
2008
2008
2008
2010
2010
2011
2011
2012
2012
2013
2013
2013
2014
2014
2014
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2016
2017
2017
2017
2017
2017
2017
2018
2018
2018
2018
2018
2019
M Wauben
P M8cdent
B Marshall
E Baggol
Brett
JLOW
H Mann
M McKee
S Rose
S Smith
2019
2019
2019
2020
2020
2020
2020
2020
2020
2020
47


THE **OPERATIONAL RESEARCH** SOCIETY 

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