INFORMS News: Position Statement — Anant Balakrishnan

Anant Balakrishnan

I am honored to be nominated for the position of president-elect of INFORMS.

As a longstanding member of INFORMS and its predecessors, I have witnessed the evolution of our society and participated in many facets of its activities – subdivisions, publications, meetings, awards and placement services. I was a member of the INFORMS Board as VP Subdivisions for two terms, served as area/senior editor or associate editor for several INFORMS journals (Operations Research, Management Science, Journal on Computing, M&SOM) and was chair of invited clusters for the INFORMS national meetings in Boston (1994) and Austin (2010).

During my tenure as VP Subdivisions, several of our earliest societies – including MSOM, Information Systems and Marketing Science Societies – were approved, and new sections, chapters and fora (e.g., Revenue Management Section, Junior Faculty Interest Group) were created. As a program committee member for INFORMS national meetings, I introduced some new program elements (e.g., invited panel on professional issues at the Austin meeting) and improved coordination among invited and sponsored clusters. And, as a member of the editorial boards for four INFORMS journals, I am acquainted with various editorial, publishing and subscription issues facing our journals. Together, these experiences have provided me a deeper appreciation for the scope and complexity of INFORMS’ structure, policies, operations and the many valuable roles that INFORMS plays in enhancing and supporting our profession.

As the leading professional association for OR/MS educators, practitioners and researchers, INFORMS’ mission includes providing valued services to its members, as well as representing the profession and influencing outside stakeholders. For members, INFORMS must create a sense of community, foster interactions and knowledge sharing, provide opportunities to shape the profession and facilitate individual accomplishments and impact. Externally, INFORMS must serve as the advocate for OR/MS among leaders and policy-makers in business and government, publicize and promote the work of the institute and its members, establish linkages with other associations in allied disciplines and globally, attract the best talent to the profession and reach out to prospective and future members.

INFORMS has served its members well on many of these dimensions. Our journals are well respected and set the standard for research quality. Both our national and special-interest meetings are well attended and provide forums for interesting discussions on a diverse set of traditional and contemporary topics. Subdivisions are very active and effective in creating close-knit affinity groups within the broader OR/MS community.

INFORMS, however, must also continuously adapt to changing circumstances and exploit new opportunities, both to enhance the value it provides to members (thereby addressing challenges in member recruitment and retention) and to ensure financial viability. The context in which associations such as INFORMS operate and serve their members has changed dramatically in recent years – from the ways in which members communicate and interact and the services they seek, to the emergence of new models for publishing and the growth of the profession’s reach across application contexts. For instance, in the publications domain, declining subscriptions, increasing reliance on journal consolidators and the emergence of open access journals necessitates exploring new and/or different publishing options (particularly since publications account for a significant portion of INFORMS’ revenues).

INFORMS also faces new opportunities as private and public sector organizations have come to better appreciate the value that OR/MS can provide to harness data, address policy choices and deploy resources effectively. Healthcare, disaster relief, energy, environment and business analytics are some of the domains in which INFORMS members have become more deeply involved, prompting recent successful initiatives such as the new subdivisions and meetings on healthcare and analytics. Future opportunities may arise in other diverse fields such as education, innovation and international issues. A deliberate strategy and institutionalized process to proactively identify such opportunities and create interest among members can yield multiple benefits to INFORMS, including attracting new members, extending the sphere of influence and building bridges to other constituencies.

INFORMS’ strengths stem from its ability to accommodate many different interest groups and its wide portfolio of activities to support the profession. One of the primary roles of the INFORMS Board is to orchestrate these activities and re-align them, as necessary, to keep pace with the changing environment and to pursue opportunities that are consistent with the Institute’s mission and to improve the Institute’s financial health and provide value to members.

INFORMS is currently considering various options to reinforce its presence in advanced analytics. If elected, I will support this exploration and ensure effective execution of any new initiatives. I will also seek to introduce or streamline mechanisms and processes that can help us anticipate and exploit emerging trends, better coordinate different activities and interest groups, facilitate more engagement of newer members in these activities and enhance the institute’s international presence.

If elected, I look forward to working with each of you and serving the profession.

Anant Balakrishnan is the associate dean for research and a professor of Information, Risk and Operations Management, McCombs School of Business, University of Texas at Austin, and a former VP Subdivisions for INFORMS.