Purpose of the Award
The Advocacy Governance Committee (AGC) award for Public Engagement recognizes excellence of an INFORMS member who has actively engaged with the public to advance the profession in the topic areas covered by INFORMS, either by communicating relevant research results or by advocating for use of management science, operations research, and analytics to inform policy decision making. This award is meant to highlight, recognize, and honor the work that INFORMS members do to connect their work to public and private sector decision making processes that can have an impact for society, including multiple stakeholders, in any public policy area.
For this award, public engagement activities have an intended audience of either:
- The public
- Government officials or organizations, including elected officials
- Non-governmental or quasi-governmental organizations
Impact of the public engagement can be demonstrated in a variety of ways, for example:
- Supporting the work of governments, non-governmental organizations, and other stakeholders to make more informed decisions using INFORMS-expertise-based solutions through the development of reports, providing written or verbal testimony, serving as an expert advisor, or providing consultation.
- Developing and distributing materials tailored for those who are not INFORMS experts, to convey an understanding of how these tools could help address societal challenges. This may include INFORMS-based solutions that have the potential to impact the public and the society around us. Any work done during the nominee's career is potentially relevant.
Timeline:
- February 27, 2024, Applications open
- May 1, 2024, Nominations due
- Sept 1, 2024, Awardee is notified
Application Process: Submissions will be accepted through both nominations and self-nominations.
Click here for access to the INFORMS online submission portal and provide all relevant information including:
- A nomination letter (PDF Format, 2 pages max), including a bulleted list of activities related to public engagement and their impact.
- The nominee's curriculum vitae (CV/Resume).
- A citation of merit - a paragraph of approximately 100 words that highlights the nominee's contributions in this area.
- Acknowledgment of the outlined terms and conditions in the portal.
- Letters of support from government officials, colleagues, and/or other stakeholders may be submitted but are not required. (PDF Format, If including multiple letters, please place in one document and attach one document.)
Notes: At most, one recipient will be awarded each year. The committee may choose not to present the award every year.
The award includes a framed certificate presented at the Advocacy and Governance Session held at the INFORMS Annual Meeting.
Committee
Kara Morgan
Principal
Quant Policy Strategies, LLC
Chair of the INFORMS AGC committee, 2021 – 2023
Sunderesh S. Heragu
Regents Professor and John Hendrix Chair
Associate Dean for Academic Affairs in the College of Engineering, Architecture and Technology
Oklahoma State University (OSU)
