EURO and its Members
Societies
A EURO Perpective
by Christoph Schneeweiss, EURO President
Since autumn `97, AIRO has published a series of articles in which the presidents of several national societies reflect upon the role their societies do play within EURO. In closing this series, the editor of AIRO asked the EURO President to contribute ideas from the perspective of EURO.
First I would like to congratulate and thank the editor for having seized the initiative of discussing one of the main problems of any integration, i.e., the permanently changing relationship between an organization and its members. For me it is a very positive sign that the Italian OR society provides such a platform, which goes along with an increased visibility of Italian OR in Europe. Generally, during recent years, I have got the impression that for the time being the whole of Southern Europe plays a very vivid role in the OR community. Perhaps part of this positive development is due to the opportunities EURO is permanently providing with its conferences, summer institutes, and working groups. Many Southern European friends are remarkably active in these facilities EURO is offering.
With this last remark, I am already right in the middle of the discussion: Which role does EURO play, which should it play, and which can it play? Not surprisingly, the discussion shows that an answer to these questions heavily depends on the size of an OR society. Typically, the whole debate started with a statement of the president of the Belgium OR society who put forward the question which role his comparatively small society could still play in the presence of an overwhelming supra-national organization.
Nine societies joined in the debate, only five of them, however, really participated in the discussion. The remaining four contributions essentially presented their society which, of course, is commendable as well. Most of the societies, particularly the smaller ones, are greatly appreciating the role of EURO in addition to their own work, or, even more, they are considering the activities of EURO as the main activities they are offering to their members. Almost all societies stressed the importance of improving the relationship among each other and asked EURO to improve the information flow between them. One society even seemed to reduce the role of EURO and IFORS as being simply a coordinator between the national societies. On the other hand, most of the societies reflected upon the possibility of having a European OR society with a membership on the basis of individuals.
In fact, these two observations, EURO as a pure addivitive conglomerate of single societies and as a monolithic society of personal members, mark extreme positions within which a debate about the role of EURO in relation to its member societies can be placed.
EURO has never been a venture that could be explained in purely rational terms. Indeed, it is a body in itself and is rooted in the hearts of most of the European OR community. It is a highly successful venture with its ever increasing number of instruments, its conferences and workshops, its awards and its highly successful journal. These facilities are provided by a considerable number of individuals, and it is their enthusiasm that makes EURO flourish - a fact we should always be aware of.
Looking at the relationship of EURO with respect to the national societies, it seems evident to me that the national societies have an important role to play. Because of the federal nature of EURO, they are more than just regional chapters. They are embedded in their language and scientific culture and, what is more important, they have to observe the academic practice and tradition of their country. In particular, they have to provide a platform for an academic career and must cooperate with other non-OR societies. Of course, curricula and careers are becoming more and more European but for the time being and for the forseeable future, academic education has its national tradition, and most of the support, research might obtain, will still be based on national funding. As to the business world, the situation is already different. In very fast steps, the labour market is becoming to an increasing extent European, which already now and even more in the near future will have a significant impact on an organization like EURO.
Obviously, the national societies are necessary for an individual member, but, in addition, the larger community of EURO or even IFORS is needed. If EURO did not already exist, I would not be surprised to see active colleagues to create a European OR society on the basis of an individual membership, as is the case in many other fields. In fact, in particular areas of OR we already have this situation.
EURO does not just care for facilities a single country would not be able to offer, it is far more. It provides for a wider community. At first sight, this comprehensiveness could be achieved by an organization that merely coordinates national activities, i.e., by an organization characterized by the first extreme position mentioned before. If EURO were the only supra-national OR organization in the world, this might indeed work. But with Europe`s regional position on the globe, it is only natural that EURO is a regional grouping within IFORS and is considered as a body of itself.
Thus EURO is not just a conglomerate of European OR societies but it is an organization which is not only concerned with providing services to its member societies and hence to all European individual members. In fact, EURO must do more, it must strive to strengthen OR in Europe so that it is competitive as compared with other major regions of the world. Its very construction as a member of IFORS pointed from the very beginning to this supra-national status. EURO actively takes its position in many joint ventures with IFORS and in particular with INFORMS.
Together with many other colleagues in numerous positions, the Executive Committee of EURO tries to fulfill this twofold internal and external responsibility. Of course all activities can only be as successful as there are people in the national societies that actively support and monitor what EURO is doing. Ideas and encouragement are needed and a permanent critical interest, so that each nation and the European region as a whole will not only be present in the world wide OR community but will, in fact, contribute substantially to the scientific discussion on a global basis.
Christoph Schneeweiss,
President of EURO
schneeweiss@bwl.uni-mannheim.de
This article has been published in the AIROnews n°4/99, and is part of an AIRO initiative taken after the meeting of national ORS Presidents during the EURO Conference in Barcelona, July 1997.
The former openletters can be found in the following SVOR / ASRO Bulletins :