Systems/operational research and sustainable development: Towards a new agenda

Midgley, Gerald and Reynolds, Martin (2004). Systems/operational research and sustainable development: Towards a new agenda. Sustainable Development, 12(1) pp. 56–64.

DOI: https://doi.org/10.1002/sd.218

Abstract

Operational research (OR) and environmental planning for sustainable development share three characteristics: first, both have wide boundaries in terms of clientele, range of methodological approaches used, and attention to multiple (and often conflicting) values; second, both traditions have an interest in fostering interdisciplinarity; third, both traditions are concerned with the implementation, as well as the design, of planning strategies. In a literature review and interviews with stakeholders associated with both traditions, three generic issues were found to recur: complexity and uncertainty (regarding the unpredictability of natural and social phenomena); multiple and often conflicting values (of those involved in environmental planning); and political effects (on those not involved in planning processes, including non-human nature). This paper reveals a pattern of how these generic issues are perceived in the public, business and voluntary sectors, and explains how, through a series of workshops and a mini-conference, three interrelated agendas for future action by systems/OR practitioners took shape.

Viewing alternatives

Look up in Google Scholar

Download history

Metrics

Public Attention

Altmetrics from Altmetric

Number of Citations

Citations from Dimensions

Item Actions

Export

About

CORE (COnnecting REpositories)

Recommendations