The International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS) is a 60-year old organization which is currently composed of over 50 national societies. Its beginnings date from 1955, when the vice-president of the Operations Research Society of America (ORSA) sent a proposal for an international conference to the secretary of the UK society, the Operational Research Society (ORS). The French Society, SOFRO, was added as a sponsoring society to what would be the first in a line of triennial conferences. This was the 1957 Oxford Conference, described by Maurice Kirby as the fifth of the seven defining moments in OR history (Cummins, 1998). The Statutes were prepared and the working arrangements for the Federation completed by January 1, 1959 (Rand, 2000), marking the birth of IFORS. The Statutes (Anon, 1959) stated the purpose of the Federation as “the development of operational research as a unified science and its advancement in all nations of the world.” Specifics about how this objective can be attained were given as follows:
1. Sponsoring of international conferences and meetings;
2. Providing other means for the exchange of information on operational research between nations;
3. Encouraging the establishment of national operational research societies;
4. Maintaining standards of competence in operational research;
5. Encouraging the teaching of operational research;
6. Promoting the development of specific parts of operational research, for example, to ensure a balance within that science and to open up new fields.
