Success and survival – a comment

It is proposed that consideration of the prospects for operational research should pay attention to changes, actual or projected, in the material base of its potential users. These include the IT revolution, the global restructuring of labour, de-layered management, smaller more autonomous business units, and privatisation of public services. It is argued that these developments have eroded OR's traditional institutional base, and are likely to continue to do so. Opportunities for offsetting gains are suggested in the areas of strategic analysis and of interaction support, both resting on the exploitation of participatory analytic methods. The ‘third’ or voluntary sector might also prove to have growth potential. Threats to the occupational cohesion and culture of OR are identified, together with some possible remedies.