The futures of OR

This paper considers possible futures for OR by building on the views of earlier writers and considering several different images that OR presents of itself, each of which has advantages and disadvantages. Ackoff's 1978 critique of OR is reviewed, together with his proposals for reform and, with the benefit of hindsight, his prognosis is examined. OR has survived, but it has changed, certainly in the UK, in some of the ways that he suggested. In the 1980s, the OR Society investigated the then state of OR practice via a commission that also expressed its thoughts about possible futures. It too got some things right and missed the target on others. Finally Checkland's ideas of root definitions are used to consider possible futures for the OR Society. This is all done in the belief that the future is not out there waiting to happen, but is something that we can create and influence.