Practice Prize Competition

Description

The Practice Prize Competition recognizes the outstanding application of OR by practitioners in Canada, and it attracts quality papers to the CORS Annual Conference.

Award

The Prize Committee will determine, at its discretion, First, Second, and Honourable Mention awards and the distribution of up to $1800 in prize money according to the extent to which the finalists have reported on a completed, practical application with results that had a significant, verifiable, and (preferably) quantifiable impact on the performance of the client organization. Every member of the winning teams receives a certificate.

Eligibility

The applicant must be a resident of Canada. The submission must include work completed over the last two years, but the entire project may have taken place over a longer period. The project may include published work, but it cannot have been previously submitted to this competition.

The Process

By 2 March 2025 applicants must submit electronic copies of the following to the Chair of the Practice Prize Committee Antoine Legrain (antoine.legrain@polymtl.ca):

•    An abstract, not exceeding 500 words, outlining the successful application of OR.
•    A letter from an executive of the client organization attesting that the application had an impact and giving permission for the project to be presented at the CORS Annual Conference.
•    The names, titles, phone numbers, and email addresses of all authors and of at least one executive of the client organization.

By 30 March 2025 the judging committee, consisting of three past winners of the Practice Prize, will select up to four finalists according to the following criteria: 
•    The challenge of the application of OR and the significance of the problem.
•    The quality of the analysis and modeling and implementation of the results.
•    The impact on the client organization.

By 27 April 2025, the finalists must:
•    Submit a detailed written report, not exceeding 25 pages in the body, presenting a "case history" of the project describing its development from start to finish and focusing on the challenges and results.
•    Submit a one-page project summary including key messages and best practices, suitable for publication in the CORS Bulletin and on the CORS website.

Finalists must present the project at the Practice Prize Sessions at the CORS Annual Conference.

Based on the written report and the oral presentation, the judges will determine the prizes to be awarded and announced at the banquet. The committee reserves the right not to award any prize.