Problem Structuring Methods

During the first half of the 20th century Talcott Parsons developed his social theory of functionalism. His synthesis of the insights of Durkheim, Webber, and others provided the corner stone for his "grand theory." Parsons' functionalism takes the form of a schema or descriptive framework of society, its component parts, and the interactions between them. Post-WW2 the new framework was widely welcomed by the growing army of researchers conducting empirical research into social phenomena, but it was fiercely criticised by social theorists. As a consequence, new variants of functionalism were developed, existing programmes were reexamined , and new schools evolved. This article first describes func-tionalism and examines some current schools of social theory in relation to it. Then it examines the use made of social theory by OR researchers to develop an understanding of the context of OR interventions, underpin the development of OR methods, provide methods and frameworks for empirical research, inform and motivate critique of OR practice and research, and contribute to sociology. This article demonstrates that functionalism offers a point of entry for OR researchers intent on gaining an understanding of social theories, a notoriously difficult subject on which all sociological theorising is founded.

What does good operational research (OR) practice mean, and what can critical systems thinking (CST) do for it? This two-part essay proposes new answers to both questions. Part 1 first reviews the idea and history of systems thinking in OR, as a basis for properly situating CST within OR. It then offers a comparative, non-partisan account of the two strands of CST, critical systems heuristics (CSH) and total systems intervention (TSI), and identifies their combined potential in an ability to enhance the contextual sophistication of OR. The prevalent but inaccurate notion of the history of OR as a linear evolution from ‘hard’ to ‘soft’ and ‘critical’ systems thinking is replaced by an integrated perspective of OR as applied systems thinking.

The term morphology (from the Greek μορφή, morphé = form) is used in science in a number of different contexts and on a number of different conceptual levels. On the most general level, it refers to nothing less than a philosophy of science, or at least what Lakatos (1968) calls a basic scientific research program. On another level, we find morphology and morphological analysis denoting a general methodological approach used in a wide range of scientific disciplines concerning the study of structural interrelationships within the context of a developing systemic whole. Finally, on a purely technical-methodological level, morphological analysis refers to a basic modelling method, on a par with other modelling methods such as System Dynamics Modelling (SDM) and Bayesian Networks (BN). Although morphological modelling is essentially " qualitative " (i.e. non-quantified and non-causal), it relies on the same principles of construction, and the same iterative process of analysis and synthesis, as all other scientific modelling methods.

This entry on "Critical systems thinking" (CST), prepared for a major encyclopedia in the field of Operations Research and Management Science, offers a non-partisan, comparative account of CST's two major strands, CSH and TSI. A new, integrative understanding of CST emerges in which both strands, although in different ways, focus on enhancing the contextual sophistication of professionals.

"At some point in an intervention, the operational research consultant has to choose how to approach the issue in hand. The need for an explicit approach depends on who will be involved and the nature of the relationship between consultant and client. Increasingly, as the organisational distance between the two parties increases, the approach taken has to be declared formally and at an early stage. The approach chosen may be a general approach for consultancy assignments, it may he a specific, named approach taken from the literature, or it may be designed specifically for that particular intervention. The choice of methods will depend on the organisafional context, the degree of participation envisaged,
the consultant's skills and on the nature of the outcome required. The paper draws on theory to articulate these choices. A personal experiment is described in which critical systems heuristics, soft
systems methodology, and the strategic choice approach are used to structure the process of designing an intervention. As a result two concepts are introduced, (i) personal intervention competence and (ii) intervention transformation requirement and context. These concepts are used to suggest a general method mixing approach referred to as the transformation competence model."

OR interventions involve the deployment of three core competences: (1) conducting analysis, (2) managing the process of intervention, and (3) understanding context. The nature of these competences is reasonably well understood in terms of traditional interventions but problem structuring methods (PSMs) make additional demands on practitioners. PSMs are designed to help the OR consultant structure an intervention in which actors relevant to the situation engage in interpreting the context, do some qualitative analysis, debate the issues, and agree some future actions. The OR consultant is required to master the methods, design the intervention, facilitate the set pieces such as workshops, and manage the process overall. The paper considers the burgeoning literature on the competences required to deploy PSMs. It is concluded that these competences can be considered under the same broad headings as those for traditional OR, but the skills and the process of obtaining them make new demands. An enhanced schema of OR competence is developed and its application in education and practice is suggested.

This paper discusses the value and interpretive risks when using iconography for system understanding using the rich picture tool. It is suggested that a visual language of pictures offers a way of global communication that far exceeds the limitations of text and speech. We argue that a simple graphic can be rapidly communicated, processed and transmitted within a large and culturally diverse audience in a way that is unique to graphic images. We suggest a natural intrinsic grammar belongs to the rich picture in terms of relationships, shape, connectors, context and sub-boundaries.

Problem Structuring Methods have most commonly been employed in one-off interventions to address non-routine problem situations. This paper argues that problem structuring methods are by their nature also appropriate for routine use within multi-organizational partnerships as a means of supporting inter-organizational learning. An experience of the use of a problem structuring methods approach in this mode is reported, within a UK construction industry partnership context. The approach which was developed has been called the Cross Organizational Learning Approach (COLA). COLA uses Strategic Choice-based workshops to identify and review critical incidents and project successes, in order to generate a limited set of key actions to feed back both to project partners and to future joint projects. The paper describes and discusses the process of developing and using this approach, with particular concentration on the apparent success in embedding it as a continuing business practice.

This monograph series presents case studies of approaches to complex problems which exist in human systems throughout the globe. The first issue of the monograph illustrates an approach for creating a structured understanding of the global challenges delineated by the Millennium Project and critical problems identified in the Predicament of Mankind Proposal. It concludes with a reflection on implications for New Strategic Theory and Social Mediation - Communication Theory for democratization.

The Production Engineering field has inherent complex situations, in which an optimal solution is not feasible nor desirable. A range of methods were created within the discipline of Operational Research to deal with such problems. These methods have been collective known as Problem Structuring Methods (PSMs), or in a broader sense, soft OR. Even though relevant to Production Engineers who face complex situations on a daily basis, Brazilian literature lacks a review that synthesizes both international and local contributions in terms of methods and frameworks created on this field of Operational Research. That is exactly the aim of this study, which was undertaken by a thorough literature review. The results showed the relevance and reach of these methods. A range of Methods and frameworks which helps managing complex issues were identified. Six methods were further explored, including SSM, SODA, SCA, Robustness Analysis, Drama Theory/Confrontation Analysis and STSP (Systems Thinking and Scenario Planning, a Brazilian method). Finally, this study argues that this group of methods is an integral part of Operational Research, and is useful and needed to build the Production Engineers competence of managing strategic and complex / messy / wicked situations.

How can critical systems thinking (CST) strengthen the competence profile of professionals? Considering the examples of operational research, policy analysis, and process consultation, and moving beyond the view developed in Part 1 of professional practice as applied systems thinking, an argumentation-theoretical turn of the understanding of professional competence is suggested. It yields an integrated perspective of competence in terms of systems thinking and argumentative practice, in which CST finds a systematic place.

This paper describes the development and application of an innovative problem structuring method to guide interventions in the way in which the UK Ministry of Defence delivers infrastructure projects and services. This method uses an adaptation of the Viable System Model to structure a set of stakeholder assessments that leads to the building of a Hierarchical Process Model. The resultant model, which appears readily transferrable to other multi-organisational contexts, comprehensively represents the functions required for a specified system to be effective in its environment and affords insight into the processes and capabilities that require intervention-either to increase performance (addressing weaknesses) or to increase understanding (addressing uncertainty). The paper also describes a number of methodological learning points identified through the use of a structured approach to evaluation which again appear to be readily transferrable to other multi-organisational contexts.

Synthesis is a creative and mysterious process in which a chaotic array of concepts, what might be called a mess, is cognitively 'engaged' with a problem domain to produce as many interpretations as can validly be derived for effective decision-making purposes. The benefits of engaging concepts into a mess are that it allows the problem to be viewed through multiple lenses simultaneously, which affords a holistic vantage point for richer problem interpretation. By deliberately shifting the underlying concept held by actors and provoking the movement of concepts, better interpretations might lead to more useful decision making. Although research has discussed the possibility of using synthesis through case studies, we argue that there is a need to formally develop methodologies in this area for the purpose of fostering and solving complex problems. To demonstrate this, we provide a speculative case study to illustrate how this approach may be usefully applied.

Reflections on a number of participative projects have led to the conclusion that, when planning and conducting OR interventions, particular attention should be paid to the transformation to be attempted and to the competence of those who will be involved. The transformation required by a consulting project sets the scope of the ambition that is to be met by the craft skills and expertise of people, supported if appropriate by pre-defined methods. Competence refers to the skills, time and the ability to act of those involved in the intervention. In designing an intervention, activities have to be planned in the light of the transformation required, the competences of those involved and the pre-defined methods available. Pre-defined methods are characterized in terms of their transformation potential, the transformation that can be achieved by using the method in a specific context. The paper elaborates the proposed transformation competence perspective drawing on personal practical experience; its aim is to articulate an approach to the design of participative consulting interventions and compare it with alternatives.

Keywords: Strategic planning Performance-based planning Complex adaptive systems Adaptive planning and management Problem structuring methods Resilience A B S T R A C T Urban systems and human settlements have been growing exponentially in size and complexity in the last decades, defying current approaches to sustainable development. While urban planning has been identified as one of the main tools for attaining specific sustainability goals, consideration of cities as complex social-ecological and adaptive systems challenges traditional views, demanding new flexible and creative planning solutions. In this conceptual study, we analyse the capacity of performance-based planning (PBP) to provide sustainable solutions for urban planning problems. To do so, we examine the different conceptualizations of PBP in the current planning environment. To better define the challenges posed by the complexity of urban systems, we explore the similarities and common ground between PBP and other approaches such as adaptive planning and management (APM) and problem structuring methods (PSM). We analyse a case study, in Queensland (Australia), using SWOT (Strengths, Weaknesses, Opportunities and Threats) analysis to identify potential advantages and barriers to the implementation of PBP. Finally, we discuss the potential role of APM and PSM in PBP, the utility of an extended conceptualization of resilience as an important reference for its implementation and a potentially stronger role for planners in PBP as decision shapers.

In 1994 PowerGen, a UK electricity generating company, conducted a business improvement project. The project used a participative approach involving soft OR and systems thinking, an approach that was developed in earlier projects in food retailing and mining. The aim of the project was initially to conduct a benchmarking exercise and develop an information systems (IS) strategy. As the project progressed the emphasis moved to business process redesign and downsizing in the light of new perceptions of business prospects. The paper describes the design and implementation of the intervention, the evolution of the project, the problems encountered, and the outcome. Throughout it describes in some detail the interaction that took place. Although many improvements to current operations were identi®ed for implementation, it proved dicult to obtain agreement to a fundamental change in the organisational structure. Two years after the project ®nished a new organisation based on the project's analysis has been adopted. The case is discussed drawing on a number of recent theoretical themes that have emerged from the debate about the process of OR. Conclusions are drawn about the value of the methods used in the intervention, the practicalities of mixing several methods, and the future direction the research programme should take. Ó

Behavioural research into the practice of OR needs to be grounded. Case studies written by practitioners can potentially help address this need but currently most do not. The paper explores a way of describing OR projects that place the emphasis on the 'actors' who provide the motivating force and the consequences of their actions. The 'mangle' perspective focuses on the dynamic intertwining of people, technology and concepts; this can provide the basis for an insightful narrative describing the reality of the project in terms of the planned approach, the problems met and the outcomes. Two examples are given, one of a conventional model building exercise, the second of a 'soft OR' intervention: both describe projects conducted by practitioners for commercial purposes. It is concluded that, by using the mangle perspective, the OR case writer can winnow the wheat from the chaff in order to write a succinct informative narrative, a narrative that could be utilized by behavioural OR (BOR) researchers. It is further concluded that BOR researchers should engage with 'practice theory' to deepen their understanding of what actually happens in projects.

In 1994, RTZ Corporation pic, the world's largest mining com
pany, tried to reconcile (a) the desire of central management to compare performance across mine sites with (b) the desire of local management to judge performance in their own terms. The company began a project to establish a method of measuring open-pit productive capacity, to spread best practice, and to motivate higher performance. Initially we saw the solution as a simple model of equipment availability using hard OR derived using a participative process based on soft OR. Trials in Australia, Southern Africa, and North America showed that we needed to combine various hard and soft OR methods and to move the emphasis to achieving breakthroughs in performance. The latest trial resulted in an increase in production of over 25 percent in the first year. The results indicate that soft and hard OR methods can be combined to good effect to produce tangible results.

A consultancy project to develop an information systems (IS) strategy for a copper mine located in South Africa is described. The mine is operated by the UK based mining company RTZ, the world's largest mining company. The approach taken was based on an earlier project at Sainsbury's, a major food and grocery retailing chain in the UK. At Sainsbury's a participative approach made use of a number of models and methods developed by the advocates of soft OR and systems thinking. The aim of the Palabora project was to test whether the same participative approach, suitably adapted, would work in a completely dierent context, and more generally whether this could form the basis of a standard method to be applied at a variety of mine sites. The paper describes the design of the intervention process and the choice of methods for the particular mining context of Palabora. Account had to be taken of the nature of the operation, the remote location and the limited time available. The intervention proved successful, resulting in both an IS strategy for the mine which has since been implemented and a participative approach for IS strategy development for use at other mine sites. However, the soft OR methods played a less signi®cant role than ®rst envisaged. Lessons are drawn for future applications of soft OR methods for strategy development in dierent circumstances.

The Viable System Model (VSM) provides a well-established framework to aid the design and diagnosis of organisations to survive and thrive in complex operating environments. However, the cognitive accessibility of the VSM presents a significant barrier to its application with non-expert stakeholders. In the face of such difficulties, VSM practitioners will often take steps to adapt the classic presentation of VSM to suit the needs of their particular operational context. We propose a set of constitutive rules, including an explicit epistemology, that can both account for the variety of VSM practice reported in the literature and also be used to guide practitioners in their application of the VSM and thus make rigorous use of VSM theory. The epistemology is expressed as a performative model, expressed as a Hierarchical Process Model (HPM), of the practitioner's use of the VSM in an engagement. We use this model to describe, reflect upon, and learn about VSM practice by the cross-case analysis of three recent VSM interventions. The combination of variability in problem structuring and specificity to the VSM afforded by the con-stitutive rules and the performative epistemology in combination has provided insight into the social ontology of VSM practice and the boundaries of what should be considered acceptable practice from a competence perspective. Our approach is intended to encourage wider and better application of VSM theory in preparing organisations to maintain performance in uncertain futures.

In 1999 a project was undertaken to develop an information systems strategy (ISS) for the UK Parliament. This was the first time that both Houses of Parliament, the Lords and the Commons, had collaborated in such a venture. The paper describes the attempt to apply soft OR in the project. Because of the inherent interest of the context of the intervention, the paper describes the project in some detail. In the event the formal soft OR methods were not used but a soft approach was taken. The experience complements earlier studies in the retail, mining and electricity supply industries. The paper is the last in a series of published case studies, which describe attempts to apply soft methods in practice. Together the cases articulate the 'strand of practice' of one practitioner.

Historically, project management has relied on modelling decision problems mathematically and computing the ‘best’ solution. But there do emerge several obstinate, even prohibitive, difficulties for these sorts of models. How to deal with the intractability of real-world uncertainties, of kinds that defy the probabilistic reductions of mathematical ‘decision models’? How to address (fully legitimate) forms of ethical reasoning that go beyond the simple scalar trade-offs that lie at the core of decision models? When consequences are difficult to characterize in any one robust way, how rational is it to insist on doing so anyway? What about the ambiguities and irreconcilabilities in the divergent values and interests around the management of projects in a complex and turbulent world, difficulties that make it misleading to produce any single, notionally definitive picture? And how to balance the often-invisible effects of power – operating as much within the management of large and complex projects as outside? (Andy Stirling & Coburn, 2017)

Value conflicts can become entrenched in a destructive pattern of mutual stigmatization, which inhibits the emergence of new understandings of the situation and actions for improvement. In extreme cases, such patterns can even lead to violence. This paper offers a new systems theory of value conflict, which suggests the possibility of three different strategies for intervention using problem structuring methods: supporting people in transcending overly narrow value judgements about what is important to them; seeking to widen people's boundaries of the issues that they consider relevant; and attempting to challenge stereotyping and stigmatization by building better mutual understanding. Each of these three strategies is illustrated with practical examples from operational research projects on natural resource management in New Zealand.

The essay explores how the “evenemential” trend in historical sociology – -embodied by Abbott, Sewell and Griffin most of all – addresses the relationship between explanation and narration, through the theoretical framework of the problem of structuration (Abrams). Given the monographic character of this paper, Griffin will be both a privileged source from the historiographic point of view and an object of systematic study in order to enhance his attempt to formalise the sequences of historical events through the original elaboration of an explanatory model: the Event Structure Analysis.

Se uma organização é composta por diversas partes que trabalham para um objetivo comum, segue-se que a existência de cooperação entre as diversas partes da organização é essencial para seu funcionamento. Apesar disto, evidências empíricas mostram que a cooperação é um problema para muitas organizações. Embora reconheça a importância da cooperação para as organizações, a literatura atual carece de métodos que indiquem como alcança-la. Neste contexto, este trabalho utiliza a Design Science Research como método de pesquisa para a proposição de uma abordagem sistêmica para a identificação de ações alavancadoras para o aumento da cooperação em organizações. Além disto, este trabalho avalia o método proposto por meio da aplicação do mesmo em uma indústria metal-mecânica. Finalmente, o artigo traz sugestões de trabalhos futuros que virão a ser úteis para a o avanço do conhecimento pragmático acerca de cooperação.

Increased demands on a more efficient information handling today can be met with cheap computers and electronic communication. However, information structure and information coding is often relatively underdeveloped, particularly for more complex projects. The proposed system for structuring and coding, with main codes consistently connected to three concepts, ACTIVITIES, RESOURCES and COMPONENTS, can give the logic, flexibility and power which is needed for a more efficient information handling in "learning" organizations, striving at reduced lead times, more efficient experience feedback, decentralization and competence development.

Decision-Makers face several challenges daily. One of the most relevant is discerning whether they are dealing with a Problem-Solving Situation, Decision Problem, Decision Opportunity, or Decision Implementation. In a Problem-Solving Situation, they need to identify the root cause of problems preventing a system or organization from reaching its objectives. The literature indicates that methods like Lean Six Sigma and Theory of Constraints, among others, are helpful in this case. However, successful applications are restricted to lower hierarchical levels, such as the operational and shop floors. From these observations, we suspected that could be a gap in the methods for problem-solving at the strategic level. Thus, we developed a systematic literature review to verify whether this is true or not. To accomplish this task, we analyzed the Balanced Scorecard, SWOT Analysis, Scenario Planning, Stakeholder Analysis, Cognitive / Causal Maps, and the main Problem Structuring Methods. As an outcome, we did not find any method to fill the gap at the strategic level. Hence, we concluded there is room for developing a new methodology to address this issue. In addition, we also observed that decision-makers might not comprehend that a complex decision-making process often comprises three stages (problem-solving, decision development, and decision implementation). This lack of comprehension may lead them to neglect one or more stages of the decision-making process or choose the wrong approach for a given situation, which can cause some drawbacks. Aiming to help them overcome these issues, we developed a frame of reference for decision-making. This visual device can also provide insights on connecting methodologies from different knowledge fields to solve complex real-world problems, opening space for academic innovation.

The paper reviews the evolution of Interactive Management, later referred to as Structured Democratic Dialogue, starting from the early 1970s up to this date. The authors propose a generational classification scheme consisting of five periods based primarily on whether some or all stages of the process were implemented synchronously or asynchronously and whether the participants' presence was physical, virtual or hybrid. Other aspects such as modifications in the steps of the process; the evolution of the software; domains of applications; file management; methods of collecting or recording contributions, votes, clarifications and preparation of reports; and key players are also considered and reported within the context of the primary scheme. The paper considers key advances achieved at each generational stage in terms of process or software, discusses associated challenges and concludes with a view towards the future of the emerging fifth generation.

Community environmental management (CEM) involves the facilitation of community partnerships , local dialogue, consultation and participative decision-making. This is increasingly seen as a solution to some of the more complex environmental issues faced by regulatory authorities. Anecdotal evidence suggests that CEM programmes have much potential, but the evaluation of them is problematic. This paper reports on the development of a new CEM evaluation approach (inspired by soft systems methodology, developmental work research and systemic intervention), which was trialled with a New Zealand regional council. The approach shows promise in addressing common evaluation bottlenecks and helping stakeholders to develop causal narratives that more fully account for the complex relationship between community participation and environmental outcomes. While the local participants in the CEM initiative acted on the evaluation findings, they hoped that it would stimulate wider organisational change, and this did not happen. Project reflections, informed by institutional theory, reveal that the logics of 'participation' and 'community' implicit in the findings were appropriate for local participants, but non-participating regional council stakeholders read the findings with different logics, and therefore the evaluation failed to communicate the necessity for wider change. The reflections highlight a previously unrecognised evaluation bottleneck. While the CEM evaluation methodology has the potential to be adapted for other contexts, there is a need for more robust evidence of the value of CEM. However, if wider organisational change is required, care must be taken to anticipate the different institutional logics of stakeholders who might be unfamiliar with, or even hostile to, CEM.

Wicked problems are open-ended, highly interdependent issues that cross agency, stakeholder, jurisdictional, political and geopolitical boundaries.  This confounds governments because policies and budgets tend to be aligned within these boundaries and not across them, making it difficult to bring the appropriate talent, knowledge and assets into an interagency approach to tackling whatever wicked problem is at hand. Many governments realize the need for a ‘whole-of-government’ approach to tackling large complex issues, and have employed various methods to achieve interagency and other private/public partnerships. One approach is to employ experts (sometimes called Czars) who are in charge of specific policies and can coordinate input from across government and private entities. Other organizational approaches have focused on forming high-level committees and task forces made up of representation from stakeholder organizations.  These approaches are intended to increase cross-governm...

A game-structuring method is applied in a contested, real-world setting of estuary management in South Africa. The key activities undertaken in applying the six step game-structuring method are described and artefacts developed in the process are provided. Participants were readily able to identify strategic outcomes and payoffs in the case. Conversely, identifying actions in a well-timed sequence proved difficult. Choices to focus the discussion of actions on real-world biophysical and infrastructural interventions proved necessary for successful method application. The implications for method design and the challenges of using the game-structuring method as a mediating intervention form the subject of reflection.

This article proposes the importance of admitting into the repertoire of Problem Structuring Methods for (Community) Operational Research, the methodology called Structured Dialogical Design (SDD). Problem Structuring Methods are described in the literature as facilitating transparent and participative ways of formulating and systemically modelling problems with a view to participants' co-defining alternative futures. We reflect upon the contribution of SDD as lying in its appreciation of "third phase science" and discuss links to other deliberative processes. We indicate why SDD can be classed as "problem structuring" despite the near absence of publicisation in the Operational Research (OR) literature to date. We discuss distinct contributions that the SDD offers to the OR world and indicate how it strengthens and extends Community OR, contributes to Critical Systems Thinking in OR, and offers new mathematical approaches that the Community OR practitioners may wish to consider using. By way of illustration, we showcase the "European Initiative" as an aspect of a large-scale project across five geographical regions funded by the United Nations Democracy Fund, in conjunction with the Future Worlds centre (2016-2018). It engaged as stakeholders five cohorts of youth pioneers concerned with formulating options for Re-inventing democracy in the digital age.

offer an interesting insight into the characteristics of problem structuring methods (PSMs) grounding this upon a literature review. However, their evaluation of Stafford Beer's Viable System Model (VSM) is open to a different interpretation to the one they offer, drawing upon significant literatures seemingly not considered. Whilst Smith and Shaw argue that the VSM is not a PSM, the characterisation of the VSM presented in this short communication suggests that in terms of the thirteen questions posed by these authors, that indeed, the VSM can be viewed as PSM.

This paper addresses the under-researched issue of stakeholder identification and engagement in problem structuring interventions. A concise framework is proposed to aid critical reflection in the design and reporting of stakeholder identification and engagement. This is grounded in a critical-systemic epistemology, and is informed by social identity theory. We illustrate the utility of the framework with an example of a problem structuring workshop, which was part of a green innovation project on the development of a technology for the recovery of rare metals from steel slag. The workshop was initially going to be designed to surface stakeholder views on the technology itself. However, it became apparent that a range of other strategic issues concerning the future of the site were going to impact on decision making about the use of steel slag. It therefore became important to evolve the agenda for the problem structuring, and this is where the critical-systemic approach made a difference. It enabled the workshop to be reframed as a community-based event looking at how the former steelworks site could be developed for new purposes. Evaluation of this problem structuring intervention revealed significant stakeholder learning about the issues needing to be accounted for, and a range of possible options for the development of the steelworks site were explored. The paper ends with a discussion of the utility of social identity theory for understanding the processes and outcomes of the workshop, and reflections are provided on its implications for operational research practice more generally.

This article proposes the importance of admitting into the repertoire of Problem Structuring Methods for (Community) Operational Research, the methodology called Structured Dialogical Design (SDD). Problem Structuring Methods are described in the literature as facilitating transparent and participative ways of formulating and systemically modelling problems with a view to participants' co-defining alternative futures. We reflect upon the contribution of SDD as lying in its appreciation of "third phase science" and discuss links to other deliberative processes. We indicate why SDD can be classed as "problem structuring" despite the near absence of publicisation in the Operational Research (OR) literature to date. We discuss distinct contributions that the SDD offers to the OR world and indicate how it strengthens and extends Community OR, contributes to Critical Systems Thinking in OR, and offers new mathematical approaches that the Community OR practitioners may wish to consider using. By way of illustration, we showcase the "European Initiative" as an aspect of a large-scale project across five geographical regions funded by the United Nations Democracy Fund, in conjunction with the Future Worlds centre (2016-2018). It engaged as stakeholders five cohorts of youth pioneers concerned with formulating options for Re-inventing democracy in the digital age.

Multimethodology interventions are being increasingly employed by operational researchers to cope with the complexity of real-world problems. In keeping with recent calls for more research into the ‘realised’ impacts of multimethodology, we present a detailed account of an intervention to support the planning of business ideas by a management team working in a community development context. Drawing on the rich steam of data gathered during the intervention, we identify a range of cognitive, task and relational impacts experienced by the management team during the intervention. These impacts are the basis for developing a process model that accounts for the personal, social and material changes reported by those involved in the intervention. The model explains how the intervention’s analytic and relational capabilities incentivise the interplay of participants’ decision making efforts and integrative behaviours underpinning reported intervention impacts and change. Our findings add m...

Problem structuring methods are uniquely suitable for analysing strategically complex problems. There exists a subset of these problem structuring methods which focus specifically on structuring the decision processes by which multiple actors debate and potentially resolve complex problems. These methods include, but are not limited to, analysis of options, conflict analysis, exchange modelling, hypergame analysis and the theory of moves. In this paper, we characterize these methods as ''game structuring methods'', by describing their common analytical elements and discussing their theoretical pre-commitments. We further develop a standardized approach for using such a game structuring methods within a participatory modelling setting.

Integrating sustainability into the banking activity is an increasingly necessary but extremely challenging issue currently facing financial institutions. It is therefore becoming ever more important to understand the key determinants of sustainable banking and how they inter-relate with each other. This research aims to build a cognitive map – a fuzzy cognitive map (FCM) in particular – to model, dynamically analyze and test the reciprocal influence of key factors underlying sustainable banking. FCMs have been shown to be particularly useful for handling complex decision problems characterized by lack of information or unavailable data. They constitute a methodological framework that allows for a reduction of omitted determinants – in this case, with regard to sustainable banking – and are typically able to provide a greater understanding of the cause-and-effect relationships between such determinants. We anticipate implications and practical applications for both bank managers and...

Community Operational Research (Community OR) has been an explicit sub-domain of OR for more than 30 years. In this paper, we tackle the controversial issue of how it can be differentiated from other forms of OR. While it has been persuasively argued that Community OR cannot be defined by its clients, practitioners or methods, we argue that the common concern of all Community OR practice is the meaningful engagement of communities , whatever form that may take-and the legitimacy of different forms of engagement may be open to debate. We then move on to discuss four other controversies that have implications for the future development of Community OR and its relationship with its parent discipline: the desire for Community OR to be more explicitly political; claims that it should be grounded in the theory, methodology and practice of systems thinking; the similarities and differences between the UK and US traditions; and the extent to which Community OR offers an enhanced understanding of practice that could be useful to OR more generally. Our positions on these controversies all follow from our identification of 'meaningful engagement' as a central feature of Community OR.

This document discusses how Problem Structuring Methods (PSMs) could be applied within the context of a Colombian Company called, Forsa S.A, so that opportunities to enhanceits current information system (IS)can be identified. By means of developing participative workshops with key users of the IS, the PSM employed allowed us to make a diagnosis of the company's current IS and propose actions to improve the system so that it can support the business operations, its departments and main competitive strategy. The PSM workshops worked as vehicles to debate the IS's main strengths and weaknesses, as well as any improvements that key users considered were important or required here. In this regards, the document focuses on discussing the literature on problem structuring methods (PSMs), particularlySSM (Soft Systems Methodology), and how it can facilitate structuring complex organizational problems in general. Then, the particular benefits that SSM can offer to model complex IS technologies are discussed. Finally, we explore how SSM could facilitate the interaction with organizational teams so they can structure and solve complex organizational problems in a participative and consensual fashion, and what benefits does this mean for the organization. Results show that SSM seems to facilitate the integration of different people's views. The SSM methodology was implemented via workshops with the key users, who were mainly representatives from the following organizational areas: purchasing, billing, accounting, treasury, costs and logistics. They identified the weaknesses of the current information system and proposed changes and action plans to overcome them in the future. The main objective of the changes proposed was to make the IS a tool that is able to provide useful information to better support the business operations and thus have reliable information for decision-making.

Citizen Science attracts a lot of positive attention and a convenient alignment with it might offer multiple benefits for Community Operational Research. But what would be the basis for such an alignment? Could it offer important reciprocal benefits for Citizen Science? We address our first question by conducting a systematic comparison of Community Operational Research and Citizen Science to reveal points of commonality and difference between the two. Having established the basis for alignment, we then address our second question by exploring how alignment might be realised at micro, meso and macro levels. Through this exploration, we highlight opportunities for Community Operational Research to avail itself of Citizen Science's proximity to policy makers, and we make available to Citizen Science some approaches from Community Operational Research for structuring issues and dealing with contestable knowledge claims.

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