The INFORMS Case Competition is designed to encourage the creation, dissemination, and use of new, unpublished cases (refer to point 2 of eligibility section below) in operations research and the management sciences. All submissions and supporting documentation are due by July 31, 2024. All cases will be reviewed by a panel of judges familiar with the case method.
Up to four finalists will be selected and notified by the Chair of the Case Competition in late summer. Finalists will give thirty-minute presentations of their entries at a special open session of the 2024 INFORMS Annual Meeting in Seattle, Washington. The panel of judges will select the winning entry from these finalists based on these presentations. Finalists must present their cases at the 2024 INFORMS Annual Meeting to be eligible to win.
Eligibility
The following conditions must be met for eligibility.
1. At least one co-author of a submission entry must be a current member with INFORMS.
2. Case submitted to the competition must either be unpublished, or have first been published less than 12 months before the submission deadline. If the case contains material drafted originally by individuals or groups other than the author(s) submitting the case, then the intellectual history and ownership of these portions must be disclosed clearly to the Case Competition Award Committee upon submission of the case. Contestants are responsible for assuring that this guideline is strictly met.
No finalist may submit the same case in future Case competitions.
Case Submission Requirements:
1. No more than ten pages (8.5"x11") single-spaced (maximum of 3000 words); shorter cases are acceptable.
2. A stand-alone abstract (600 characters) required.
3. Exhibits are in addition to page limit.
4. The teaching note of length as necessary to meet content expected.
5. A 12-point proportional font (such as Times New Roman) with one-inch margins.
A complete submission package will consist of electronic copies of the following:
- One (1) electronic copy of a short (600 characters) abstract
- The case itself
- The teaching note
- supplemental files (e.g. data sets)
- contact information (mailing address, email address, and telephone number ) for each author
Data that must be used for judging purposes cannot be confidential in nature. Identifying information should be removed or transformed prior to submission of the case.
The abstract should appear separately and identify the industry, business issues, technical issues, pedagogical objectives, and suggested uses of the case. The case, any exhibits, and the teaching note should follow in that order.
Prizes include:
- $500 and a framed certificate for the first place winner
- $300 and an certificate for the runner-up
For more information, please contact the Chair at the email below.
Click here to submit your application
Submission Deadline: July 31, 2024
The contribution will be judged according to:
The relevance of application of one (or more) of INFORMS constituent disciplines
- real problem situation that is embedded in the issues facing the organization
- potential for use of OR/MS to analyze the situation
- reasonable alternate approaches to solving the problem posed by the case exist (i.e., there is more than one "good" approach to the analysis of the case)
- well-defined pedagogical outcomes
- the substance of application nontrivial problem situation and/or solution(s)
- formulation, analysis, and solution at a level appropriate for intended student audience
- significant insight results from participation in analysis of the case
- the quality and organization of the exposition
- lucid and interesting narrative style
- writing style ready for publication
- quality of exhibits
- value and content of teaching notes
- synopsis of case
- clear case objectives and suggested uses
- questions and suggested answers
- linkage to underlying concepts and theory
- suggested teaching pattern or flow
Quality of session presentation (for finalists)
- discussion of case scenario
- indication of potential solutions
- explanation of the pedagogical benefits and teaching notes
- teaching notes must include any data needed to complete the case. If data is confidential, then identifying information should be removed and possibly other variables such as profit, amounts produced, shipped, etc. must be "transformed."
2024 Committee Chair
Matthew Drake
Duquesne University
Have questions? Please email [email protected]