In France, its beginnings are conventionally dated to the 1950s.
Thanks to the work of several pioneers and its cross-disciplinary nature—spanning computer science, mathematics and industrial engineering—OR took root both in universities and in companies and public bodies, becoming a decision-support tool. OR researchers work in universities and research centres, alongside “OR practitioners” in the field.
France’s roughly 1,500-strong OR community is chiefly organized around two organizations: ROADEF, the French Operational Research and Decision Support Society (a nonprofit association under the 1901 Act), and GDR RO, the CNRS operational research group (see In Brief: ROADEF and GDR R.O. CNRS).
