Operational Research Practice in Africa (ORPA) has emerged as an initiative aimed at promoting the use of operational research approaches in Africa both in academic as well as application point of view. The conference is intended to bring academics to discuss, and present some of the most recent developments in our field.
- The process began in 2005 with the first ORPA conference which was successfully launched in Ouagadougou, Burkina Faso with the supports of EURO and IFORS.
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ORPA/CAPPS 2006 (Improving Governance & Enhacing Policymaking in Africa) was held in London. It aims to promote the application of OR in diverse areas of public policymaking and organisational decision-making with a view to enhancing good governance, sustainable development and socio-economic development in Africa.
- ORPA'2007, was jointly organized with the Operations Research Society of South Africa (ORSSA) and held September 10 – 14, 2007 in Cape Town, RSA. Jeff Camm (of the University of Cincinnati College of Business Administration). James Cochran represents INFORMS at this conference and document this experience in a forthcoming ORMS Today article. This conference also featured the first ORPA/INFORMS/EURO/IFORS Teaching Effectiveness Colloquium that was cosponsored by INFORMS. Partial support for this conference was provided by INFORMS and EURO.
- The ORPA'2008 Edition was held jointly with the INFORMS 2008 annual meeting in Washington DC. The conference is focused on the use of Operations Research (OR) in: Urban Transportation Management Issues in Africa and Water Resource Management Issues in Africa.
- ORPA'2010 was held in the Cheikh Anta Diop University for March 18 -20, 2010 with a special focus in : OR in Transport and Logistic, OR in Water Resources Management, OR in Energy and Environment Management.
- In 2013, a workshop dealing with Transportation Network Design and Activity Location had been organized in Dakar.
More informations on the ORPA history can be found in the following link : http://www.orpagroup.net/
