Pro Bono O.R. provides volunteer analysts to third sector organisations in the UK to help leaders make more effective decisions and build more productive systems

1. Pro Bono O.R.
(Operational Research)
for the Third Sector
Webpage: www.theorsociety.com/Pages/Probono/Probono.aspx
Blog: http://probonoOR.blogspot.co.uk/
For more information
Email felicity.mcleister@theorsociety.com
Phone: 0121 233 9300

2. What is O.R?
“Using scientific approaches
to improve an organisation’s effectiveness”
Operational Research gives those who run organisations the power to make more
effective decisions and build more productive systems based on:
• More complete data
• Consideration of all available options
• Careful predictions of outcomes and estimates of risk
• The latest decision tools and techniques

3. • Webpage: www.theorsociety.com
•
•
The OR Society
Markets the profession
• Websites
– Science of better
– Learn about OR
Works for members
• Inside O.R. Magazine
• Accreditation
Advances knowledge:
• Conferences
• Publications
• Regional Societies &
SIG’s
• Training courses
The advancement of knowledge and interest in Operational Research
The advancement of education in Operational Research
A strong profession benefits from a strong professional body

4. How can O.R. help?
Organisations may seek a very wide range of operational improvements:
• Strategy
• Systems
• Processes
• Operations
• Decisions making
What ever the aim, O.R. can offer the flexibility and adaptability
to provide objective help

5. “Typical O.R.” – Facilities design
• How many beds does our homeless hostel need, if we never want to
turn anyone away?
• Where should we locate our charity shops, to get the best profits?
• How should we lay out the storage for the Food Bank, to make best
use of space?
• What mix of services will best meet users’ needs, at least cost

6. “Typical O.R.” – Operations
• How many more/fewer people might want to use this service in
future – and how will it need to change?
• What shift pattern is best for a 24-hour helpline?
• What is the best route for Oxfam pick-up/delivery drivers?
• Where are the best places to hold inventory for disaster relief?
• How can we make this process more efficient?

7. “Typical O.R.” – decisions…
• Is it better to offer a more specialised service where there are fewer
users with greater needs, or the other way round
• What are the risks of tendering for a particular contract at a given
price, and what are the possible outcomes if these risks materialise

8. …especially where decisions are
• Complex – everything interconnects
• Messy – things are hard to define, aims are unclear, circumstances
change…
• Multiple stakeholders – with different agendas
• Multiple objectives – which conflict with each other
• Uncertainty – about the environment, about other people’s decisions,
about stakeholders’ values

9. …and general problem solving
• Statistical analysis, analytics:
• Insight
• Forecasting
• Evaluation
• Strategy development
• Facilitation
• IT system development
• Performance measures, management information

10. O.R in the Third Sector
What is Pro Bono O.R.? A scheme operated by The OR Society that places skills-based
analysts in short term projects with UK based third sector organisatins.
For more information
Email felicity.mcleister@theorsociety.com
Phone: 0121 233 9300
How it works: organisations
• Expression of interest
• Registration form
• Scoping conversation
• Project scope sent to
volunteers
• Organisation selects volunteer
• Project proposal drawn up
• Project commences
• Feedback sought

11. How it works: volunteers
• The role of a volunteer:
• Who are the volunteers
• Work with organisation to specify project;
• Undertake project, either individually or in teams;
• Write up and/or present their work wherever
appropriate;
• Mentor junior volunteers.
• O.R./analytical professionals
• Retired
• Consultants
• Government employees
• Employed professionals

12. What’s happened so far?
Projects
Volunteers
• 62 projects advertised
• 44 projects completed
• 18 active projects
• Over 400 volunteers
• 161 volunteers applied for projects
• 81 volunteers on projects

13. Some example case studies
Elfrida Rathbone Camden
• Designing an outcomes framework to measure impact
Harrogate and Rippon Centre for Voluntary Services
• Maximising a new service’s potential
Crimestoppers Trust
• Improving performance whilst minimising cost

14. Elfrida Rathbone Camden
• A charity that supports young disabled people and families in need.
• They sought to develop an outcome framework at an organisational level which could be applied
across all of their projects in order to evaluate the effectiveness of their work
• Approach:
• Conducted research
• Determined challenges and necessities of having a universal framework
• Used questionnaire to collect views of main stakeholders
• Apply to findings to run a workshop. Aim of workshop for all stakeholders to agree on the key
outcomes that should be measured
• Used finding of workshop to finalise measures
• Fine-tuned the framework through discussion with staff about the feasibility of the
measurements.
• Outcomes
• The client now has a high-level framework at organisational level that can be applied to all
their projects in order to demonstrate the organisation’s impact on the community and provide
evidence for funders.

15. Harrogate and Rippon Centre for Voluntary Services
• Having recently taken over a rural visiting service for the elderly in North Yorkshire, the client wanted to
ensure the service could realise as much benefit as possible.
• Approach:
• Collected information and evidence - with stakeholders, accompanying project team on visits to
clients, reviewing survey feedback and finance information
• Used information to produce an initial system diagram
• Facilitated workshop with key stakeholder to present, discuss, amend and built on the system
diagram
• Thematic analysis of interview notes then allowed clarification and quantification of major themes
and topics
• Established the aims of the service and how it meets those aims, in particular; sources and types
of client and how the service is delivered
• Developed a strategy map and balanced scorecard that could be used to develop and monitor the
service in the future
• Outcomes
• Produced a report that contains a system diagram of how the service works and an recommended
changes to the system
• Identified and produced evidence for a strategy map to reducing loneliness
• Produced a solid foundation from which to re-model the service and apply for associated funding
I’m really pleased with the report and it will be very useful
indeed for forward planning and to support our Big Lottery
bid - CEO

16. Crimestoppers Trust
• charity which helps solve crime through members of the public providing information anonymously.
• The call centre was about to take on additional areas of work and anticipated a 60% increase in
business which they needed to handle without increasing staffing costs while continuing to meet their
customer service target (90% of calls to be answered within 20 seconds).
• Approach:
• Two volunteers specified data requirements and analysed data on demand for Crimestoppers
services both via phone calls and online forms. They summarised arrival patterns by time of day,
day of week, and time of year.
• They built a simulation model of the call centre, using PRISM software, based on three separate
staff groups: call handlers, online staff and shift leaders. The model allowed phone calls to be
diverted from call handlers to other staff at busy times.
• They validated the model using actual data on arrivals and staffing for a specific week and then
used it to explore the impact on KPIs of different proposed staffing patterns.
• They produced a report recommending new shift patterns which improved performance without
any increase in staffing costs.
• Outcomes
• Better performance without increasing cost, through new shift patterns
• Ability to continue to improve, and to adapt to changing circumstances, into the future
We’ve benefited hugely from your work and support in all areas of the
project. And from an organisational perspective you’ve enabled us to
take a highly professional approach to increasing the efficiency of our
charity - Performance Manager

17. Who we have worked with

18. For more information about the scheme, to see who we’ve
worked with, read example case studies and to request support
please visit:
www.theorsociety.com/Pages/Probono/Probono.aspx
I also write a regular blog: http://probonoOR.blogspot.co.uk/
and you can connect with me via:
@FMcLeister
Felicity McLeister
Further information
For more information
Email felicity.mcleister@theorsociety.com
Phone: 0121 233 9300