The LANCS (Lancaster, Nottingham, Cardiff and Southampton) Initiative in Foundational Operational Research: Building Theory for Practice

英国是运筹学（OR）的发源地，它保持着一种面向应用的研究传统，这种传统既忠实于它的根源，也非常独特，如果不是独一无二的话。许多行业和公共服务都是这一努力的受益者，尤其是医疗保健、金融、运输和国防。然而，EPSRC/ESRC 2004年英国OR研究状况国际评论警告说，如果没有足够数量的研究人员开发支撑理论，OR在应用工作中的领先地位可能会受到威胁。（兰开斯特、诺丁汉、卡迪夫、南安普顿）倡议，四所大学，这四所大学一直走在英国OR研究的前列，致力于在其理论基础上的研究能力的重大扩展，由当前科学和创新呼吁的额外资源提供支持。有关大学已经共同努力创建了NATCOR，这是EPSRC支持的一项旨在加强OR数学博士课程的倡议。他们还通过最近的决定（在这次呼吁之前）对该项目进行大量投资来证明他们对该项目的承诺。总的来说，LANCS计划将在五年的奖励期内监督大约1200万美元的额外新投资，其中一半以上来自机构本身。所有机构也承诺在EPSRC资助的五年期之后维持这一额外的能力。这将对这个主题产生重大影响。该倡议旨在通过建立这一主要的跨机构和多学科合作，在其理论基础上建立和保持一种新的实质性国家能力。这样的一个计划是至关重要的，以支持健康的应用为导向的研究，这是强调了这样一个优势，由2004年的国际审查。事实上，这一提议的主要动机是在这一至关重要的领域建立英国研究基地的健康。这一有远见的倡议旨在建立理论上的进展，这是由该领域的通知，并馈入，真正的应用。

The United Kingdom is the home of Operational Research (OR) and itmaintains an application-oriented research tradition which is both trueto its roots and which is also highly distinctive, if not unique. Manyindustries and public services are the beneficiaries of this effort, notleast healthcare, finance, transport and defence. However, the EPSRC/ESRC 2004 International Review of the Research Status of OR in the UK warned thatthis leading position in applied work in OR could be jeopardised in theabsence of a critical mass of researchers developing underpinning theory.In the LANCS (Lancaster, Nottingham, Cardiff, Southampton) initiative,four universities, which have been at the forefront of UK research inOR, have committed to a major expansion of research capacity in itstheoretical foundations, supported by the additional resources availableas a result of the current Science and Innovation call. The universitiesconcerned have already worked together in the creation of NATCOR, anEPSRC-supported initiative aimed at strengthening doctoral programmes inthe mathematics of OR. They have also evidenced their commitment to thesubject by recent decisions (in advance of this call) to investsubstantially in it.In total, the LANCS initiative will oversee additional new investment ofapproximately 12M through the five year period of the award, of whichmore than half comes from the institutions themselves. All theinstitutions have also committed to sustaining this additional capacitybeyond the five year EPSRC funded period. This will have a major impacton the subject. The initiative aims to build and maintain a substantialnew national capacity in its theoretical base by establishing this majorcross-institutional and multi-disciplinary collaboration. Such aprogramme is crucial to support the health of the application orientedresearch which was highlighted as such a strength by the 2004international review. Indeed, the main motivation of this proposal is tounderpin the health of the UK research base in this critically importantarea. This far sighted initiative aims to establish theoreticaladvances in the field which are informed by, and which feed into, realapplications.