From Theory to Practice: Bridging Gaps and Finding Opportunities for the Application of OR/MS Research

It has often been said that academia in general, and research in OR/MS in particular, has become too remote and inaccessible to practitioners. At the same time, while researchers define 'impact' with a citation metric, often that research has less and less practical impact. I describe fundamental differences between academic and practitioner approaches to problem solving, with examples to my experience in applied research. I describe ways that researchers can better and more frequently bridge this gap.  Opportunities for "practice based theoretical research" are discussed.  Recommendations include how to make OR/MS researchers more productive and relevant.