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Selected Works

Michael P. Johnson

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Articles 1 - 30 of 39

Full-Text Articles in Operations Research, Systems Engineering and Industrial Engineering

Smart Shrinkage: Better Planning And Decision-Making For Legacy Cities, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Oct 2019

Smart Shrinkage: Better Planning And Decision-Making For Legacy Cities, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Neighborhoods, cities and regions facing long-term declines in population and economic activity may consider alternative responses, such as revitalization, regeneration, shrinkage and abandonment. In this presentation I show that planning decisions intended to improve quality of life, informed by qualitative and quantitative data and analytic methods, implemented through accessible and affordable technologies, and based on notions of social impact and social justice, can enable residents to play a leading role in the positive transformation of shrinking cities and
distressed communities.

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Informs Seattle Dei Final 191020.Pdf, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Oct 2019

Informs Seattle Dei Final 191020.Pdf, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Scholarly research on diversity, equity and inclusion (DEI) in the decision sciences is largely concentrated in areas of management and organization design. However, DEI is relevant to other domains of inquiry, and can be understood in terms other than economic efficiency and organization effectiveness. I discuss what a research agenda in decision sciences would look like if DEI, and a focus on social costs and benefits and social justice were central to this work. Examples to be discussed include: the new economy, climate resilience and disaster response, and human services.

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Decision Science For Community Development And Social Change, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Feb 2019

Decision Science For Community Development And Social Change, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Operations research, also known as management science or decision science, is a mathematics-based discipline that draws from engineering, information systems, management, public policy and planning. OR enables individuals and organizations to make better decisions regarding manufacturing and logistics, service provision and strategy design. My particular interest in OR focuses on the needs of mission-driven and resource-constrained organizations that serve urban communities. In my talk I will describe how OR can use qualitative and quantitative analysis through meaningful engagement of communities to enable creative identification, formulation and solution of complex problems for local impact and social justice. Specific applications I'm currently …

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Michael Johnson Biography, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Jan 2019

Michael Johnson Biography, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

No abstract provided.

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Community-Focused Problem-Solving With Operations Research And Analytics, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Jan 2019

Community-Focused Problem-Solving With Operations Research And Analytics, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

In these days of ‘analytics’, ‘big data’ and ‘smart cities’, many of us are aware of the importance of data and quantitative analytic methods for program design, implementation and evaluation. Less commonly-understood are specific tools and methods for community-based interventions in which the problem to be solved is unclear, and the ways in which data of many different kinds can be used to develop interventions that represent best-possible uses of organization and community resources. Moreover, it is also less commonly-understood how to put communities, and community members, near the center of problem-solving and decision-making.

Examples of challenging problems include: How …

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Diversity And Or/Ms/Analytics: Deepening The Impact Of Our Research, Broadening Access To The Profession, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Dec 2018

Diversity And Or/Ms/Analytics: Deepening The Impact Of Our Research, Broadening Access To The Profession, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

In a society that is growing ever more diverse, and where perspectives, needs and priorities of traditionally-underrepresented groups are increasingly important to incorporate into our work and discourse, it is incumbent on the OR/MS/Analytics field to consider what diversity, equity and inclusion mean to us, our progress towards becoming a more diverse profession, and how our research, teaching and practice would look like if diversity, equity and inclusion were at the center of our work. The occasion of the publication of an Editor’s Cut volume on diversity, equity and inclusion is an opportunity to reflect on the range of work …

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Socio-Economic Planning Sciences Special Issue: Indices For The Betterment Of The Public, Vincent Charles, Ali Emrouznejad, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Oct 2018

Socio-Economic Planning Sciences Special Issue: Indices For The Betterment Of The Public, Vincent Charles, Ali Emrouznejad, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Over the years, the quest for a better society has led to the birth of a variety of composite indices of development, from the gross domestic product to the happiness index. These indices usually integrate various social, cultural, psychological, and political aspects and are considered of vital importance for evaluating a country's level of development and for assessing the impact of policy specially in public sector. Overall, they consist of numerical measures that describe the well-being of both the individual and the society as a whole. 

The Special Issue of Socio-Economic Planning Sciences encourages original research articles of high quality …

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Strengthening The Profession Through Diversity And Inclusion-Related Research Within Or, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Oct 2018

Strengthening The Profession Through Diversity And Inclusion-Related Research Within Or, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Diversity, equity and inclusion are well-studied and widely-practiced areas in organization design, human resources and many areas of social sciences. However, the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) disciplines are somewhat newer to the notion of diversity, equity and inclusion as a way to improve professions and contribute to substantive research within component disciplines. This is especially true for operations research and the decision sciences. In this talk, given to an interdisciplinary audience of engineering professors, administrators and students, I provide an introduction to operations research, to diversity, equity and inclusion within STEM and OR specifically, ways that DEI might …

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Community Operational Research: A Survey Of The Discipline, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Gerald Midgley, Jason D. Wright, George Chichirau Sep 2018

Community Operational Research: A Survey Of The Discipline, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Gerald Midgley, Jason D. Wright, George Chichirau

Michael P. Johnson

Community operational research (COR) is an extension of multiple OR/MS traditions to support participatory research, localized impact and social change. It applies critical thinking, evidence-based policy analysis, community participation and decision modeling to local interventions. It emphasizes the needs, voices and values of disadvantaged and marginalized populations. It rests on a foundation of meaningful engagement with communities. This presentation summarizes a multi-year effort to assemble cutting-edge research in COR in a special issue of European Journal of Operational Research available August 2018. We review principles for community OR, describe the breadth and diversity of the field through the experience of …

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Emerging Trends And New Frontiers In Community Operational Research, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Gerald Midgley, George Chichirau Jul 2018

Emerging Trends And New Frontiers In Community Operational Research, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Gerald Midgley, George Chichirau

Michael P. Johnson

Community operational research (Community OR), and its disciplinary relation, community-based operations research, has an increasingly high profile within multiple domains that benefit from empirical and analytic approaches to problem solving. These domains are primarily concentrated within nonprofit services and local development. However, there are many other disciplinary and application areas for which novel applications and extensions of COR could generate valuable insights. This paper identifies a number of these, distinguishing between ‘emerging trends’ (mostly in well-studied areas of operations research, management science and analytics) and ‘new frontiers’, which can be found in traditions not commonly oriented towards empirical and analytic …

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Community-Based Participatory Research Through The Lens Of Decision Science, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Jun 2018

Community-Based Participatory Research Through The Lens Of Decision Science, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

This is a brief introduction to community-focused and community-engaged research through the perspective of the decision sciences. It is intended as a complement to similar approaches more generally situated in the social sciences.

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Editorial: Special Issue: Community Operational Research: Innovations, Internationalization And Agenda-Setting Applications, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Gerald Midgley Mar 2018

Editorial: Special Issue: Community Operational Research: Innovations, Internationalization And Agenda-Setting Applications, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Gerald Midgley

Michael P. Johnson

This is an editorial to a special issue of European Journal of Operational Research, titled "Special Issue: Community Operational Research: Innovations, Internationalization and Agenda-Setting Applications". This special issue is edited by Michael Johnson and Gerald Midgley. Editorial assistants are Jason Wright and George Chichirau. The anticipated publication date for the special issue is July 2018. The special issue is comprised of 31 papers, representing diverse application areas, methodologies, analytic methods and author countries of origin.

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Community-Engaged Operations Research: Localized Interventions, Appropriate Methods, Social Impact, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Jan 2018

Community-Engaged Operations Research: Localized Interventions, Appropriate Methods, Social Impact, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Community-engaged operations research is an extension of multiple OR/MS traditions to support participatory research, localized impact and social change. It applies critical thinking, evidence-based policy analysis, community participation and decision modeling to local interventions. It emphasizes the needs, voices and values of disadvantaged and marginalized populations. It rests on a foundation of meaningful engagement with communities. Through a survey of current scholarship in two complementary areas of inquiry, ‘community operational research’ (referring to work by primarily European researchers) and ‘community-based operations research’ (referring to work by primarily American researchers), I develop principles for community-engaged OR, present critical questions that represent …

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What Is Community Operational Research?, Gerald Midgley, Michael P. Johnson Jr., George Chichirau Dec 2017

What Is Community Operational Research?, Gerald Midgley, Michael P. Johnson Jr., George Chichirau

Michael P. Johnson

Community Operational Research (Community OR) has been an explicit sub-domain of OR for more than 30 years. In this paper, we tackle the controversial issue of how it can be differentiated from other forms of OR. While it has been persuasively argued that Community OR cannot be defined by its clients, practitioners or methods, we argue that the common concern of all Community OR practice is the meaningful engagement of communities, whatever form that may take – and the legitimacy of different forms of engagement may be open to debate. We then move on to discuss four other controversies that …

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Community-Engaged Operations Research: Trends, New Frontiers And Current Applications, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Nov 2017

Community-Engaged Operations Research: Trends, New Frontiers And Current Applications, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Community-engaged operations research is an extension of multiple OR/MS traditions to support participatory scholarship, localized impact and social change. It applies critical thinking, evidence-based policy analysis, community participation and decision modeling to local interventions. It emphasizes the needs, voices and values of disadvantaged and marginalized populations. Through a survey of current scholarship in two complementary areas of inquiry, ‘community operational research’ (referring to work by primarily UK-based researchers) and ‘community-based operations research’ (referring to work by primarily US-based researchers), we develop principles for community-engaged OR, present critical questions that represent opportunities to expand the impact of this work, and discuss …

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Strengthening The Profession Through Diversity, Inclusion And Equity: Best Practices And Distinguished Practitioners, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Oct 2017

Strengthening The Profession Through Diversity, Inclusion And Equity: Best Practices And Distinguished Practitioners, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

This session will introduce INFORMS conference participants to the mission and goals of the diversity, inclusion and equity committee. Panelists will describe the state of diversity and inclusion at INFORMS and other professional societies; at organizations whose employees and members participate in INFORMS and other professional societies; and the community of practice associated with operations research, management science and analytics, other STEM fields and related disciplines. Speakers and audience members will explore values, strategies and tactics that may enable INFORMS members of diverse backgrounds and experiences to achieve professional success, and that may enable organizations to produce greater social impact …

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Improving Decision-Making Skills Of Nonprofit Professionals, Michael P. Johnson Jr., George Chichirau, Jason Wright Oct 2017

Improving Decision-Making Skills Of Nonprofit Professionals, Michael P. Johnson Jr., George Chichirau, Jason Wright

Michael P. Johnson

Nonprofits face gaps in organizational capacity, including program design and evaluation, but previous research suggests that capacity-building exercises have a positive effect. We describe a data analytics training workshop with staff from Boston-area nonprofits reflecting a wide range of sectors. Through analysis of participant work on case studies provided by the instructor, we examine how participants made sense of training materials, the various strategies employed by participants to solve three case study problems, and participant feedback about the session. Our findings provide a basis for novel interventions in community based operations research. 

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All Models Are Wrong; Some Models Are Harmful, David Hunt, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Oct 2017

All Models Are Wrong; Some Models Are Harmful, David Hunt, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

We like to think that CBOR involves the application of analytical methods to "do good" locally, and, most will agree these efforts are "doing good". However, what is meant by "doing good" and how do we know when our models are not "doing good" and may in fact be doing harm? Some philosophers consider happiness as the only good, and utilitarianism is based on maximizing happiness. But maximizing happiness can create winners and losers, and are we really "doing good" as long as the pluses outweigh the minuses? This presentation will explore these topics using examples drawn from CBOR.

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Decision Modeling For Housing And Community Development: A Methodology For Evidence-Based Urban And Regional Planning, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Aug 2017

Decision Modeling For Housing And Community Development: A Methodology For Evidence-Based Urban And Regional Planning, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Urban community development corporations and other local institutions routinely face challenging problems in housing and economic development that require substantial expertise in data analytics and decision modeling. Recent research, inspired by local responses to the housing foreclosure crisis, and developed in cooperation with Boston-area CDCs, has resulted in a collection of applications that can assist CDCs and similar organizations to design local interventions for acquisition and redevelopment of housing. This paper describes these applications. The first of these is values and objective design, i.e. the process of identifying decision opportunities. The second of these is data analytics, or …

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Community-Engaged Operations Research: Trends, New Frontiers And Opportunities, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Feb 2017

Community-Engaged Operations Research: Trends, New Frontiers And Opportunities, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Scholars in multiple disciplines intersecting operations research have developed theory and applications to address the question, how can the decision sciences develop new ways to solve problems of special interest to organizations and individuals situated in geographically, economically and socially circumscribed communities? The motivation for this work is the belief that mission-driven and resource-constrained nonprofit organizations, and underrepresented, underserved, or vulnerable populations may have special needs for analytic and empirical problem-solving methods that have traditionally received less emphasis in traditional operations research and management science research and teaching. Scholarship in this area, alternatively labeled ‘community operational research’ (mostly in the …

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Community Data Analytics: Localized Data Analysis And Decision Modeling In The Era Of ‘Big Data’ And ‘Smart Cities’, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Jan 2017

Community Data Analytics: Localized Data Analysis And Decision Modeling In The Era Of ‘Big Data’ And ‘Smart Cities’, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Community-based organizations use data for program design, services provision and strategic planning. However, CBOs often have limited ability to identify, access and apply these data. Thus, CBOs may make decisions on the basis of inadequate data, or limited understanding of the local environment, or limited ability to generate mission-aligned solutions.Community data analytics (CDA) uses local know-how and clearly-articulated values in order to transform data into action. CDA is rooted in principles of operations research and management science for public benefi#12;t. These principles include: active participation by local stakeholders to identify problems of interest; a critical perspective on issues of problem …

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Pro Bono Analytics: A Program By Informs To Match Members Willing To Volunteer Their Analytical Skills With Nonprofit Organizations Working In Underserved Areas Or With Underserved Populations [Poster], Rina Schneur, Victoria Chen, Jim Cochran, Terry Cryan, Arnold Greenland, David Hunt, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Paul Rubin Nov 2016

Pro Bono Analytics: A Program By Informs To Match Members Willing To Volunteer Their Analytical Skills With Nonprofit Organizations Working In Underserved Areas Or With Underserved Populations [Poster], Rina Schneur, Victoria Chen, Jim Cochran, Terry Cryan, Arnold Greenland, David Hunt, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Paul Rubin

Michael P. Johnson

•INFORMS members (and non-members) volunteer to work with charitable organizations
•Charitable organizations (non-profits) request analytics help
•Pro Bono Analytics committee assists non-profits with formulation & scoping 
•Volunteers provide service free (except expenses)
•Win-Win:
- Clients get helpful analytics
- Volunteers get experience and do something charitable

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Pro Bono Analytics – Addressing Business Problems Faced By Nonprofit Organizations, David Hunt, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Nov 2016

Pro Bono Analytics – Addressing Business Problems Faced By Nonprofit Organizations, David Hunt, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Pro Bono Analytics is an INFORMS program that matches volunteers with nonprofit organizations working in underserved areas and for underserved populations. The nonprofits tend to be small and without the resources to utilize traditional operations research and advanced analytical methods. This talk will focus on how to communicate the value of OR/analytics to nonprofits, and perhaps more importantly, what we have learned about applying OR/analytical methods to problems that truly matter to our nonprofit clients.

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Measuring Success: Community Analytics For Local Economic Development, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Sandeep Jani Nov 2016

Measuring Success: Community Analytics For Local Economic Development, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Sandeep Jani

Michael P. Johnson

Main Street organizations develop local development initiatives that support economic and social goals. We describe an application of value-focused thinking and community-based operations research to identify economic development performance metrics and decision alternatives for local development interventions. Using interviews with stakeholders in three Boston communities, we show how values structures vary across communities and stakeholder groups and how attributes can be quantified using a variety of data sources. We conclude by presenting a composite values structure to support improved operations management and strategy design for all Boston Main Street districts.

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An Agenda For Diversity And Inclusion-Related Research Within Or/Ms/Analytics, Michael P. Johnson Jr., George Chichirau Nov 2016

An Agenda For Diversity And Inclusion-Related Research Within Or/Ms/Analytics, Michael P. Johnson Jr., George Chichirau

Michael P. Johnson

Diversity and inclusion have been widely studied and debated, most often within the social sciences. What contributions can operations research, management science and analytics make to this domain of inquiry? This talk will critically examine assumptions and practices within the decision sciences that may support as well impede diversity- and inclusion-related research, and propose a research agenda that can challenge yet enrich our profession.

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Estimating Strategic Impacts Of Foreclosed Housing Redevelopment Using Spatial Analysis, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Nov 2016

Estimating Strategic Impacts Of Foreclosed Housing Redevelopment Using Spatial Analysis, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

Community-based organizations engaged in foreclosure response wish to quantify the relative value of housing units for redevelopment. We measure the 'strategic value' of property acquisition candidates based on proximity to site-specific neighborhood amenities and disamenities, given the relative importance of that proximity to CDC organizational and community objectives. We show that strategic values can differ in systematic ways depending on the types of amenities and disamenities identified as relevant for acquisition decisions, the relative importance assigned to those amenities and disamenities, and the utility maximization objectives of the organization.

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Measuring Success: Community Analytics For Local Economic Development, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Sandeep Jani Sep 2016

Measuring Success: Community Analytics For Local Economic Development, Michael P. Johnson Jr., Sandeep Jani

Michael P. Johnson

Main Street organizations are community-based nonprofits across the USA dedicated to local economic development through physical improvements, technical assistance to businesses, marketing and placebuilding. In this paper we identify metrics associated with success in local economic development and generate decision opportunities for improved program design and implementation. Our community partners, Main Street organizations in the city of Boston, want to ensure that data they collect about their service areas can help them measure progress towards achieving their individual goals as well as identify programs and initiatives that make best use of their resources and expertise. Using a mixed methods, inductive …

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Community-Based Operations Research: Data Analytics And Decision Modeling For Community Development And Social Change, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Mar 2016

Community-Based Operations Research: Data Analytics And Decision Modeling For Community Development And Social Change, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

‘Community-based operations research’ is an extension of multiple traditions in OR/MS to produce research for local change. CBOR attempts to incorporate critical thinking, evidence-based policy design and prescriptive decision modeling. This presentation introduces a theory of CBOR and reviews current applications to support a collection of new scholarship. These applications include foreclosure response, vacant land management and local economic development. We conclude with suggestions to expand the field of CBOR.

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How Can Value Elicitation In Adult Basic Education Support Learners’ Success In Goal-Setting Policy?, Alma H. Biba, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Feb 2016

How Can Value Elicitation In Adult Basic Education Support Learners’ Success In Goal-Setting Policy?, Alma H. Biba, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

For the last two decades, federal legislation and Massachusetts’ state ABE policies have linked adult learners’ educational outcomes to accountability requirements. Using a multi-method approach ABE learners’ goal setting was presented as a decision problem in order to reveal and disentangle the conflicting preferences fueled by outcome-based accountability requirements. Elicitation of values using value-focused thinking (VFT) methodology revealed that learner’s self-defined goals are consistently distinct from program-defined goals, that teachers recognize this disjunction, and that efforts to reconcile the two could yield significant improvements in ABE program outcomes.

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Course Syllabus: Ppol-G 742 Community-Based Operations Research, Michael P. Johnson Jr. Dec 2015

Course Syllabus: Ppol-G 742 Community-Based Operations Research, Michael P. Johnson Jr.

Michael P. Johnson

This elective course in the Public Policy PhD program provides an introduction to a wide range of decision models, methods and applications that help practitioners and researchers better understand how to represent common services and systems, and how to design practical solutions that can help people and organizations do their jobs better. Examples of public sector applications we will address include: emergency and post-disaster planning, human services, energy and natural resources and housing and community development. This course emphasizes special challenges in community-based public-sector decision-making. Communities of interest may be defined by geography, population, or a particular type of service …

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