DA Practice Award

Decision Analysis Practice Award

The Decision Analysis Practice Award is sponsored jointly by Decision Analysis Society and Society of Decision Professionals. This award is given to the best decision analysis application.

Purpose of the Award

The Decision Analysis Practice Award, a collaborative endeavor of the Decision Analysis Society (DAS) and the Society of Decision Professionals (SDP), seeks to recognize excellence in the field of decision analysis. This prestigious accolade is presented annually to the most outstanding decision analysis application, as appraised by a distinguished panel comprising members from both societies.

The award not only bestows honor but also includes a noteworthy $750 cash prize. Furthermore, as a testament to our commitment to furthering the reach and impact of the recipient's work, we offer valuable assistance in navigating the path to publication in a suitable journal, should the awardee wish to do so.

Additionally, the recipient of the Practice Award is extended a unique opportunity to share their expertise and insights. They are cordially invited to present their award-winning work at the Society of Decision Professionals Annual Conference and Workshops, formerly known as DAAG, the following spring. This platform provides a valuable avenue for the dissemination of groundbreaking ideas and advancements in the realm of decision analysis.

How are the Applicants Judged?

The Award Committee will use the following criteria:

  • Clear framing of the decision using the principles of decision theory.
  • Quality and originality of the decision analysis techniques employed.
  • Centrality of the analysis to the client's decision-making process, taking account of the importance of the problem.
  • Benefits and importance of the decision analysis to the client, stakeholders, and the public.
  • Describe the next steps for the analysis.

For more information visit:  https://connect.informs.org/das/awards/decision-analysis-practice-award

Congratulations to the 2024 DAS-SDP Practice Award Winner!

The Decision Analysis Practice Award is sponsored jointly by the Decision Analysis Society and the Society of Decision Professionals. It is given annually to the best decision analysis application, as judged by a panel of members of both Societies. 

The winners were announced during the INFORMS conference held earlier this week in Seattle, WA, where they presented their project.

This year the DAS/SDP Practice Award winning project, representing an outstanding contribution to the practice of Decision Analysis goes to:

AN AMBIGUITY FRAMEWORK TO INFORM OPTIMAL DATA ALLOCATION FOR DATA-DRIVEN OPTIMIZATION: ANALYSIS AND APPLICATION TO AGRIBUSINESS

By: Saurabh Bansa and Ying He

Dow Chemicals’ agribusiness division invests heavily in developing new seed varieties. Due to climate change, it no longer relies on parametric distributions for yield uncertainty (output per acre). Instead, it collects test-field data and optimizes production using scenario-based stochastic linear programs with sample average approximations. Literature reports performance bounds for these programs in ambiguity spaces. The decision analysis team developed a smooth ambiguity model to balance data collection costs with improved performance, determining the optimal sample size for each seed in the portfolio. The firm successfully implemented this approach.

We congratulate Saurabh Bansa and Ying He for their innovative project, which show the breadth and impact of decision analysis research and practice. 

DAS/SDP Practice Award 2024 Committee Members

Carol Liffman, Jason Merrick, Nadia Papamichail & Debarun Bhattacharjya

2023 DAS-SDP Practice Award

WINNERS

Fostering participation & knowledge construction processes in real settings through decision analysis and collaborative value modeling 

To address the challenge of effectively engaging many stakeholders and experts in real-world decision analysis processes, both for knowledge construction and for stakeholder engagement, we have developed the Collaborative Value Modeling (CVM) framework. The CVM combines large-scale participatory Web-Delphi processes with smaller-scale decision conferencing or workshop processes to promote agreement in different modeling stages of multi-criteria decision analysis (MCDA).

By: Mónica Duarte Oliveira and Team Members Carlos A. Bana e Costa and Ana Vieira 

2023 DAS-SDP Practice Award Finalist Presentations

Click here to watch 2023 presentations

    A Decision Support for Portfolio Capital Allocation for Internal Capital Market at Dow Chemicals

    By: Saurabh Bansal

    A Multi-attribute Decision Model to Evaluate Potential Investments in Near-Earth Object Detection Technologies

    By: Asa Palley and Team Members Thomas S. Palley, Victor Richmond R. Jose, Ralph Keeney and Mario Juric

    Fostering participation and knowledge construction processes in real settings through decision analysis and collaborative value modeling

    By: Mónica Duarte Oliveira and Team Members Carlos A. Bana e Costa and Ana Vieira

    2022 DAS-SDP Practice Award

    Click here to watch 2022 presentations

    WINNERS

    Safeguarding a National Digital Memory: a Bayesian Decision Model of Digital Preservation Risk

    By: Martine J. Barons (Applied Statistics & Risk Unit, University of Warwick), David Underdown (The National Archives) & Thais Fonseca (UFRJ Rio de Janeiro)

               

    2021 DAS-SDP Practice Award

    WINNERS

    e-procurement decision analysis platform to maximize the value of strategic sourcing choices

    By: Joice C. Ribeiro Giacon, Gustavo H. Martins & Kislan Santos (Optimum Supply)

    2021 DAS-SDP Practice Award Finalist Presentations

      Mitigating Cognitive and Behavioural Biases during Pandemic Responses: Evidence-based Methodologies for the Development of Epidemic Combating Policies

      By: Love Ekenberg (Stockholm University and IIASA), Adriana Mihai (University of Bucharest, Centre of Excellence for the Study of Cultural Identity (CESIC)), Nadejda Komendantova (International Institute for Applied Sstems Analysis (IIASA)), Tobias Fasth (Public Health Agency of Sweden and Dept. of Computer and Systems Sciences, Stockholm University) & Mats Danielson (Stockholm University and IIASA)

                 

      2020 DAS-SDP Practice Award

      WINNERS

      A Decision Analytic Approach to Collaboratively Respond to Invasive Grass Carp in Lake Erie

      By: Kelly F. Robinson (Michigan State University), Mark R. DuFour (Ohio Department of Natural Resources), Lucas Nathan (Michigan Department of Natural Resources), Jason L. Fischer (Michigan State University), Michael Jones (Michigan State University), Seth J. Herbst (Michigan Department of Natural Resources) & Tammy Newcomb (Michigan Department of Natural Resources)

      2020 DAS-SDP Practice Award Finalist Presentations

        Prioritization Model for the Early-stage Development Pipeline to Enable Holistic Portfolio Management for a Pharma Company

        By: Steffen A. Borden (Bayer Pharmaceuticals), Florian Methling (Strategic Decisions Group), Mark Seidler (Strategic Decisions Group), Johannes SiebertInsa Sommer (Strategic Decisions Group), Deepak Veeraraghavan (Strategic Decisions Group) & Rüdiger von Nitzsch (RWTH Aachen University)

        Off-Grid Lighting Business Models to Serve the Poor: Evidence From a Structural Model and Field Experiments in Rwanda

        By: Bhavani Shanker UppariSerguei Netessine (INSEAD), Ioana Popescu (INSEAD) & Rowan P. Clarke (Harvard Business School)

                   

        2019 DAS-SDP Practice Award

        WINNERS

        Decision Tools for Biodiversity: A Breakthrough in Fire Management

        By: Josephine MacHunter (Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research), Libby Rumpff (University of Melbourne), Tracey Regan (Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research) & Nevil Amos (Arthur Rylah Institute for Environmental Research)

        2019 DAS-SDP Practice Award Finalist Presentations

          Operations Research Improves Biomanufacturing Efficiency at Merck Sharp & Dohme

          By: Yesim Koca (Eindhoven University of Technology), Tugce Martagan (Eindhoven University of Technology), Ivo Adan (Eindhoven University of Technology), Bram van Ravenstein (MSD Animal Health), Marc Baaijens (MSD Animal Health) & Oscar Repping (MSD Animal Health)

          Decision Analysis Meets Sustainable Planning in Quebec City: The Case of Multicriteria Decision Aiding and Complete Streets

          By: Francis Marleau Donais (Université Lava), Irène Abi-Zeid (Université Lava), Edward Owen Douglas Waygood (Polytechnique Montréal) & Roxane Lavoie (Université Laval)

                     

          2018 DAS-SDP Practice Award

          WINNERS

          Modeling the Values of Agents in Supply Chains of Malaria Rapid Diagnostic Test Kits with Decision Analysis

          By: Corinne Carland (MIT), Jarrod Goentzel (MIT) & Gilberto Montibeller (Loughborough University)

                     

          2017 DAS-SDP Practice Award

          WINNERS

          How to Regenerate Disused Railways? An Integrated Analytics Approach

          By: Valentina Ferretti & Gabriella Csányi (London School of Economics and Political Science)

                     

          2016 DAS-SDP Practice Award

          WINNERS

          Joseph Byrum (Syngenta), Tracy Doubler (Syngenta), Greg Doonan (Syngenta), Craig Davis (Syngenta), LtC (Ret) Jack Kloeber, Jr. (Kromite LLC), Peiran Zhao (Kromite LLC) & Emilia Silebi (Kromite LLC)

                     

          2015 DAS-SDP Practice Award

          WINNERS

          Using Multi-criteria Decision Analysis to Explore Management Options in the Grand Canyon

          By: Michael C. Runge, Kirk E. Lagory & Kendra Russell

                     

          2014 DAS-SDP Practice Award

          WINNERS

          How to Dispose of California’s Defunct Offshore Oil Platforms

          By: Max Henrion (Lumina Decision Systems)

          2014 DAS-SDP Practice Award Finalist Presentation

            DA and Analytics-Based Policy Program Design in Enabling Balanced Growth and Job Creation for Nationals

            By: Mazen Skaf (Strategic Decisions Group)

            DAS-SDP DA Practice Award Committee

            The DAS-SDP Practice Award Committee recognizes outstanding applications of decision analysis in practice, ensuring the award process upholds SDP’s commitment to decision quality.

            Carol Liffman

            Committee

            Nadia Papamichail

            Committee