Monday 12 January 2015

Make your new year's resolutions count in 2015

As we start 2015 most of our new years resolutions will go something like this: 'I must try and eat less', 'I must exercise more', 'I must drink less', etc.

Let me set you a challenge and give you two alternative new years resolutions for 2015 that could make a real difference for both yourself and others around you.

1) Volunteer

Use your skills to help third sector organisations.  There are many ways which you can do this; if you have Operational Research/analytical skills then why not get involved with Pro Bono O.R.?  Pro Bono O.R. worked with over twenty UK based third sector organisations in 2014.  The volunteers were able to provide a wide range of support from problem structuring, facilitation, data analysis, strategic review, impact measurement and much more.  The volunteers all reported a positive experience, here's what a few of them had to say: 


"Working as a pro bono volunteer is a great way to contribute some professional expertise to some truly worthwhile causes.  The Third Sector is full of people who feel passionately about their Mission, so working with them is invariably a positive learning experience"

"I've really enjoyed working with third sector organisations and found the staff extremely positive about the contribution we make"

"Being a volunteer was a great way to make a real difference for an organisation with people that were clearly passionate about what they do. At the same time I've added some interesting people to my network and expanded the breadth of projects I've undertaken on my CV"

To see more about becoming a volunteer and to see some of our completed case studies, please visit the webpage

2) Charities/third sector organisations look into Pro Bono O.R.

UK based organisations in the Third sector can  benefit from O.R. consultancy at no cost. The Operational Research society is offering third sector organisations the opportunity for free consultancy to help reduce costs and improve utilisation of limited resources.  

Pro Bono O.R. completed 10 projects in 2014 and the feedback we had was overwhelmingly positive:

"We are enormously grateful for being able to benefit from the advice and support of such a knowledgeable and experienced professional, who was able to raise challenging issues in a
sensitive and helpful way"


"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"

So what are you waiting for, surely you should be saying 'I must volunteer more' and/or 'I must take up the free support to help my organisation to be more effective and efficient in 2015'

Please visit the webpage to find out more, or follow me on twitter (@FMcLeister) or LinkedIn (uk.linkedin.com/in/FelicityRoseMcLeister)

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