ROADEF

What ROADEF does

ROADEF (Société Française de Recherche Opérationnelle et d'Aide à la Décision, founded 1998) is a French non-profit learned society (association loi 1901) dedicated to advancing the discipline of Operations Research and Decision Support (RO/AD). It federates a community of more than 1,000 researchers across French academia and industry — including engineering schools, business schools, universities, public research labs, and corporate OR departments — and is officially recognized by the French Ministry of Research. ROADEF is governed by an elected bureau (board) and reports a 51-100 employee headcount across its operations. It is a member of the European Operational Research Societies (EURO) and the International Federation of Operational Research Societies (IFORS) since 2025.

ROADEF operates a portfolio of services built around digital platforms and recurring events rather than a commercial software product. Its core technology stack includes a primary website (roadef.org), a dematerialized submission platform (demat.roadef.org), a ScienceConf-based conference management system for the annual congress, and five thematic community forums (Annonces, Emplois, Discussions, Stages, Thèses et Post-Docs) with a combined archive exceeding 3,400 messages. Service offerings include the annual ROADEF congress (600+ attendees, rotating across French cities), regional JFRO days (Ile-de-France, 46 editions by 2026), two peer-reviewed journals (4'OR co-published with AIRO and ORBEL via Springer; RAIRO-OR via EDP Sciences), regular bulletins (covering 2022-2025), a biennial Challenge ROADEF industrial problem-solving competition, and a structured awards portfolio (Prix Robert Faure — €5,000 triennial, Prix de thèse PGMO, Prix du mémoire de Master, Prix du meilleur article étudiant, Prix Indus'RO, and newly the Prix de thèse GT2L).

ROADEF is funded primarily through individual membership fees from the OR community, institutional partner contributions from 27 corporate and academic sponsors (including EDF, TotalEnergies, RTE, Orange, DGA, Michelin, Huawei, Artelys, Eurodecision, DecisionBrain, Hexaly, Sopra Steria, SIA Partners, and major French universities), and shared publishing revenues. Specific pricing tiers are not publicly disclosed, consistent with its non-profit association status. The go-to-market is community-led: ROADEF reaches its audience through its annual congress, JFRO regional days, digital forums, journals, and bulletins, with the relationship between academia and industry (job postings, internships, thesis supervision, challenge sponsorships) forming a significant share of engagement value.

Name

ROADEF

Legal name

Société Française de Recherche Opérationnelle et d'Aide à la Décision

Website

https://roadef.org

Company type

Private

Founded year

1998

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

ROADEF is a French non-profit learned society (founded 1998) that federates 1,000+ operations research and decision support researchers across academia and industry through an annual congress, peer-reviewed journals, regional JFRO days, digital forums, and recurring prize programs.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Professional Association Services (Operations Research and Decision Support)

NAICS

Research and Development in the Social Sciences and Humanities (541720)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Social Sciences Scholarly Publishing (EDAGAFAD)

akta.pro secondary industry

Open Educational Resources (OER) & Open Access Academic Publishing (MPAJABAG)

Keywords

• Operations research society
• Decision support community
• Academic conference services
• Scientific journal publishing
• Research awards program

Headquarters

HQ city

Paris

HQ country

France

HQ region

Europe

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Membership fees (Adhésions): ROADEF generates revenue through annual membership fees from individual researchers, academics, and corporate members in the French operations research community. Members gain access to forums, newsletters, bulletins, reduced-rate event access, and eligibility for awards and prizes.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

ROADEF is a French learned society that promotes operations research and decision support by organizing an annual national congress, regional JFRO workshops, and the biennial Challenge ROADEF competition, while publishing peer-reviewed journals (RAIRO-OR with EDP Sciences, 4'OR with Springer), a Bulletin ROADEF newsletter, and a Bulletin de Veille Scientifique. It also funds and awards scientific prizes (Prix Robert Faure, Prix de thèse PGMO, Prix du mémoire Master RO/AD, Prix Meilleur Article Étudiant, Prix Indus'RO) and maintains online forums and a dematerialized submission platform for its community of more than 1,000 researchers.

Product overview

ROADEF (Société Française de Recherche Opérationnelle et d'Aide à la Décision) is a French professional society (association loi 1901) dedicated to promoting Operations Research and Decision Support in France. Rather than a software product company, ROADEF offers a portfolio of professional services including two peer-reviewed journals (Revue 4'OR and RAIRO-OR), a monthly bulletin newsletter, the annual ROADEF congress (attracting over 600 participants), the biennial Challenge ROADEF competition with industrial partners, multiple academic awards (Prix Robert Faure, Prix de thèse PGMO, Prix du mémoire de Master, Prix du Meilleur Article Étudiant, Prix Indus'RO), online discussion forums, and regional events (Journées Franciliennes de Recherche Opérationnelle).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Revue 4'OR Peer-reviewed French-language journal in operations research co-published with Springer, intended for academic researchers and industry practitioners publishing OR/AD work.
• RAIRO-OR (Operations Research) Operations research journal published in partnership with EDP Sciences, serving researchers submitting OR/AD articles for peer-reviewed publication.
• Bulletin de Veille Scientifique Scientific watch bulletin published with EDP Sciences, providing the ROADEF community with curated updates on advances in operations research.
• Bulletin ROADEF Society newsletter distributed to members and partners to communicate ROADEF news, events, and community announcements.
• Congrès annuel ROADEF Annual national congress of the French OR community, gathering more than 600 academic and industrial participants for keynote talks, presentations, and networking.
• Journées Franciliennes de Recherche Opérationnelle (JFRO) Regional workshop days organized by ROADEF's Île-de-France section, providing a local forum for OR researchers in the Paris region to present and exchange.
• Challenge ROADEF Biennial optimization competition in which teams tackle an industrial OR problem, open to academic researchers, students, and practitioners across France.
• Adhésion ROADEF Individual membership of the ROADEF association, providing members access to society services, publications, and the community.
• Forums ROADEF Online discussion forums hosted at forums.roadef.org, providing the ROADEF community with a venue for asynchronous technical and organizational exchanges.

Quantifiable outcome

• More than 600 participants at the annual congress
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

29 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• LIST3N (Université de Technologie de Troyes)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLIST3N (Laboratoire d'Ingénierie des Systèmes Techniques et Naturels) at UTT is listed as a ROADEF partner, participating in the ROADEF community alongside academic institutions and companies.
• DGA (Direction Générale de l'Armement)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe French Defense Procurement Agency (DGA) is a partner of ROADEF, supporting operations research activities and participating in the community of companies and organizations engaged in OR.
• IMT AtlantiquecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerIMT Atlantique is listed as a ROADEF partner, participating in the ROADEF annual congress and hosting events such as IFAC InCom 2027 and co-funded PhD theses.
• DecisionBraincoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDecisionBrain is listed as a ROADEF partner. DecisionBrain provides optimization software and services and participates in the ROADEF community of OR practitioners and researchers.
• RTE (Réseau de Transport d'Électricité)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerRTE is a ROADEF partner. RTE, France's electricity transmission system operator, uses operations research for network optimization and participates in the ROADEF community and congress.
• AssystemminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAssystem is listed as a ROADEF partner, participating in the ROADEF community as an engineering and innovation services company engaged in OR applications.
• HEUDIASYC (Université de Technologie de Compiègne)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHEUDIASYC (Heuristique et Diagnostic des Systèmes Complexes) at UTC is a ROADEF partner, participating in the academic research community and annual congress.
• EDFcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEDF is a ROADEF partner and major industrial supporter of the OR community. EDF R&D regularly posts internships and participates in research projects and awards programs. EDF was featured in ROADEF bulletins (2024 edition on SNCF Direction de la Recherche).
• LIP6 (Laboratoire d'Informatique de Paris 6)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLIP6 at Sorbonne Université is a ROADEF partner, contributing to the academic OR community and hosting researchers involved in ROADEF activities and JFRO organization.
• TotalEnergiescoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTotalEnergies is listed as a ROADEF partner, participating in the ROADEF community as a major French energy company engaged in operations research applications.
• Huawei FranceminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHuawei France is a ROADEF partner, contributing to the ecosystem of companies engaged with the French OR community.
• Université du HavreminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe University of Le Havre (Université du Havre) is a ROADEF partner, participating in the academic community and hosting AG meetings (2019).
• ArtelyscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerArtelys is a ROADEF partner and specialized OR consulting company. Artelys organizes training sessions (non-linear optimization), develops the Artelys Knitro solver, and actively participates in the ROADEF community.
• LIMOS (Laboratoire d'Informatique, de Modélisation et d'Optimisation des Systèmes)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLIMOS (UMR CNRS 6158) is a ROADEF partner. Researchers from LIMOS participate in ROADEF awards programs (Prix de thèse at Mines Saint-Étienne), the annual congress, and publish in ROADEF journals.
• CNAM (Conservatoire National des Arts et Métiers)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCNAM is a ROADEF partner, hosting the CEDRIC laboratory which participates in the OR community through research, internship postings, and publication activities. The first JFRO day was held at CNAM in 2001.
• MichelinminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerMichelin is a ROADEF partner, representing the industrial sector engaged in operations research for logistics, supply chain, and production optimization.
• HexalycoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerHexaly is a ROADEF partner and fast-growing mathematical optimization software company. Hexaly actively recruits through ROADEF forums and is a regular participant in the community. The company posts both internships and full-time positions (CDI) for Operations Research Scientists.
• LAAS-CNRS (Laboratoire d'Analyse et d'Architecture des Systèmes)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLAAS-CNRS is a ROADEF partner, with research groups participating in the OR community through publications, theses awards, and conference presentations.
• AmanoraminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAmanora is listed as a ROADEF partner, participating in the ecosystem of companies engaged with the French operations research community.
• EurodecisioncoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEurodecision is a ROADEF partner and specialized OR consulting firm, participating in the community and engaging with academic researchers on optimization projects.
• LAMSADE (Université Paris Dauphine-PSL)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLAMSADE is a ROADEF partner. Researchers from LAMSADE participate in JFRO organization, thesis awards juries, and the ROADEF community.
• LIFAT (Laboratoire d'Informatique Fondamentale et Appliquée de Tours)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLIFAT at the University of Tours is a ROADEF partner and the organizer of the ROADEF 2026 annual congress (February 24-26, 2026).
• Sopra SteriaminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSopra Steria is a ROADEF partner, representing the consulting and digital services sector engaged with operations research applications.
• LS2N (Laboratoire des Sciences du Numérique de Nantes)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerLS2N (UMR CNRS 6004) is a ROADEF partner, contributing to the community through research in scheduling, optimization, and hosting internship postings.
• SIA PartnersminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerSIA Partners is a ROADEF partner and management consulting firm with OR capabilities, participating in the French OR community.
• Gendarmerie NationaleminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe French National Gendarmerie is a ROADEF partner, using operations research for logistics, scheduling, and resource planning optimization.
• OrangecoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOrange is a ROADEF partner and major French telecommunications company. Orange Innovation regularly posts internships on ROADEF forums and participates in the community's research activities.
• EURO (European Operations Research Societies)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerROADEF is a member of EURO (European Operations Research Societies), the umbrella organization for national OR societies across Europe. ROADEF participates in EURO conferences, awards programs, and practitioner forums.
• IFORS (International Federation of Operational Research Societies)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerROADEF is a member of IFORS, the international federation of OR societies. This affiliation connects the French OR community to the global operations research community.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Broad incumbents

• INFORMS: Institute for Operations Research and the Management Sciences — the dominant global OR professional society. Directly comparable to ROADEF as a learned society that publishes top OR journals (e.g. Operations Research, Management Science), runs major annual conferences (INFORMS Annual Meeting), and administers prizes, but at global scale rather than national French scope.
• EURO – European Association of Operational Research Societies: The pan-European umbrella OR society of which ROADEF is a member. Directly comparable as a federation coordinating national OR societies, running EURO conferences, and administering pan-European awards; ROADEF sits below EURO in the hierarchy.
• IFORS – International Federation of Operational Research Societies: Global federation of OR societies (of which ROADEF is a member). Directly comparable as the international coordinating body for OR learned societies, organizing the triennial IFORS World Congress and coordinating cross-border activities.
• ASCM (formerly APICS) – Association for Supply Chain Management: Global professional association for supply chain and operations management, comparable in form to ROADEF as a learned society with conferences, certifications, publications, and industry partnerships — though oriented toward practitioners rather than OR researchers.

Direct peers

• AIRO – Associazione Italiana di Ricerca Operativa: Italian Operations Research society and co-publisher of the 4'OR journal alongside ROADEF. Directly comparable as a national OR learned society serving a single-country academic/industrial community with similar events, awards, and journal activity.
• ORBEL – Belgian Operations Research Society: Belgian OR society and the third co-publisher of the 4'OR journal alongside ROADEF and AIRO. Directly comparable as a small national OR learned society with a shared journal and similar scope of activities.
• GOR – Gesellschaft für Operations Research: German OR society, another EURO/IFORS member nation society. Comparable to ROADEF as a national German learned society running an annual conference (OR-HSG), workshops, and a community newsletter for German OR academics and practitioners.
• SMAI – Société de Mathématiques Appliquées et Industrielles: French applied mathematics society that co-patronizes the PGMO thesis prize with ROADEF. Comparable as a French learned society serving an adjacent scientific community, running its own conferences (e.g. CANUM) and awards programs in optimization and modeling.
• MOS – Mathematical Optimization Society: International society dedicated to mathematical optimization, organizer of the International Symposium on Mathematical Programming (ISMP) and the MIP Workshop series (e.g. Euro MIP 2025 supported by ROADEF). Comparable to ROADEF in running specialized conferences and awards around mathematical programming.
• CORS – Canadian Operations Research Society: Canadian OR society, fellow EURO/IFORS member nation. Comparable to ROADEF as a national OR learned society organizing an annual conference, publishing a bulletin, and administering awards for Canadian OR researchers and practitioners.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/roadef
• Facebookfacebook.com/roadef
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/roadef

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about ROADEF