Introduction to the special issue on the role of operational research in future epidemics/ pandemics

In this special issue, 23 research papers are published focusing on COVID-19 and operational research solution techniques. First, we detail the process from advertising the call for papers to the point where the best papers are accepted. Then, we provide a summary of each paper focusing on applications, solution techniques and insights for practitioners and policy makers. To provide a holistic view for readers, we have clustered the papers into different groups: transmission, propagation and forecasting, non-pharmaceutical intervention, healthcare network configuration, healthcare resource allocation, hospital operations, vaccine and testing kits, and production and manufacturing. Then, we introduce other possible subjects that can be considered for future research.