The Big Game Project: Engaging College Students in the Nation’s Fiscal Future
A Project of the National Academy of Public Administration and PETLab at Parsons The New School for Design (posted 7/30/08)
The Peter G. Peterson Foundation
The Peter G. Peterson Foundation has engaged the National Academy of Public Administration, in partnership with PETLab (Prototyping, Evaluation, Teaching and Learning lab) at Parsons The New School for Design, to develop a “Big Game” around the multiple issues involved in shaping our nation’s fiscal future. The project is designed to create a new means to engage college students in learning about the fiscal crisis in America, so they will be better prepared to participate in inter-generational conversations about solutions.
With the national debt at an unprecedented level of more than $9 trillion and growing, interest on that debt could become the largest federal budget expense in just 25 years, crowding out important investments in our nation’s future. According to some projections, in fewer than 20 years, if federal revenue stays at about 18 percent of GDP, it will not even cover net interest, Social Security, Medicare and Medicaid obligations. Over time, the decisions that need to be made will only get harder, as the financial interests of older generations and younger generations become more difficult to reconcile. An intergenerational effort is needed now to find fair solutions that strengthen and protect America’s economic future. A first step toward that effort is helping young adults gain the financial literacy necessary to engage in this important national conversation.
This six-month project will produce a game about the fiscal crisis and trade-offs that can be played on college campuses in conjunction with other in-person and on-line events. The game will utilize the physical space of the campus as the “game board,” and take advantage of the extended online lives of students through social networks and social media (such as Facebook and YouTube).
The viability of such games to attract participants, impart learning and spur action is demonstrated by the numerous games that are already being used for purposes other than entertainment. The competition inherent in a game creates an incentive to play and engage with content. Social issues-based games, while a relatively new genre, have shown results in creating awareness, understanding and change. Among the reasons for this success is the fact that games convey the structures and behaviors involved through direct interaction and feedback.
Many games enable multiple solutions to challenges, which models closely the fact that the fiscal issues facing the U.S. can be addressed using a variety of approaches and solutions. Games also have the ability to create empathy by placing players in roles with which they may be unfamiliar. In addition to helping them understand the personal relevance of the choices facing America, the Big Fiscal Game will give young people insight into the effects of potential budget and policy choices on different generational and socioeconomic cohorts of the population.
While the game is in development, the National Academy of Public Administration will be working to secure three to five universities to host the game during the spring of 2009, as well as corporate and foundation sponsors for the game events on campus.
Lois Fu, Project Director and Senior Advisor to the President
lfu@NAPAwash.org
202-204-3666
Robert J. Shea,* Chair—Associate Director for Administration and Government Performance, U.S. Office of Management and Budget. Former Associate Director for Management, U.S. Office of Management and Budget; Counsel to the Controller, U.S. Office of Management and Budget; Counsel, Senate Committee on Governmental Affairs, U.S. Senate; Legislative Director, Office of Representative Pete Sessions; Special Assistant/Professional Staff Member, House Committee on Government Reform and Oversight, U.S. House of Representatives.
Robert Bixby—Executive Director, Concord Coalition; former positions at Concord Coalition: Regional Field Coordinator; National Field Director, Policy Director; attorney in private practice; Chief Staff Attorney, Court of Appeals of Virginia.
Peter Harkness*—Editor and Publisher, Governing Magazine. Former positions with Congressional Quarterly, Inc.: Reporter, CQ Weekly Report; Managing Editor, CQ Weekly Report; Executive Editor and Deputy Publisher (all Congressional Quarterly publications and services).
Susan J. Irving*—Director, Federal Budget Issues, U.S. Government Accountability Office. Former Faculty, Training Institute, U.S. General Accounting Office; Lecturer in Public Policy, JFK School of Government, Harvard University; Fellow, Institute of Politics, Harvard University; Legislative Director, U.S. Senator Max Baucus; Vice President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget. Staff Director, President’s Council of Economic Advisers, Executive Office of the President and as Legislative Assistant to Senator Abe Ribicoff.
Anne Hartzell Laurent*—Positions with Government Executive Magazine: Deputy Editor; Project Manager, Government Performance Project. Former Senior Editor and Staff Writer, Federal Times; Associate Director, Caribbean Basin Information Project; Staff Aide, The Washington Post Book World.
Maya MacGuineas—President, Committee for a Responsible Federal Budget and Director, New America Foundation’s Fiscal Policy Program; Social Security Advisor, McCain Presidential Campaign 2000; Senior Research Analyst, Brookings Institution; Policy Analyst, Concord Coalition; Equity Researcher, PaineWebber. Serves on the governing board of Common Cause
Gregg A. Pane*—Director, National Healthcare Preparedness Programs, Office of the Assistant Secretary for Preparedness and Response, U.S. Department of Health & Human Service Former Director and State Health Officer, District of Columbia Department of Health; System Vice President, Clinical Quality and Safety Medical Director, Public Policy Initiatives, Henry Ford Health System; Chief Policy and Planning Officer, Veterans Health Administration; Vice President, Quality Management and Chief Medical Officer, Unisys Health Information Management; Medical Director, Louisiana Medicaid Program.
F. Stevens Redburn*—Consultant, National Academy of Public Administration; Staff Director, NAPA/NAS Committee on Fiscal Future of the United States: Analysis and Policy Options. Former Chief, Housing Branch, U.S. Office of Management and Budget; Economist, Special Studies, U.S. Office of Management and Budget; Program Analyst, Office of Policy Development and Research, U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development; Director, Center for Urban Studies, Youngstown State University.
* Academy Fellow
First Panel Meeting
Date and Time: Friday, August 22, 2008
11:30 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (open meeting)
Location: National Academy of Public Administration
900 7th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20001
Second Panel Meeting
Date and Time: Monday, November 17, 2008
11:00 a.m. – 5:00 p.m. (open Meeting)
Location: National Academy of Public Administration
900 7th Street, NW, Suite 600
Washington, DC 20001
For further information, contact Lois Fu at (202) 204-3666 or lfu@NAPAwash.org.
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