NASPA Batten Simulation Competition | LSU Department of Public Administration

NASPAA Batten Simulation Competition

The NASPAA-Batten Student Simulation Competition is a day-long event that allows graduate students in public policy and related fields to test their skills on real-world data. Participatory simulation developed for the competition by the Center for Leadership Simulation and Gaming at the University of Virginia’s Frank Batten School of Leadership and Public Policy. Participants enter policy decisions in the simulation software to see how their policies affect their citizens, their economy, and the migrants themselves.

Below is a list of students who competed, where the simulation was held, and the topic of the competition.

MPA Student	Year	Location of Competition	Simulation Type
Josiah Namie	2021	Virtual	Pandemic Game: This simulation is an interactive, stochastic, accelerated-time game in which participants take on roles as government ministers (Prime Minister, Minister of Communication, etc.) and must work together as a team, interacting with other governments in a fast-paced environment. Participants must develop strategies to preserve global health, choose policies to contain the pandemic, and handle the political and economic ramifications of their decisions.
Sean Daniel	2021	Virtual	Pandemic Game: This simulation is an interactive, stochastic, accelerated-time game in which participants take on roles as government ministers (Prime Minister, Minister of Communication, etc.) and must work together as a team, interacting with other governments in a fast-paced environment. Participants must develop strategies to preserve global health, choose policies to contain the pandemic, and handle the political and economic ramifications of their decisions.
Steven Dillard	2021	Virtual	Pandemic Game: This simulation is an interactive, stochastic, accelerated-time game in which participants take on roles as government ministers (Prime Minister, Minister of Communication, etc.) and must work together as a team, interacting with other governments in a fast-paced environment. Participants must develop strategies to preserve global health, choose policies to contain the pandemic, and handle the political and economic ramifications of their decisions.
Shaleesa Bynum	2020	University of Texas Arlington, TX	Sustainable Cities: Participants in this game must transition their city’s public transportation infrastructure to a more sustainable state. Playing as city administrators, they’re to balance their budget, economy, and the public interest. This version of the game presents participants with a city made up of five different districts, each based on a current U.S. city and requires a unique path to sustainability.
Kelsea McCrary	2020	University of Texas Arlington, TX	Sustainable Cities: Participants in this game must transition their city’s public transportation infrastructure to a more sustainable state. Playing as city administrators, they’re to balance their budget, economy, and the public interest. This version of the game presents participants with a city made up of five different districts, each based on a current U.S. city and requires a unique path to sustainability.
Trent Reynolds	2020	University of Texas Arlington, TX	Sustainable Cities: Participants in this game must transition their city’s public transportation infrastructure to a more sustainable state. Playing as city administrators, they’re to balance their budget, economy, and the public interest. This version of the game presents participants with a city made up of five different districts, each based on a current U.S. city and requires a unique path to sustainability.
Macee Spencer	2020	University of Texas Arlington, TX	Sustainable Cities: Participants in this game must transition their city’s public transportation infrastructure to a more sustainable state. Playing as city administrators, they’re to balance their budget, economy, and the public interest. This version of the game presents participants with a city made up of five different districts, each based on a current U.S. city and requires a unique path to sustainability.
Mellyn Baker	2019	Georgetown University Washington, DC	Refugee Simulation - Host Nations, was built using real-world data and challenged students to work together to manage a migrant influx in a fast-paced environment. Participants entered policy decisions in the simulation software to see how their policies affect their citizens, their economy and the migrants themselves.
John Lewis	2019	University of Texas Austin, TX	Refugee Simulation - Host Nations, was built using real-world data and challenged students to work together to manage a migrant influx in a fast-paced environment. Participants entered policy decisions in the simulation software to see how their policies affect their citizens, their economy and the migrants themselves.
Christina Bastien	2018	Georgia State University Atlanta, GA	Fighting a Pandemic - In this fast-paced, real-time crisis simulation, students must work together to minimize the impact of a fictitious, yet deadly, infectious disease. Participants are placed in national leadership roles, working alongside teammates to enact policies that will save the lives of their stakeholders.
Devon Camarota	2018	Georgia State University Atlanta, GA	Fighting a Pandemic - In this fast-paced, real-time crisis simulation, students must work together to minimize the impact of a fictitious, yet deadly, infectious disease. Participants are placed in national leadership roles, working alongside teammates to enact policies that will save the lives of their stakeholders.
Daniel Bosch	2017	George Mason University Fairfax, VA	Food Security - The topic was Food Security and the world-wide effort to address UN Sustainable Development Goal 2 (end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture, by 2030).
Karen Holton	2017	Indiana University Bloomington, IN	Food Security - The topic was Food Security and the world-wide effort to address UN Sustainable Development Goal 2 (end hunger, achieve food security, improve nutrition, and promote sustainable agriculture, by 2030).