2023 Wildfire Simulation Competition

2023 COMPETITION DEI SPONSORS

Doha Institute for Graduate Studies

School of Economics, Administration, and Public Policy (SEAPP)

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Villanova University MPA – NASPAA Simulation 2023 

Creating Ethical, Creative and Inclusive Leaders: The Villanova MPA 

Villanova University’s Master of Public Administration program strives to build collaborative networks of diverse viewpoints, backgrounds, and experiences to ignite change in our communities and across the world. Supporting NASPAA’s programs – such as the 2023 Wildfire Simulation – is important to Villanova as it allows us to advance and advocate for the importance of teaching practical skills in student development. Skills such as effective communication, ethical negotiation, and fostering connections across diverse communities are valuable in any profession in the field of public service.   

See the Villanova Department of Public Administration’s commitment to igniting change in action by visiting our website; learning more about our students and alumni in our Leaders’ Lounge blog; and listening to our VU iMPAct Podcast, in which we discuss trending topics in public administration with interesting, unique, and diverse voices in our MPA community. 

WILDFIRE SIMULATION - February 25th, March 4th and March 11th, 2023

NASPAA is pleased to officially announce the 2023 Student Simulation Competition, which will take place on February 25th, March 4th and March 11th, 2023, and will feature the Forio Wildfire Simulation designed by Professor Matt Koschmann of the University of Colorado Boulder. The simulation competition will teach players communication and negotiation skills as they balance their roles against their team goals to collaborate on a joint wildfire mitigation plan for the fictional town of Westmount. In addition, as part of NASPAA's initiative to improve how we embody diversity, equity, and inclusion as an organization and as an essential part of public service education; NASPAA is working with Forio to update the simulation to incorporate DEI facets of wildfire mitigation and public service decision-making as core elements of the learning experience.

The simulation competition is a full-day event taking place on a Saturday in late February or early March 2023. The event will follow a hybrid format. Most competitors will be participating in person, but there will be an opportunity for some students to attend virtually. The competition will once again include guest judges from various public service fields. This year we will also be featuring sponsorship opportunities to support student travel and our efforts to integrate diversity, equity, and inclusion elements into the competition experience and into the simulation itself.

If you are interested in hosting the competition at your school, becoming a sponsor, becoming a judge, or just learning more about the competition, please contact Alex Minkoff at minkoff@naspaa.org and Stacy Drudy at drudy@naspaa.org.

RESERVE A DEI SPONSORSHIP PACKAGE

Click on a site below to see who won!

February 25th

• The American University in Cairo (Egypt)
• Fulbright University Vietnam​ (Vietnam)
• United Nations University - MERIT and Maastricht University (Netherlands)
• Universidad del Rosario​ (Colombia)

March 4th

• James Madison University​ (Virginia, USA)
• North Carolina State University​ (North Carolina, USA)
• The Ohio State University​ (Ohio, USA)
• University at Albany​ (New York, USA)
• The University of Colorado Denver​ (Colorado, USA)
• University of San Francisco​ (California, USA)
• The University of Texas at Arlington and The University of Texas at Dallas​ (Texas, USA)

March 11th - VIRTUAL ONLY

• NASPAA's virtual site (Online via Zoom)

Student Nomination and Registration

Similar to past competitions, students can either be nominated by their school or they can self-nominate. The student nomination/registration window will be open from late 2022 to January 27th, 2023.

Visit the student page

DEI Sponsorship Breakdown

Click here to reserve your sponsorship package

Competition Judges

Similar to past competitions, NASPAA is seeking public service professionals who would be interested in attending the competition as a judge. Competition judges will use their knowledge and expertise to evaluate how well each team demonstrates the communication, negotiation, teamwork, and critical thinking skills needed to excel in public service. Judges will also determine how well students have considered the diversity, equity, and inclusion facets of wildfire mitigation. Judges will be recognized on NASPAA’s website, on social media, in our newsletter, and in the post-competition program book. Please note that travel, accommodations, and other related costs will be at each judge's expense. 

If you find individuals that you think would be a good fit for the judge role, please send their contact information to Alex Minkoff at minkoff@naspaa.org so that we can review. Accepted judges will receive a formal invitation letter from NASPAA.

Please review the following logistics and expectations for competition judges:

• Judges will attend a NASPAA competition site to observe and evaluate future public service professionals on learning objectives related to communication, negotiation, disaster management, inclusion, and more.
• The conference runs approximately from 8 AM to 6 PM on either February 25th or March 4th, 2023. NASPAA will do its best to shorten that window if possible.
• Judges will circulate during the simulation to ask questions to the student teams and score their answers.
• Judges will review and score each team’s final one-page policy memo and presentation.
• NASPAA will host an onboarding Zoom meeting to go over the expectations and procedures for the competition and answer any questions you may have.
• NASPAA staff will provide judge guidelines and scoring procedures ahead of time.
• NASPAA staff will be on-site to guide and support you through the judging and scoring process.

Simulation Education Committee

• Dana Harsell (CHAIR), University of North Dakota
• Luis Luna-Reyes (CHAIR), University at Albany
• Yushim Kim, Arizona State University
• Christina Barsky, University of Montana
• Jodi Sandfort, University of Washington
• Sk. Tawfique M. Haque, North South University
• Peter Linquiti, The George Washington University
• Emily Christian, Former beta competition winner
• Julieta Marotta, Maastricht University