The military uses wargames. Corporations use business intelligence tools. Sophisticated simulation technologies are becoming an accepted part of the decision-making toolkit for many organizations -- but have still made few inroads into the peacebuilding community. They are perceived as prohibitively expensive and too technically demanding. The Center believes that the time is ripe to revisit those assumptions, and explore the development of next-generation simulations and serious games expressly designed for the needs of peacebuilders.

 

The July 16, 2009 "Smart Tools for Smart Power" event featured presentations from such innovators as IBM, the Army War College, EBay, Lockheed Martin, Second Life, and USIP's own Education and Training Center.  U.S. Deputy Chief Technology Officer Beth Noveck presented the keynote address, in which she noted that the Obama administration sees "serious" games as an important, largely untapped way to enable innovation in government and civic engagement. This public event was followed by an experts working group meeting hosted by Lockheed-Martin's Center of Innovation. 

 

The Center and ETC/I has also held meetings with simulation and gaming experts at the World Bank and the National Defense University to understand state of the art and discuss possible collaborations.