President's Corner

by Fred Lewis

For NTSA Members

The annual Modeling and Simulation Leadership Summit, an annual event that brings together key members of the M&S community of practice, was held this year on February 11 in Virginia Beach, VA. Dr. Linda Brent, coordinator for strategic planning at the National Training and Simulation Association, gave remarks at the opening of this event which I feel important enough to form the body of this month's President’s Letter. With Dr. Brent's gracious permission, I quote them here.

"Consistent with our action plan arising from these summits, we anticipate this to be the inaugural event for the creation of a national framework for modeling and simulation. This watershed event brings together the diversity of thought and practice, with experts in their disciplines, all sharing in their use of modeling and simulation as a tool to improve human performance, technical achievement and our national education objectives.

With the start of the Congressional Modeling and Simulation Caucus several years ago, Congressman Forbes (R-VA) and the Caucus initiated a leadership summit-to bring together senior leaders across government, industry, and academic to discuss national agenda issues related to modeling and simulation. The National Training and Simulation Association formed a standing committee to provide the interface to the Caucus for the planning of this event and others throughout the year in support of the Caucus. Members of this committee have committed significant time and effort to ensure that these events accomplish the agendas both of the Caucus and of the community of practice.

This is the third annual Leadership Summit. The out-brief of each of these events has summarized for the community and for the Caucus the next phase objectives and resulting action plan to further the use of modeling and simulation across all aspects of our workforce and our society. The action plan is then coordinated by NTSA and the Standing Committee to further the national agenda of the Caucus, and the growth of the industry across government, commercial and educational sectors. We then take opportunities such as this meeting to brief the community of practice on progress related to the actions established. I would like to take a few minutes now to highlight the progress we have made toward these objectives.

Our action plan to date has been based on four primary elements of the furtherance of modeling and simulation: industrial development, business practice, professional workforce development, and technology. Looking across these four areas, the following recommendations emerged over the past two years for which an action plan was developed and executed. I will briefly describe the progress achieved for each of these recommendations.

The primary recommendations that were formulated by many of the leaders sitting in this room today are as follows:
• Create a national focus for modeling and simulation.
• Create an M&S focus within government departments, outside of DOD and encourage its use on a broad scale.
• Increase the educational opportunities for professional and academic education in modeling and simulation; emphasize K-12 and university programs highlighting science and technology, and encouraging our next generation of leaders to consider these field of study; increase opportunities for professional certification in this field.
• Conduct a national market sector analysis to better understand the scope and significance of the M&S community of practice.
• Take action in the area of intellectual property rights for M&S technologies and encourage the use of commercial, non-developmental items.
• Support a body of knowledge for this community; establish standards across the community of practice that begin to address common requirements and outcomes.
• Establish a national framework for the community of practice, reaching beyond the bounds of the DOD (from where this originated).

To this end, our broad community of practice, working collaboratively, has achieved the following:
• House Resolution 487, with which you are by now, most familiar, initiated by the M&S Caucus, brought national attention and focus to modeling and simulation. As such, it is the foundation for a national framework that can support future initiatives and funding through this common thread;
• Today, government agencies are tapping the potential of modeling and simulation as a critical tool to support their business objectives. For example, the Department of Homeland Security has established a department-wide focus for integrating M&S technologies across their components. Many other departments and agencies of the government have been and are continuing to exploit these technologies in the achievement of their goals and mission. Understanding the synergies in their use across domains will be the next focus for us all.
• The Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM) Initiative—committed to raising the standards and numbers of our young people choosing and achieving success in math and science education. There are a significant number of initiatives, nationwide, that are underway to increase the math and science capabilities of our young people. Congressman Bobby Scott, as many of you know, has also sponsored language into the higher education act to attract and provided support for students choosing to enter these fields.
• The area of intellectual property rights is one which is being addressed by various industries involved in this field, but one which our committee sees continuing targeting to move forward.
• We are currently working with government offices and organizations to raise awareness and the need for a national framework, for which an initial national study will be an element. This Summit can be the spark to continue this dialog over the next couple of months, in a structured way, to create a national framework for our industry.

To that end, we have structured today to provide all of us as participants a venue to learn, dialogue and respond. To learn about the breath of our community of practice across domains and organizations. While this only scratches the surface in the use of modeling and simulation across disciplines, it can serve as an educational starting point by which to frame our reference inc considering the broader context of modeling and simulation. To dialog, as we consider our own perspectives on this community of practice, and identify ways in which our perspectives and fit into a larger, national interdisciplinary perspective. To respond, providing our thoughts on a national agenda, a national framework—its scope, its perspective, and its outcomes. We each play a role in furthering this agenda."

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