February 2005
Best Practices: What if…

Security show engages attendees in experiential learning using crisis simulation polls

By Cathy Chatfield-Taylor

A news flash interrupts your conference session to announce that a shoulder-fired missile has been launched from a major U.S. city. The President of the United States wants to know, should he ground the airlines? Using the interactive keypad at your seat, you vote “no,” joining 75 percent of the audience in this response.

Then the follow-up question: What if your family is at the airport? Like 91 percent of the respondents, you’d tell your family not to fly.

This was just one of several scenarios played out during the McGraw-Hill Cos.’ Homeland Security Summit and Exposition (www.mcgraw-hill.com/summit), June 2–4, 2004, at the Washington Convention Center in Washington, DC. Nearly 1,500 attendees participated in the interactive learning experience designed to demonstrate how the United States could be better prepared to prevent or respond to a terrorist attack.

“We wanted to involve the audience in a simulated but real potential crisis,” says Connie Bennett, Senior Vice President of Sales and Marketing for the company’s Information and Media Services division. “We anticipated it would be a draw and would build attendance, as well as be a rewarding experience, and it would differentiate us from other events.”

The crisis simulation began the morning of the first day, with a 3–4 minute “intelligence briefing” by Colonel Randall Larsen, USAF (Ret), Founder and CEO of Homeland Security Associates LLC (www.hlsassociates.com), Alexandria, VA. A nationally recognized expert on homeland security and terrorism, Larsen set the scene — the year 2008 under a heightened threat level — and gave attendees a role to play.

“They role-played as a small group representing federal and state government and private industry, to advise the president during the crisis,” Larsen says. “With each new development, I asked them a question about what they would do.”

During the two-day exercise, Larsen interrupted sessions with eight mock newscasts that dramatized the latest developments in a fictional crisis, such as a cruise ship hijacking, an attack on a chemical plant and an outbreak of plague. He briefed the audience on their policy options with short PowerPoint presentations, then posed questions designed to evaluate the risks, costs and consequences, as well as explore technologies that could be used to prevent, detect and respond to terrorist threats.

Depending on the questions, 55 percent to 70 percent of the audience responded using the handheld keypad polling devices provided by Express Interactive Solutions (www.expsolutions.com), Minneapolis. Their responses were immediately tallied and revealed on screen to fuel further discussion. Because the audience was so large — most executive simulations are for groups of 25 or less — the events unfolded in a controlled way and were largely unaffected by audience decisions.

“I kept it very scripted,” Larsen says. “It would have been more interactive if, when the audience made a decision, it would affect the game.”

Still, the experiential learning exercise kept the audience engaged through the second day, when Larsen wrapped up the simulation with a 30-minute interview to recap what they learned and solicit audience feedback.

At a total cost of about $150,000, the simulation was underwritten by three sponsors — Honeywell, Lucent Technologies and Northrop Grumman — whose technologies were featured in some scenarios, not as a sales pitch but to elicit audience feedback on what technologies held the most promise.

“We went to the sponsors and said, ‘Here’s what the experts want and need. What do you have in R&D that you could provide within the four-year window?’ ” Larsen says. “We took what the customer says they need and what the supplier says is technically possible and matched them up.”

After the summit, McGraw-Hill gave sponsors a report on audience preferences regarding the proposed technologies, along with a CD of the simulation to use with employees and customers. So the next time someone asks, “What if…?,” the solutions may be a reality.