Seeking Game-Changing Solutions to Childhood Obesity
Posted by Aneesh Chopra - Federal Chief Technology Officer
Yesterday the White House Office of Science & Technology Policy (OSTP) and the U.S. Department of Agriculture hosted a workshop
to gather insight from leading experts in the fields of gaming and
technology to inform the development of a nutrition game-design
challenge. The U.S. Department of Agriculture’s Food, Nutrition, and
Consumer Services is preparing to launch the Innovations for Healthy
Kids Challenge, a call to American entrepreneurs, software developers,
and students to use a recently released USDA nutrition data set to
create innovative, fun, and engaging web-based learning applications
that motivate kids, especially “tweens” (aged 9-12) and their parents,
to eat more healthfully and be more physically active.
Thirty-one experts
joined the meeting—some via teleconference—to offer their knowledge and
experience related to game design, entertainment technology, social
media, and skill contests, in reaction to a previously circulated concept paper outlining key components of the contest.
Our intention here is to invite you to join this discussion. Here
are some of the major design-related themes, that emerged from the
Workshop, around which we’d like to get input from you:
- Goal: We discussed the potential for games –
powered by nutrition data – to change behavior in our target segment
(“tweens” between the ages of 9-12 and their parents). Design questions
focused on whether the contest should result in a finished, high-impact
game or one that continually evolves over time (“gaming as a service”).
How would you recommend we address this question in the design of our
contest?
- Incentives: We discussed government limitations on
the size of the prize ($3,000 – a purse we’ve awarded in public service
announcement contests as well). Design questions focused on the degree
to which other stakeholders might supplement the prize with privately
raised funds; develop new markets for educational games, including
schools, parents, and after-school programs; and recognize finalists at
the White House or other venues. What incentives would you recommend we
deploy to maximize high quality participation?
- Final Product: We acknowledged a spectrum of
potential final products– including “back of the envelope” ideas, game
story boards, working prototypes, and market-ready “final” products. In
addition, we discussed the possibility of multiple phases to capture
the breadth and quality of potential submissions (perhaps an early
round seeking top ideas/story boards to be developed into games in
round two). How should we design the competition in a manner that
inspires and empowers both professionals willing to volunteer hours to
the competition and students willing to build a game that doubles as a
semester class assignment? How do we address the myriad game product
categories – from casual games to fully developed titles?
- Your Commitment: A great deal of the conversation
focused on how individuals might complement the official competition
with commitments they could offer from their respective positions –
whether it would be incorporating nutrition data in already-developed
games, faculty assigning class time towards building nutrition games,
or organizations spreading the word about the contest. How might you be
willing to help? Please post any commitments your firm, foundation,
school or other organization might be willing to offer as we build a
national movement to address childhood obesity.
Thank you in advance for your ideas on these important questions.
Aneesh Chopra is Chief Technology Officer of the United States
Permalink |
Posted:
09:10PM Feb 05, 2010
by USDAblogger in USDA Web Site |
New Federal Conservation Council Boosts America’s Outdoor
Hunters, fishers and all wildlife enthusiasts – there’s a new USDA and Department of Interior council that is going to make the great outdoors even greater for you.
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Secretary of the Interior Ken Salazar have announced the new Wildlife and Hunting Heritage Conservation Council that will advise government on wildlife conservation and hunting issues. The Secretaries were joined by Governor Brian Schweitzer of Montana for the announcement at the Theodore Roosevelt Island national memorial in Washington, D.C.
Sparked by the spirit Theodore Roosevelt, the new council focuses on the importance of hunting and fishing in American life and their connections to healthy lands and native species.
The new council replaces the Sporting Conservation Council, bringing in members from the hunting and shooting sports industries and representatives of the nation’s major hunting organizations.
The council will provide a forum for sports men and women to advise the Federal government on wildlife and habitat conservation. New opportunities partnerships will abound as the council brings together the public, the sporting conservation community, the shooting and hunting sports industry, wildlife conservation organizations, the States, Native American tribes, and the Federal government.
USDA’s Natural Resource Conservation Service, Farm Service Agency and Forest Service and the Department of Interior’s U.S. Fish & Wildlife Service and Bureau of Land Management will provide support and guidance to the council.
 Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack (left), Montana Governor Brian
Schweitzer (center) and Interior Secretary Ken Salazar, share a light
moment before the announcement of the creation of the Wildlife and
Hunting Heritage Conservation Council a new cooperative Federal
advisory council on wildlife conservation and hunting Issues. The
Advisory Council will provide advice to the government on wildlife
conservation and hunting issues and promote efforts to preserve
America’s hunting heritage for future generations. The event took place
in Washington, D.C. on February 4, 2010.  From left: Tom Strickland, Chief of Staff and Assistant Secretary for
Fish, Wildlife and Parks, Department of Interior, Interior Secretary
Ken Salazar, Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack and Montana Governor
Brian Schweitzer sign the proclamation creating the Wildlife and
Hunting Heritage Conservation Council a new Federal advisory council on
wildlife conservation and hunting Issues on Theodore Roosevelt Island
National Monument in the Potomac River in Washington, D.C., on February
4, 2010.
Submitted by Brad Fisher, Public Affairs Specialist, Natural Resources Conservation Service, Washington, DC.
Permalink |
Posted:
11:02AM Feb 05, 2010
by USDAblogger in USDA Web Site |
USDA Sponsored Forums In Alaska Draw Substantial Public Interest
We wrapped up the
final of four USDA-led jobs forums Monday in Anchorage. As in Fairbanks, Kotzebue and Juneau,
area leaders joined with Alaskans from all walks to life to provide input on what
works and what doesn’t work when it comes to job creation and retention,
especially in rural Alaska.
As a former lawmaker,
and a current member of an electric cooperative board, I was impressed to hear
how so many state residents feel that reliable, affordable electricity is one
of the most important keys to establishing the economic stability necessary to
promote job growth. It’s no wonder
when some communities have to pay as much s $10 per gallon for fuel oil to heat
their homes and generate electricity. Additionally, rural Alaskans want what
many in urban areas take for granted: broadband Internet access, and the ability to fully participate in
commercial and educational activities on the world wide web. Alaskans produce a wide range of
products, from art to food items, that buyers in the “lower 48” and around the
world want, but in order to get them to market, the seller needs access to
broadband. USDA is working on
that, having just announced a package of loans and grant to extend broadband to
communities in the Bethel and Dillingham region. Natural resource development is the life blood of Alaska’s
economy and each of the forums stressed the importance skill training for the
jobs of the future. Alaskans
want Alaskans to get the jobs that may come from a gas pipeline or other large
development project.
In Juneau, surrounded
by the nation’s largest national forest, we talked about the need for a new
forest economy, one that moves beyond the old growth harvesting of the past,
and into a new era of renewable energy production. My staff is working with
officials in Washington, D.C., both in Rural
Development and in the Forest Service,
to make this new economy a reality.
Rich and pristine ocean
waters which currently provide fishing industry jobs can also host of an
emerging mariculture industry, particularly oyster farming. Mining gave birth to Juneau’s
economy and there is still strong support for a responsible mining industry.
In Fairbanks, I was
joined by Senator Mark Begich in
announcing $49 million in water and sewer projects for rural Alaska. These projects will improve health
conditions in many rural communities, stretching all the way from Saxman and
Kodiak Island to the Yukon-Kuskokwim Delta and from Kotzebue to Fort
Yukon. Those projects will create
local construction jobs and improve the infrastructure in many rural
communities. Local food
systems were also a big topic of discussion in Fairbanks. Contrary to popular stereotypes it is
possible produce healthy foods grown in soil over permafrost.
In Kotzebue, it was
minus 32 degrees outside, but we had a warm reception inside the local Tech
Center. This forum, the only one
in the United States held above the Arctic Circle, was broadcast region-wide by
KOTZ radio and was moderated by National Native News pioneer Nellie
Moore. Kotzebue is a coastal
community and on the leading edge of the effects of climate change. While melting arctic sea ice is a major
concern, the community see opportunities as global shipping lanes open before
their eyes.
The Obama Administration is serious about
creating an environment that supports job creation and the four forums we held
across this state lay a groundwork for regional coordination, with the Forest
Service, the Farm
Service Agency, the Denali Commission,
the State of Alaska, Native corporations
and local governments, along with many others. Over the next year, working with our partners, we intend to
support micro-lending activities in rural areas, fund needed community
facilities and encourage the expansion of renewable energy development through
our Rural Energy for America program. There’s a lot to accomplish, and we’re just getting
started.
FSA Executive Director
Danny Consenstein and I will hand deliver our report on these four meetings to
Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack in Washington, D.C. later this month. We know that they will set the
framework for job development later this year, and for years to come.
 Alaska Rural Development State Director Jim Nordlund addresses the Jobs
Forum in Anchorage on February 1. Head table, Seated, (L to R) Brynn
Keith, Alaska Department of Labor; Greg Cashen, Alaska Workforce
Investment Board; Mark Allred, Denali Commission; Danny Consenstein,
FSA State Executive Director; Vince Beltrami, President, Alaska
AFL-CIO; Chris Rose, Renewable Energy for Alaska Program (REAP); Arthur
Keyes, Glacier Valley Farms; Wes Lannen, USDA Rural Development
Telecommunications General Field Representative  Pictured at the Alaska USDA Jobs Forum in Kotzebue, Alaska are (L to
R): Dean Westlake, Northwest Arctic Borough Assembly Member; Danny
Consenstein, Executive Director, Alaska Farm Service Agency;
Jim Nordlund, State Director, USDA Rural Development; and radio host Nellie Moore  A large crowd came out in temperatures of -35 to discuss job creation
ideas during a USDA-sponsored Jobs Forum in Kotzebue, Alaska, located
above the Arctic Circle.
Jim Nordlund, State
Director, USDA Rural Development-Alaska
Permalink |
Posted:
10:44AM Feb 05, 2010
by USDAblogger in USDA Web Site |
Central Oregon Residents Poised and Ready for Green Jobs and Renewable Energy at USDA Jobs Forum in Bend
Bend, Oregon
– Panels of economic experts, elected officials, community leaders and state
agencies once again presented information in conjunction with Farm
Service Agency (FSA) and Rural
Development (RD) for a jointly hosted USDA Forum on Jobs & Economic
Growth on January 28. The forum was held at Central
Oregon Community College in Bend, a Central Oregon community with a 15%
unemployment rate. A similar forum
was held the previous week in Albany.
Both forums were facilitated by Rural
Development Initiatives, Inc.
Roger Lee, Executive Director of Economic Development for Central Oregon,
kicked off the first panel with a discussion about which business sectors are
thriving and which ones are not in this community that saw a 3.5% unemployment
rate jump to 15% in just three years. Bend was hit hard by the housing bust where roughly
half of the job losses were in manufacturing and construction.
Deschutes County Commissioner Alan
Unger agreed that while “industry knows how to build a widget, they don’t
know how to go through the land-use process.” He encouraged greater collaboration among citizens,
businesses and interest groups as a method of building support for their ideas
and projects. And he praised the
work of The Oregon Consortium and
Oregon Workforce Alliance (TOC/OWA), a public-private partnership that
provides guidance and strategies for workforce training in 24 rural Oregon counties.
Oregon State University
economist Bruce Sorte believed that counties who let their public officials
take risks will succeed, and that federal agencies needed to be the backstop in
the event those risks are not successful.
He noted that we’re not in any particular economic cycle, but rather we
are seeing a “fundamental restructuring of the whole economy.
The second half of the forum focused on green
jobs/renewable energy, farming and agricultural exports. Bob Repine, Assistant Director for Energy
Incentives at the Oregon
Department of Energy saw many opportunities for Central Oregon in the
growing green energy market. He
spoke about a business that is turning water bottles into reusable products
instead of shipping them off to India to be burned for energy. Mr. Repine mentioned that horizontal
wind turbines are being developed for use in less windy areas, and that Oregon
is looking at upgrading the grid system to transmit the electricity created
from these new technologies. He
cautioned, however, that we will need a quicker response from Oregon’s
education system to keep up with worker training.
Phil Chang, program administrator for the Central Oregon Intergovernmental Council was
excited about the “new forest economy,” and our ability to take liabilities and
turn them into assets. Mill
residuals, hog fuel and smaller diameter trees can be used in biomass plants,
the up-and-coming wood pellet industry, and other wood products. He praised the many programs offered by
Rural Development, but would like to see changes made so the programs could be
used on federal lands. Over 50% of
Oregon’s land is owned by the federal government.
Forum participants extolled the many virtues of Rural Development programs, noting
the staff was always there to answer the phone and provide guidance on projects
and ideas. While residents were
encouraged by the growth of the renewable energy industry, there were
expressions of anxiety over the uncertainty of the financial markets, the lack
of access to capital, and the continued decline of the housing industry. Some were concerned that green jobs
were more trendy than sustainable, and that while government programs help at
first, they might not over the long haul.
Changes in land-use laws would help farmers who are focused on
agri-tourism and developing internship possibilities to slow the out-migration
of our young people. As one
participant noted, “Our children are our biggest export.”
The smaller community of Sisters, Oregon, and
the Confederated Tribes of Warm Springs both expressed concerns about short
timelines, the numerous regulations and their inability to be shovel-ready with
projects under ARRA. However,
Sisters was grateful for the sewer project funded with USDA Community
Facilities program dollars. The
city of Madras echoed similar concerns and also noted that over 20% of their
workforce is uninsured, leading to rising costs for charitable care.
The congressional offices of U.S. Senators Ron Wyden and Jeff Merkley were ably represented at the
forum, both eager to share the many ideas and suggestions with Oregon’s
Senators. There was general
agreement among the 75+ participants that these kinds of forums needed to
happen more often, and that rural Oregon needs greater partnerships between
federal, state and nonprofit agencies to pool and leverage their limited
resources.
If you would like to continue the conversation
by making written comments, you may do so on this blog, or by posting to AskFSA@usda.gov and inserting “Oregon Jobs
and Economic Growth Forum” in the subject line.
Written by: Vicki L. Walker, State Director,
USDA Rural Development-Oregon
Oregon State Director Vicki Walker addresses the audience at the Bend, Oregon jobs forum.
To learn more, go to the Rural Development
and FSA Job Roundtables Schedule, and
the News Release, “USDA
to Host Roundtables on Jobs, Economic Growth”
Permalink |
Posted:
01:43PM Feb 04, 2010
by USDAblogger in USDA Web Site |
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